A Good Entry-Level Digital Camera

While I have owned a number of point-and-shoot cameras, the Coolpix 2000 was my first foray into the world of digital photography. Since this is an entry-level digital camera, I will review it with this audience in mind. If you’re not looking for an entry-level digital, don’t bother with the Coolpix 2000.

Up until I received this camera for Christmas (just over a month ago), I had never thought much about digital cameras, but I have always been a camera enthusiast. Since I have had an opportunity to familiarize myself with all the features of this camera (which took about 2 hours), I have spent a great deal of time on the Internet researching which digital camera I will buy next.

If you have never tried digital before, this is a great camera to get you started in digital photography. I’m assuming that if you’re reading this, you already own a computer and are interested in combining your photographic interests with your computer interests. The benefits are: the ability to obtain immediate feedback from your camera, the ability to manipulate photos in a number of ways (color, size, contrast, etc.), no developing costs, and you won’t have to wait to finish a roll of film before you send those birthday pictures to your friends/relatives.

Camera Body and Controls

The camera is light (perhaps a little too light - durability-wise) and comfortable to hold, even with large hands. The controls are fairly simple and easy to use and the on-screen menus are easy to navigate with the directional arrow buttons to the right of the LCD screen. Speaking of the screen, it acts as the only viewfinder for the camera. There is no rangefinder (optical viewfinder), which has frustrated me from time to time. In some instances (bright sunlight, dark nightclub), I have been unable to see a clear image on the screen (brightness adjustments doesn’t help), so I’m left having to guess where the subject is - not something I’m fond of. The zoom (38-114 mm) is adequate and relatively fast, and does not produce much noticeable image distortion at either wide angle or telephoto. Digital zoom allows you too zoom even further at the cost of a reduced image quality.

Taking Pictures

As with any point-and-shoot camera, operation is fairly simple. The auto focus is quite dependable and for an entry-level, two-megapixel, it produces surprisingly sharp and detailed images (one of the reasons I’ve decided to purchase a more featured, higher end digital).

Two handy and interesting features of the Coolpix 2000 are the continuous mode and the multi-shot (16 frame) mode. Both allow you to take continuous shots of your subject. The continuous mode takes shots as long as you hold the shutter release down (and as long as there is available memory). Multi-shot mode takes 16 frames after as you press shutter release. Both modes seem to tax the camera’s memory, as it takes quite a long time to write the images to the storage device when in these modes.

It has 5 scene modes (portrait, party/indoor, night, beach/snow & back light), which all seem to work well for their intended purposes. It also allows you to take up to 20 seconds of video at 15 frames per second with no sound and no zoom (a little disappointing). The 8 MB compact flashcard (equivalent to film) that comes in the box (in Canada) is nowhere near enough storage for all around use -- thankfully, I also got a 16 MB card as a stocking stuffer, which seems adequate for general use (1024 x 768 in normal quality). If you require larger or better quality pictures, I would highly recommend a 64 MB or 128 MB flash card.

Best Shot Selector is another feature that is somewhat useful. It allows you to take a series of shots and then only keeps the “best” (least blurry) out of the bunch.

Another feature that I was really impressed with is the macro function. This feature (when the subject is well lit) is incredible, showing a great deal of detail with almost no noticeable image distortion.

The camera has two self-timer settings, 3 and 10-seconds. The three-second timer is useful for low light, hand-held shots where you don’t want the camera to “shake” when you’re pressing the shutter release i.e. low light and macro shots (handy for tripod shots too).

One thing I’m not very impressed with is the flash. After messing around with the settings for white balance, exposure metering, exposure compensation, and playing with the scene modes, I have been able to trial and error my way to some decent indoor, flash-assisted pictures. Out of the box, it seemed to take either underexposed, or overexposed indoor flash pictures, depending on the distance, subject & ambient lighting. The red-eye reduction is also a bit less than perfect, producing some very noticeable red eyes in a number of different lighting situations.

The time between shots seems a little slow, especially when taking shots with the flash, but this camera is not really built for speed.

Outdoor pictures have been excellent using both wide angle and zoom and I have had some success with night shots (in night mode, hand-held using the 3-second self timer or a tripod).

Batteries and Software

The batteries were the first things I replaced (with a good set of NiMH rechargables) since the camera drained the power from two sets of alkalines in less than a day. The LCD screen is a big reason for that since it’s always on (no viewfinder). It’s nice that it takes four AA’s, but I would definitely keep one set ready while another set is in the camera (the NiMH rechargeables seem to last longer than alkalines). The low battery light provides a reasonable warning when the batteries are low on juice, but make sure that you have strong batteries (or the optional power adapter) before you try to transfer images to your computer. Depending on the size, quality, and number of images, it can take a few minutes to transfer the images.

The camera connects to the computer via USB, which is a relatively fast and easy way of transferring data. The software provided is decent and includes: Nikon View 5, Nikon Editor, and Panorama Maker (handy software). While Nikon view is decent for viewing pictures, Nikon Editor is a very basic photo-editing program. I find myself relying on the two editing programs that came with my printer and scanner in almost every case. Panorama Maker is a wonderful program that does a good job of “stitching” together images to make one continuous image. I was able to take some great “panoramic” shots of all the rooms in my house.

The camera also comes with a video cable to hook up to your TV. I haven’t used that yet, but it’s in the travel bag for future use.

Conclusion

Overall, I am very impressed with digital photography and I like my Coolpix 2000. There is certainly room for improvement, but as far as an entry-level camera goes, it does a fine job and provides a number of useful features. Since it’s outdoor pictures require little adjustment, I would easily recommend it for a travel camera because of it’s light weight, small size (for a purse or a backpack, but not likely a pocket), good storage capacity (with a larger flash card), and AA battery power (can always be bought at any corner store). As I mentioned before, the viewfinder is hard to see in bright sunlight, so that might be an issue for travel. Also, since the macro function is good, it’s great for close-ups of flowers, small items, and a range of web photography.

I’m not sure about durability since the camera is entirely plastic, but a decent carrying case (not included) would definitely be a good investment. For the price, it’s a great camera that takes sharp, colorful pictures. While I would recommend the Coolpix 2000, look around and see what you can find with a similar feature set in the same price range.