Small enough for your pocket but big on quality
Written: Dec 15 '02
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Pros: Compact, easy to use, and takes great snapshots
Cons: Severe redeye problems in low lighting, barrel distortion at wide angles, no separate viewfinder
The Bottom Line: If you keep its' limitations in mind, this camera will continue to impress for a lifetime of snapshots.
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| drdiaboloco's Full Review: Nikon COOLPIX 2500 Digital Camera |
I finally decided to make the plunge into digital photography and after some research decided the Coolpix 2500 met my needs best.
I wanted something to carry along with me at work so I could take opportune photos and not lug a huge brick of a camera with me. After looking at what was available I realized that this had the best combination of compact size, durability, picture quality, photo options, and being a Nikon, it was likely to be a better-than-average camera.
It is.
The best feature of this camera is the swiveling lens, which allows you to do self-portraits and view how the shot is framed at the same time. This alone makes it worthwhile, as you can take pics of you and your friends at arm's length and end up with a pleasingly-framed shot.
The downside of this, which I was aware of before I bought the camera and was therefore not a surprise, is twofold... First the flash swivels with the lens, and therefore is both small and VERY close to the lens, which means that the "redeye" effect is rather pronounced. You will likely be disappointed by shots taken, say, at parties in low light, as almost every picture of people will end up with that "devil look". This can be edited out with the included photo software, but if you took a couple of dozen photos at a party and have to edit EVERY PICTURE, it gets a bit tedious to "fix" every shot. Secondly, the lens assembly is very small and this leads to "barrel distortion" when shots are taken at the full wide-angle (zoomed all the way out). This is only really noticeable when there are horizontal or vertical lines in the shot, like shots of the horizon or in doorways, for instance... Here's an example: A shot of a sunset taken from the beach or a tall building will show a curved horizon unless the horizon is PERFECTLY through the middle of the frame, or a shot of a person taken in a doorway with the door jambs near the periphery of the shot will show a curved vertical line. This is more noticeable the larger the prints are (if you in fact print the photos), or if the pics are blown up to full size on your computer screen.
Actually there is a third "problem" with the swivel-lens setup, which is that there's no conventional viewfinder. I haven't found this to be an issue, but some have complained that the screen washes out in bright light... I've not found this to be problematic, however.
Overall, however, this camera takes splendid snapshots. This is the camera's primary purpose, as it is not, and is not supposed to be, a professional-quality camera... It is a SNAPSHOT camera. If you use it as it is intended for the purposes for which it was designed, you will be very happy with the results. You will, in fact, be surprised by how good the shots are.
As for ease of use, it really couldn't be easier. After you fiddle with the 12 "scene modes" you will wonder how you got by without them.
Best of all, there's no lens cap to fiddle with. Just rotate the lens assembly back into the body of the camera, turn it off, and away you go.
I can personally attest to the durability of the camera, as I mistakenly flung it nearly two yards away from shoulder-height onto asphalt and into a snow drift, and aside from the expected scars to the body of the camera, it came off none the worse for wear.
I see that the battery life that I've experienced, which is as many as 80 or 90 shots with the flash used for more than half of the shots, qualifies as "poor" by the battery life rating. I wasn't aware that you could get 300 shots from some of these digital cameras, but perhaps that's NOT the case and the battery life rating is used for film cameras as well. In any event, the rechargable battery would probably give about 100 shots if you don't use the flash. Just keep in mind that you will only get about 30-35 shots on the included memory card when you use the "normal" resolution. Much larger cards are obviously available for those who want more capacity... As are extra batteries, of course (proprietary batteries, naturally).
The movie mode is fine for a few moments' amusement but is largely worthless for its' quality is marginal at best, and doesn't offer any sound.
On a related note, the digital zoom is mostly unusable if you want to maintain any picture quality. This is not unusual for digital cameras, but I thought it deserved mentioning.
Though this sounds like a lukewarm review, it is actually very positive. Just keep in mind the camera's inherent limitations and decide if the camera's upsides outweigh its' downsides. This hasn't and will not replace my 35mm SLR film cameras, but for something to haul around to take shots on a daily basis, it is a great choice.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 270
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
drdiaboloco
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Location: Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 2 members
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Where did all this corn come from?
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