Anyone us Nikon Coolpix 8800 or similar??

[col]

Hey all,

Just in addition to my thread "second hand or new" i have also looked at the above camera and its direct competitors. Does anybody on here use similar devices and if they do how do they rate them in comparison to DSLR's like 10D 20D D100 etc etc. Any feedback would be great as i am very close to deciding on some new gear!

Thanks
Colin

[Kevin_Ho]

I think it is quite well as well, with 8 megapixel and 10X optical zoom, and 1/3000 shutter speed, if my memories serve me correctly. The only bad thing is that it is not a DSLR.

It is good, I was going to ask my dad to buy it until the Canon 350D came out which changed my mind. Now I gotta wait for its price to come down a bit more before I pay bucks!

[scubblee]

It has VR too.

[seahawk]

I have the older CP 5700 as a backup to the F100 and it is capable of getting good pictures (even my girlfriend made some that were accepted ), but it is no DSLR. So no Zoom ring on the lense for example.

[col]

I think it is quite well as well, with 8 megapixel and 10X optical zoom, and 1/3000 shutter speed, if my memories serve me correctly. The only bad thing is that it is not a DSLR.

It is good, I was going to ask my dad to buy it until the Canon 350D came out which changed my mind. Now I gotta wait for its price to come down a bit more before I pay bucks!

What camera are you using now then? I currently have a Minolta Dimage Z2. I'm on a tight budget so I cant afford fancy lens on top of the price for the body. 90% of my photography is aviation

[Kevin_Ho]

My dad says the 350D body in Hong Kong is around $6000, so that isn't too expensive.
I now still own a non-professional camera, and it is Sony DSC-W1, no one would expect I got a few in.

[col]

If you wont be shooting much else than aeroplanes, i think the nikon 8800 will serve you well...

Owning a DSLR is an expensive business and those who say otherwise are lying or got mummy to pay for theirs

Once you have the body you need a bag, lenses, memory cards, filters, software etc etc... all can be expensive...!

exactly and i'm not the best photograher if you look at the pics i have on j.net at the minute! what camera do you use? i'm awful nosey.......

[pvsoest]

Hey all,

Just in addition to my thread "second hand or new" i have also looked at the above camera and its direct competitors. Does anybody on here use similar devices and if they do how do they rate them in comparison to DSLR's like 10D 20D D100 etc etc. Any feedback would be great as i am very close to deciding on some new gear!

Thanks
Colin

Colin, I've got the Coolpix 8400, which is more or less the same camera except for the lens. The 8400 has a wide-angle lens (from 24 to 85 mm in terms of the 35 mm equivalent); I don't use it for aviation photography except for platform shots and such.

Alright, with that out of the way: The Nikon "8x00" Coolpixes are generally excellent cameras for certain types of photography, but IMHO taking pics of moving subjects is not really one of them. Image quality (resolution, sharpness, colour rendition, etc.) is easily good enough, but [a] AF is a lot slower than on a DSLR and [b] the electronic viewfinder suffers from a tiny bit of video lag and freezes temporarily while the camera tries to lock focus. Both can be compensated for or worked around, but it won't be perfect.

Furthermore, 8 MP prosumer digicams such as the 8800 use a relatively small CCD sensor, resulting in relatively high noise levels. In practice, you'll be limited to using ISO 50 or 100 for best results.

IMO, if aviation photography is your primary objective and you don't mind lugging a bigger camera around, you might be better off with a DSLR. Image quality will be roughly similar, but the DSLR is a lot faster.

Paul

[Msh744]

I use the Nikon Coolpix 8800 and I have found it to be a great improvement from my previous camera, the Coolpix 5700. Focusing is much faster and more precise, although I doubt it rivals most DSLRs. The 10x zoom also has proved itself to be very helpful in many situations. I have two photos on jetphotos that I have taken with my 8800. Neither of which really show off its full potential, as in the first one i didnt use the best focus, and the second is backlit. but just to give you an idea, these photos were taken at 8MP normal jpeg setting.

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