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Nikon Coolpix 4100 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | List Price: $199.99
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Brand: Nikon
Binding: Electronics
Features: - 4-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 11-by-15-inch enlargements
- 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor lens combines with 4x digital zoom for 12x total zoom
- One-Touch Red-Eye Fix feature; movie mode with sound; PictBridge compatible
- Store images in 14.5 MB internal memory or optional Secure Digital (SD) cards
- Powered by 2 AA-size batteries (alkaline included; rechargeable Ni-MH recommended); connects to computers via USB
This camera will blow you away... seriously... [Posted on 2005-11-17]
It has been over a year now since I have bought this camera. I had upgraded from the previous Nikon 4000 model (which was equally good, but did not have a sound function for movie mode capturing.) And about 800 plus pictures and 300 movie clips later, (Although I can't post some of the pictures I made with the camera here... since I didn't make the purchase through Amazon but another store) I still love the camera very much. I have been through a lot with this camera. From the get go, It's a great buy. I recommend others buying a camera for the first time to get it. Absolutely. And I'll also post some helpful hints as to what to expect when buying this camera:
Pros:
1) Small enough to fit in your hand perfectly, (esp. with a person with small hands like me)
2)Uses AA batteries... trust me, with two Duracell batteries in there, I get about and average of 140 pictures. Its great.
3)Takes great pictures (when I say great, believe ME... it takes some GREAT pictures). And I also know too when shopping for a camera, its a pain in the behind, but it definetely helps if you know someone (like me) who has used the product EXTENSIVELY, and its fantastic. Trust me when I have it went through extensive usage... I took possibly 800 pictures plus with it. You really learn with time to really get to love this camera. I would love to share some pics that I have taken (but like mentioned the camera was not purchased on Amazon, and it's very comparable to pictures that could be taken with a 4,000 dollar professional digital camera. And I'm still an amateur photographer.
4)Those very handy scene modes... really great function when you learn to really know how to fully utilize them. But remember, as with any new digital camera purchase, keep in mind there will absolutely be a learning curve, where you need to use the product and know what everything does until you fully max out the camera's true potential.
5)It's pretty darn sturdy for a small camera. It's true. I dropped the camera on hard concrete, from about say oh 7 feet off the ground, and when I picked it up, I was almost in tears thinking I broke it. But I turned it on, everything worked perfectly fine. This camera is so awesome.
Now the Cons:
1) It's really hard to take pictures in low light situations. For instance, the screen looks really dark, or very grainy. Like say taking some pictures at a Chili's restaurant or something like that. You really have to work the camera to get some good pictures, and some times you won't get anything. Expect that. But when you pull it off, oh man are those some good pictures.
2) The movie mode. Again, in low light situations, its pretty grainy and doesn't understand the light flow around quite well. But oh well, its not a camcorder or anything so I guess you shouldn't expect too much from it. But in good lighting situations, it takes some good clips.
3) The time it takes from picture to picture. For this function, I need a higher end camera to get faster pictures yes I know, but its still pretty darn annoying to wait till the blinking red light on the viewfinder turns a solid green. I missed some good shots waiting for it to finish saving.
4)Digital zoom. That function is pretty much worthless. Every attempt at using the functions made 99% percent of my pictures look like junk, and thats WITH good light available. Simply limit use to the 3x zoom available and you should be fine.
5) And thats about all that I can think of at the moment. *whew*
**Final Word: This is a great camera for a beginner since its easy to use, and for intermediates also. For professionals, probably not, due to many limitations it may have. (But its not meant for that reason anywho, so that doesn't count. It's a fantastic point and shoot camera. Period.)
Poor customer service [Posted on 2006-01-14]
This was a great little camera until the screen turned blck, and looked like it was shattered. We sent it in to the dealer, hoping to have it replaced as it was under warranty. They would not honor the warranty, and said Labor costs would be 180.00, plus 12.00 shipping, plus almost 8.00 tax for the repair!!! (Almost as much as the camera cost).... After many emails back and forth, they could only offer 20% 'good will' discount. We were very disappointed that they would not try to do more to keep a satisfied customer. We will never buy another Nikon.
Very slow camera. [Posted on 2006-04-19]
Picture quality is excellent, especially for a 4 mp camera. The problem is, even with a high speed (80x) SD card installed it takes 5-6 seconds for the picture to save; even when taking low res pictures (that doesn't sound like much unless you consider the millisecond that a kid is able to hold still and look at the camera). When I researched SD cards, I discovered that a high speed card, should be able to transfer data at 8-10 megs a second so I'm not sure why the 4100 is only able to transfer 1/2 a meg per second.
Nikon support states that the test camera they have there also saves at that rate.
My Dad's 5 mp HP camera saves pictures in less than 2 seconds :(
Love my 4100 [Posted on 2007-06-08]
I've had the Nikon Coolpix 4100 for about 2 years and I have to say that I love it. At this point I'm familiar with its many modes and have experimented with taking different kinds of pictures and different situations. It has turned me into an ansul adams! This is my first digital camera and I have never enjoyed taking pictures this much.
Two gripes: the LCD screen is small by today's standards which makes it hard to see your picture. There is a noticeable lag between pictures, where you have to wait for the camera to ready itself before you can take the next picture. This isn't always a problem unless you take a lot of pictures of subjects in motion.
Good gift for a teen's first digital camera... but not for a photography lover [Posted on 2007-12-12]
If paying under $75.00, go ahead and get it... and know that you're getting for a $75.00 camera.
Positives: it has a lot of features to alter the tint of the photos, has simple on-camera photo editing, red-eye reduction, good zoom, etc. All the very basic essentials you need. And a descent little working camera if you don't pay to much.
Negatives: The flash is way to bright for most subjects and bleaches our the foreground easily (i had to tape a tissue over my flash), has a MAJOR tendency to be extremely blurry if you opt not to use the ridiculously bright flash, gives indoor (using flash) photos a plastic, shadow-less, unnatural look, has a Looonnggg delay after you press the shutter (you WILL miss most your shots by 2 seconds), you must hold it EXTREMELY steady on some settings to produce a half-way decent non-blurred picture, many of the settings don't do what they claim (for example, the 'fireworks' setting has never got me decent photos of fireworks-- they are always blurred, way too dark, and the shutter button delay causes you to miss the explosion every time).
Don't buy this if youre looking for a nice aesthetic (tone, shadow, etc) to your shots or quick camera response. Do get it if you need something to mess around with or aren't picky about picture quality. This would probably be a great gift for a child or young teen who would love his/her first digital camera-- its simple to figure out, has the basic features, lots of settings to play with, and cheap.
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