zzJulia's Full Review: Nikon COOLPIX 5900 Digital Camera
When my Pentax Optio 330 RS digital camera was stolen this summer, I was annoyed, but it was a great opportunity to replace the digital camera, and get higher mega-pixel quality for less than I had paid before.
Amazon was having an amazing price break on the Nikon Coolpix 5900, making it one of the few 5.1 mega-pixel cameras below $300.
I purchased the camera mainly for 3 reasons other than price:
1) The ability to record movie footage (my old Pentax had this too and I liked it.)
2) The "sport activity" setting for moving objects
3) 2.0 LCD, larger than most in the same price-point.
All the reviews on Amazon had also raved about the battery life being exceptionally long. Now that I have owned the camera for several months, I can certainly attest to that.
Features
The Nikon boasts a 3x optical zoom, along with 4x digital zoom. Through the magic of all this multiple zooming, somehow your image can be enhanced up to 12x.
Additionally, the camera has a number of "MODES" that theoretically enhance your photos during specialized events.
I thought these modes all sounded great when I purchased the camera, such as "sport" shots, or "night" shots. These Assist MODE settings are all easily switched to by turning a dial on the top of the camera.
In reality, I have found that photos taken with the Sport or Night settings were grainy or streaky. Basically, worthless. This was pretty disappointing as I was looking forward to a few photos of my husband's half marathons or the dog's antics. Occasionally, a nighttime one will actually turn out well, but rarely. However, I am willing to accept the blame that I am simply a lousy photographer and these settings are wasted on me.
The remaining MODES are Landscape and Portrait. I admit that I have never used either until recently. I used Portrait MODE this morning to take shots of my baby and they turned out very well. The background is blurred out and the focus is on his face.
If you want to get to the Scene MODES, of which there are 12, they are accessed by pressing the MENU button.
Scene MODES - these include PARTY, BEACH, SUNSET, DUSK/DAWN, NIGHT LANDSCAPE (Aroo??), CLOSE UP, MUSEUM, FIREWORKS SHOW, TEXT LINE DRAWINGS, BACKLIT, PANARAMA and UNDERWATER (to be used while using the waterproof case).
Ok, these scene modes are pretty ridiculous. For one thing, they are too fussy to access, and for another, they are so specialized that it's hard to remember which ones are for what occasion. Afterall, most owners are interested in the "point and shoot" concept.
What I Like
I am a simple person, with simple photo needs. I like to take pictures of my dog, you know? Nothing fancy. For that, the camera's default of "AUTO" tends to work pretty well. This means, auto focus and auto framing. At $259, the price was right, and the 5.1 megapixels (resolution of 2592x1944 make for great resolution.
The zoom feature also allows you to zoom in on images on the LCD. The high resolution makes this a surprisingly clear zoom.
The weight and feel of the camera is good for my small hands. It fits in my coat pockets and isn't heavy, but is heavy enough to remind me it is there. I actually am not too fond of the tiny little slim digital camera's like the Cannon Powershot SD400 Digital Elph. Mostly because I am sure I will lose it! I did look at the Elph at the time I was making this purchase, but it was nearly $100 more, taking it outside of my desired price range.
The battery life is awesome. I had charged the battery on Sept. 24th and then lost my charger. The new one arrived on Nov. 14 but on Nov. 12, there was still enough juice to take 30 photos and 5 minutes of footage. Very impressive.
The set timer function is easy to get to once you figure out where it is. If you hit the "left" arrow button, it gives you the timer menu.
The start up time is gratifyingly fast, making it great for impatient folks like myself.
Upload and connectivity to my laptop were simple, with the Windows XP recognizing the additional device after installing the device drivers that come with the camera. The camera also included the USB 2.0 cable, which gives a good upload speed.
Things to Keep in Mind
- The shutter speed is like most digital cameras, too slow to capture an instant precious moment, but suitable for posed shots.
- The photos are stored and numbered up to 9999. If you hit that number, even if there is tons of room on your memory card, the camera won't store more photos. You've got to clear your memory and get rid of the photo with the 9999.
- Unlike my old Pentax Optio, pressing the "OK" button does not initiate playback. Instead, you have to press the play icon button.
- The images are not as bright as I would like, though they are bright on the LCD. People come out a bit redder than I like as well. In order to fix this, I would probably need to spend more time fiddling with the White Balance, which is for now set on Auto. Instead, I use the "I Feel Lucky" button on Google's Picasa to fix the color.
CONCLUSION
The camera is fairly feature rich and could take months of playing around with the manual and the camera to figure out all the special features. However, if you are like me and simply need a point and shoot, the Nikon 5900 is a good price for value. If you are looking for something small, this camera may not have a slim enough profile for you. For me, it was perfect, larger than my cell phone, but still small and lightweight.
If you are looking at the Nikon 7900, which is virtually identical but a 7.1 megapixel, I would suggest you consider forking over a bit more cash and getting the SLR instead. You will appreciate the speed with which you can take successive shots. This little point and shoot goes in my purse, but our next "REAL" camera purchase will likely be the Canon Rebel XT 8MP SLR.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 259 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
5.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints 3x optical zoom through a quality Zoom-Nikkor lens (zoom is equival...More at Amazon Marketplace
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