seriously in love

The CP4500 marks my third Nikon Coolpix camera, and it is by far my favorite. Its advanced features, full manual mode, preset shooting options, 4x zoom and 4 megapixel capabilities technically surpas any of the others I've had; but aside from that, the physical feel of it in my hand is the best camera I've ever held.

I'm seriously in love. In a spend-my-life-with-you kind of way.

I thought I would never outgrow my CP950, but when the internal camera counter reset after it hit 10,000, I began wondering if I'd taken that camera as far as it could go. I was beginning to feel strapped by its limited manual mode, and the more that I learned about manual operations (f-stop, aperature, shutter speed) the more I wanted to experiment.

I then picked up the CP995. I felt like I should be in love with it, but I was unimpressed with its photographs, it didn't feel good in my hands, the body was almost completely plastic instead of magnesium alloy. A week later I went into my local digital camera store to print some photos and noticed the brand new CP4500 on the shelf. But it wasn't there when I had purchased the 995! Oh the agony!

With a lot of skilled negotiations, I managed to exchange my 995 for the 4500 and pay the difference in cash. I immediately noticed the difference in the 4500 - the colors are brighter, the features are fancier, everything is stepped up a notch. It's doubtful that I will ever outlearn the features on this camera, as it has a full manual mode as well as shutter priority, aperature priority, and many preset shooting modes (portrait, night landscape, night portrait, macro, bright beach/snow, etc) that have helped me to learn some of the different settings for different shooting situations.

It's a wonderful camera for the advanced beginner who needs to continue to be challenged in order to continue their photographic growth. Highly recommended!