OT: New Nikon Digicam - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Richard in NC · 1st August 2002, 02:59

For all those folks looking for a good digicam I just bought a new Nikon Coolpix 5700 and highly recommend it. I might have been the first in the Charlotte area. I've been salvating over the specs on the D100 and have been in-patiently waiting for it to be available. In the mean time Nikon came out with this new top of the line Coolpix model as a follow on to the Coolpix 5000. I like the convienence of the smaller camera so I went for the Coolpix. So far I really like it and see a big improvement over the earlier Coolpix models such as the 880 I had. Here are the highlights:
5 megapixel resolution (2560x1920), built in Nikon ED lens with 8x optical zoom (equiv to 35-280mm in 35mm SLRs), 4x digital zoom, digital TTL view finder and a flip-folding LCD display, 3 fps for 3 frames full resolution, quicktime lo-res movies with sound, flash hot-shoe, and lots more. It is much more responsive than my Coolpix 880 was and has a great quality feel to it. It is kind of pricey at $1200 but is half the cost of the D100 while approaching the same quality. As soon as I get some pix uploaded, you'll be able to see them at http://hobbystage.net/bmw/rdaugher/. My next step is finding a printer to print the pictures at the quality they deserve!

Gustav · 1st August 2002, 03:03

Wow, intersting!

The thing that makes you hesitate to buy a new digital camera is that they just keep getting better and better for lower andlower price!

Butt everything I've heard about the Coolpix is good.

PhilSeastrand · 1st August 2002, 03:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard in NC
My next step is finding a printer to print the pictures at the quality they deserve!

Take a look at the new HP printers that were just announced. They claim the quality is equal to processed prints and have a life expectancy of 75 years (twice that of processed prints).

Note: I work for HP so I'm somewhat biased.

atomic80 · 1st August 2002, 04:09

I do highly recommend HP printers too. My mom has one and the quality is pretty good especially if done on photographic paper. Can't really comment on the longevity of the ink though since I haven't had a printout long enough.

As for the camera. I have the CP5k myself and it's one of my favorite cameras in addition to my D1. I love the convenience that it offers over my old CP950. The CP5700 is definitely bulkier than the CP5k as noted when I checked it out on my most recent trip to NYC. One thing that surprised me was the fact that the LCD screen is smaller than the one on the CP5k!

I don't think I'd be upgrading to the CP5700 anytime soon. I'll wait for 2 more generations before upgrading. It's just as Gustav said, they're always going to come out with new models.

MEnthusiast · 1st August 2002, 04:16

Gustav,
its just like computers, buy one and its already outdated. but the thing thats important is to get what meets your requirements.

on printers, I was a long time hp user, but I recently got an epson 1280 and this printer produces really fantastic photo quality images. however, I will say that the hps are a bit easier to configure. on paper life- my attitude is I dont care so long as its more than a few years. I can always reprint them. a habbit ive gotten into is I save the print version of the image (resolution readjusted/ color adjusted/ sharpening adjusted) so I can always go back to the original.

Richard in NC · 1st August 2002, 04:45

Phil;
I've heard about the new HPs coming out (but no real details yet). My father works at Best Buys and just met with an HP rep. I've always owned HPs but my current HP 832C is producing noticeable bands lately. It may be the cartridge that I recently put in but the new camera deserves a real photo quality printer so I'm sure inclined to upgrade.

Atomic80;
I just knew you'd have a comment or two.

Yes, the 5700 is bulkier than the 5000 because of the 8x lens but it's still smaller and lighter than most SLRs.

francois · 1st August 2002, 04:50

I have both the CP 5700 (got it for Pia, my wife) and the D1x (mine). The quality of the CP 5700 is superb. The D1x, however, is breathtaking.

francois

PhilSeastrand · 1st August 2002, 04:56

Here's the news announcement: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...30/bs_nf/18798

I'm really disappointed that they haven't updated the www.hp.com website yet with the new printer info.

Anyway, here's the importart part:

Quote:

Three of the four new printers -- the HP Photosmart 7550, 7350 and 7150 -- provide top-quality photos, including realistic skin tones, when optimized at 4,800 dpi and using six- and seven-ink color printing capabilities. Photos printed with the HP 57 Tri-color inkjet print cartridge and the HP 58 Photo cartridge will maintain their vibrant colors for as long as 73 years when printed on the proper paper, HP said. Traditional prints often begin to fade after about 35 years.

atomic80 · 1st August 2002, 04:56

I believe it, francois. My D1 produces images that is about the same as the CP5k and it has only 2.74 megapixels!

It's the lenses that also contributes in making all the difference.

Richard, yep...the CP5700 has the same chip as the CP5k so there's no real point in me upgrading even though I do wish that I had the extra magnification factor. On the other hand, the CP5k does have wider lenses at 28mm as opposed to 35mm on the 5700. For most of my pictures I seem to find myself favoring wide angle shots.

MEnthusiast · 1st August 2002, 05:04

its also the color depth of the D1 series. they are 12 bit color while the coolpix are 8 bit color- thats a big difference. photoshop allows up to 10 bit color editing but they dont offer a selection for this, so I am forced to have PS do the conversion to 8 bit color....