Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Digital Camera Review: Nikon Coolpix S8000


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The Nikon Coolpix S8000 is an outstanding new long zoom compact. Nikon has produced a feature rich digital camera line that is really priced right for the average user. While I’ve enjoyed other Coolpix cameras, the Coolpix S8000’s combination of high resolution, beautiful display, and 10x optical zoom in a small package really makes it stand out from the rest. The older displays have not been popular among some users, so the new display is a major upgrade.

The Coolpix S8000 has and impressive 14.2 megapixel resolution, equivalent to the Nikon Coolpix S6000 for the highest resolution offered by the Coolpix product line. 14.2 megapixels is pretty robust for a point & shoot, and you can create breathtaking photo-quality 20 X 30 inch prints, no problem.

The 10x wide-angle zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens isn’t the most powerful lens offered by the Coolpix product line, but provides great flexibility for the average photographer’s needs. The wide angle zoom lens is one of the more popular features my customers are asking for, and this makes the S8000 a great option. Get your whole extended family in the shot with the wide angle lens, or capture the action across the stadium with the 10x zoom. The combination of wide angle with a long zoom gives you the best of both worlds.

Next up, the Smart Portrait System – this offers a lot of features that I found my customers constantly ask me about. The In-Camera Red-Eye Fix technology works removes most red-eye problems that other some digital cameras just can’t compensate for. The smile timer and blink proof feature is amazing! It makes the camera take two pictures, and always saves the one where the photo’s subjects’ eyes are open. When I was testing it, I hardly even had to think before I grabbed a shot.

The camera also produces HD 720p video, you can get great clips for sharing with relatives or uploading to YouTube. Watch your movies on an HD TV, you will be impressed with the quality of the output.

One of my favorite features of the Coolpix S8000 is probably its 3.0 VGA Clear Color display. While the size of the display screen is the same as other Nikon Coolpix cameras, such as the P100 and L110, its 921K-dot wide-viewing angle is the highest of any Coolpix camera. Overall, the S8000 is a very easy to use, feature-rich camera.

Compare to: Canon SX 120, Sony DSC HX5V, Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

Key Accessories:
- 3 Year Penn Camera Damage and Defect Service Plan
- Promaster protective case
- Promaster 4 GB Memory Card