Nikon's legacy of creating cameras for professional photographers clearly shows in the Coolpix 880. Prosumers and hobbyists will not run out of camera before they run out of ideas. The zoom lens delivers sharp images to a full-featured exposure system, while a variable-zone TTL-metering system and preprogrammed "scenes" make this a photographer's camera.
The Coolpix 880 fits nicely into your hands, with intelligently placed controls. The extensive manual covers all aspects of how to use the camera and offers lots of tips on improving your photos, such as "getting good results with autofocus," which helps both beginning and advanced users take better pictures.
Getting good photographs is what the Coolpix 880 is all about. In full automatic-exposure mode, it's a basic point-and-shoot that anyone can use. However, your basic point-and-shoot camera can get fooled under a variety of lighting conditions. So Nikon provides 11 preset scene modes, such as fireworks, sunsets, night landscapes, and snow/beach scenes, that let you bag the pictures you want without being a photo expert.
Like most digital cameras, the Coolpix 880 gives you a variety of white-balance presets. But you can also adjust the colour up to +/- 3 units. The manual white-balance setting lets advanced users put a white or grey card in the scene, point the camera at it, and get the perfect setting. We found that the auto setting worked well in most shots, though we used the manual balance in a room lit with mixed light for a better look.
The key to a good photograph is the exposure, and the 880 helps photographers hit the mark with four metering modes. We found that the default Matrix mode worked well under most conditions, but we got better results with spot and centre-weighted metering for portraits.
We like the Nikon software setup, which launches automatically and operates from a single install screen. The Explorer-like interface lets you view, print, or copy the images, and poses no learning curve for Windows users. The software documentation comes on a separate CD and is as comprehensive as the printed manual for the camera, providing users of all experience levels with the information they need to use the product.
Unfortunately not everything is smooth sailing. The tight-fitting lens cap must be removed before you turn on the camera; if not, the lens jams against the cap, making it difficult to remove and potentially damaging to the lens. The camera does come with a rechargeable battery and charger, and a 16MB Compact Flash card.
Nikon Coolpix 880
Company: Maxwell Optical
Ph: 02 9390 0200; Fax: 02 9390 0201
Price: AU$1,849.
Rating: 4 Star
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