Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #147071 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Nikon
• Model: Coolpix 8700
• Released on: 2004-02-25
• Dimensions: 4.13" h x 4.45" w x 3.07" l, 1.10 pounds
• Display size: 1.8

Manufacturer's Description
"The Power of Eight". With an impressive 8.0 effective megapixels and a powerful 8x zoom lens, the COOLPIX delivers unmatched image quality - a hallmark of all Nikon products - and offers an advanced ergonomic design that greatly enhances operational ease and comfort.

Advanced image processing technology: Nikon's exclusive image processing technology ensures natural colour reproduction, detail and gradation. Quick response: instant startup, reduced shutter release time lag and fast image processing. 12 Versatile preset Scene Modes. Simply select the mode appropriate to your lighting conditions, and the camera is able to automatically adjust the focus, flash, contrast, sensitivity and white balance. Superb Macro shooting capability as close as 3cm (1.2 in.) supported by convenient Best Shot Selector (BSS) function

Fast, accurate Five-Area Multi Autofocus with the new AF-assist illuminator that assures sharp focusing in difficult compositions and low light. 5 Shot buffer mode retains the last 5 shots when the shutter button is continually pressed and then released in order to capture unexpected or fleeting moments. Interval Timer Shooting takes a series of successive still images at preset intervals.

Movie TV movie (30fps) with audio, Small movie (15fps) with audio, or Sepia movie (5fps) with audio, or Time-lapse movie (30fps) without audio. Large 1.8-inch vari-angle highly transmissible advanced TFT-LCD monitor for greater visibility even in daylight. Extended battery life of approx. 210 images with Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL1, and 240 images with 2CR5. Real Time Histogram enables you to view the histogram while shooting images.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Nikon 8700 - At last a digital that's better than film
The Nikon 8700 looks great on first sight, the quality is really good. It replaces my Nikon 5000 which was Ok but the progress made by Nikon since the 5000 was released is clear to see. I doubt the increase from 5 to 8 megapix will make that much difference to me as I only usually print at 6x8 and very occasionally 8x10.

Beth, my wife, has a 5700 which I bought for her at Christmas, the quality as you would expect is the same at 5megapix as the 8700. My reason for choosing the 8700 was the Scene mode, when I stopped using my Nikon SLR due to its size, I bought a Canon Z135 which had a scene mode and I used all the time.

The real benefit of the 8700 scene mode is that stuff like white balance, colour saturation and metering method are set up, this is the sort of detail you tend to ignore when photographing sunsets or snow scenes etc. The Scene menu is much, much easier to use on the 8700 that I expected, all 12 modes are available through the viewfinder, control panel or monitor without the need to access menus, I found the menus on the 5000 so cumbersome I just set up the main options I use, like spot metering etc on the 3 custom settings, I had to remember which was which, but it worked OK

The 8700 (and 5700) works much more like a SLR than a compact. If you don’t want to use interchangeable lenses, I would suggest there is little reason for choosing a digital SLR. The quality and range of the 8x optical zoom lens is all, most photographers could desire. The 8700 doesn’t require the cleaning of the CCD that the SLR digital need.

The camera is nice and light, but heavy enough to hold steadily, a problem with smaller compacts. It’s too large to slip into a pocket, so the Nikon 4200 or similar would probably be more suitable albeit with some drop in quality from the optics and less functionality.

The colour quality looks exceptional, there appears to be no noticeable purple fringing which is supposed to be a problem with the other 6 and 8 megapix cameras. It is slightly visible on the edge of bright white when the maximum zoom is used on the computer, this equates to a print of around 10 by 8 FEET.

The 8700 is a ‘snugger’ fit in the Nikon case than the 5700, due to the ‘extra bit’ on the monitor, but it’s not a problem, the case soon eases.

Just a few words of caution. There are two methods of transferring pictures to a computer, PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) or Mass Storage. The default is Mass Storage as it works with all Windows versions since 98 whereas PTP only works with XP. There was no way my XP professional would work on Mass Storage, it kept returning “CF card not present or installed incorrectly” message. The card was clearly storing pictures OK though. The warning wasn’t clear as to why it wouldn’t transfer so I reformatted the CF card and reseated it several times before switching to PTP and away it went. For new users of Nikon digital, there doesn’t appear to be a version of Fotostation with the new software which is a shame, it can be bought separately but Nikon View 6 or Photoshop are both included to manage the pictures. Installing the new version of Nikon View didn’t interfere with Fotostation and readily acknowledged it. There is a small colour problem with RAW image and Nikon View 6 for which there is a downloadable fix, my 8700 came with the upgraded version. I love Scene mode, but find Portrait option too soft.

In summary, anyone thinking of moving to digital who demands high quality won’t be disappointed in any way with the 8700 (or 5700 if you don’t need 8mpix or Scene mode).

Cool
My fiancee bought me this camera from Amazon. The reviews I have read from the people in the know have been very good. I am not a camera geek but the quality of the photos have been excellent. Its fairly light and small compared to the competition so its easy to carry around. It does take a bit of time to get familiar with all the functions but once you know its all very easy. The camera doesn't come with any memory so you do need to purchase this separately.

Worth the time learning how to use it properly
I'll try and be brief, I'm very technically aware of most things - software, hardware, etc. but nothing prepared me for the learning experience I'd go though with this camera. I thought it would take a day or so to get the hang of it but this camera is SO ADVANCED and has so many features and options it took me a full 2 weeks to get my head around it. not because the manuals badly written, far from it, it's very extensive but because this lovely camera is so versatile. looking back on the pictures I've taken it took roughly 5 cards full of images before they started to really come out well and now I feel I can judge the right settings (using manual mode) and they come out better than the auto mode - which I never thought possible. :-)