Nikon D200 Digital Camera Review

George Schaub has a Nice review of the Nikon D200 up over at Shutterbug, the kind of review that makes me wonder why I don’t remember to read them more often. (Actually, that’s easy, no RSS feed. Which is a shame, really). What I like about George’s reviews is that he’s a photographer first, a writer second, and a technician only at need. He doesn’t test a camera against three kinds of ideal lighting, or shoot endless pictures of USAF charts. He takes a camera out, shoots with it, and tells you how it went. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a geek at heart and I get caught up in the minutae, too. I love it. But I also  like the way Shutterbug brings a writerly approach to the overwhelmingly techie world of web reviews. But I digress. The long and short of of it, where the D200 is concerned, is this:

Pros

• Superb lens, with manual focus ring and mechanical zoom feature

• Ultrahigh 10-megapixel resolution, gorgeous colors, snappy contrast, superlative image quality at ISO 160-400 with or without flash

• Better than average digital noise control at ISO 800 and 1600 for a prosumer digicam

• Includes the most important features for serious photography

Cons

• Some exposure and White Balance problems in low light, but can be solved with overrides

• Long shutter speed NR system is too aggressive; avoid using this feature when possible

• In camera sharpening algorithm does not produce ideal results in large prints

• Can shoot only three JPEGs in a sequence; in raw capture, no Continuous advance and slow data recording due to (uncompressed) 20MB file size

Don’t let that list of cons scare you, though: the WB issues are minor, and you’ll probably be using a custom WB most of the time. Ditto on the NR and sharpening; he actually raves about the NR in most circumstances, and when it comes to sharpening, you’ll probably be using RAW for large prints anyway.

Nikon Coolpix L12 Digital Camera Review

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Matt from WhatDigitalCamera.com gives a video review of the Nikon Coolpix L12 digital camera.  The Nikon Coolpix L12 has 7.1 megapixels of resolution and a 35mm – 105mm 3x optical zoom lens.  You will love the 2.5″ LCD screen on the L12 as well as the image stabilization feature not normally found on compact digital cameras similar to this.  A downside to this camera is you cannot adjust the ISO which may bring noise to some of your photos in low light conditions.

The Nikon Coolpix L12 uses two AA batteries for power – so you will definitely want to buy some rechargeable NiMH batteries for more power as regular batteries will not last long.  Overall, the Nikon Coolpix L12 is an excellent compact digital camera if you want to just point and shoot and not worry about a zillion manual settings.  The Nikon Coolpix L12 currently retails for an average of $172.

Nikon Coolpix L12 in depth reviews and sample photos:

DCRP Nikon Coolpix L12 review

Steve’s Digicams Nikon Coolpix L12 review

DigitalCameraReview Nikon Coolpix L12 review

Nikon Coolpix L12 sample photos at PBase

Nikon Coolpix L12 sample photos at Flickr