Nikon Coolpix 2100

...I bought, which last longer. Nikon of course says that only the original Coolpix batteries are recommended for use in the camera, but you can interpret that as you wish.

The second disadvantage is that the on/off dial and the mode dial can change position when the camera is off, sometimes meaning it turns on saying "mode dial not in proper position", or that it runs down the battery being turned on while not in use. The camera ...
...purchase the Nikon Coolpix one, I bought a cheap Samsonite one, which, not being adapted to the dials, sometimes causes these problems.

I develop my photographs through a website, which has worked brilliantly and is pretty cheap. The print quality on my own printer isn't very good, but it's not designed for high resolution colour printing.

All in all this is a high quality camera for amateur use. Its long list of modes ... more

I've had this camera for six months now, having been given it by my dad as a Christmas present. It has been a trusty companion in three European countries so far, and I'm hoping it will accompany me worldwide over the next decade or so - assuming it doesn't become obsolete as fast as some other technical gadgets!

First, what do you get for about £180 (it was a gift, but I know it's approximately that price)? The camera comes in a small box with charger, 2 NiMH Coolpix batteries, an 8MB Compact Flash (CF) Card, CD-rom for the computer, another piece of technical equipment I haven't used, a year's guarantee and many instruction leaflets for various components. I'm not a very technical person so do excuse anything I miss out on that score; I can only tell you about my experiences, so this won't be comprehensive. I have never used the CD-rom because my computer is not Windows, for example. In fact I bought a PC-line USB lead to transfer photos to my computer.

The camera itself, which I pounced on like a starving man grabbing for chocolate, is a squat little silver thing about 5 inches long, 4 high and 2 wide. Happily it doesn't seem to be delicate, but I've never yet dropped it. It has a dial on the top to switch between various modes, a twisting on/off switch and shutter button, a small LCD screen, a viewfinder if you prefer to take pictures the old-fashioned way, several buttons controlling the menu and delete functions, another dial-style button for flash and close-up modes, a zoom and a video cable socket. Whew. As well as the battery compartment and CF card slot. That is an awful lot to take in for someone new to digital photography - my brother had mastered it in about 10 minutes but it took me a few weeks to work out exactly what the 14 different modes do, and there are still variations I haven't tried. This is certainly a very versatile camera!

The two main instruction manuals, one for a quick glance as you first use the camera and the second more detailed, are both clearly laid out and easy to understand. All the modes are covered in the more detailed one, as well as trouble-shooting. Personally I prefer to experiment more than remain glued to the manual, however.

As it was a present, my dad had already charged it and done all the necessary settings, so I'm badly placed to comment on that. I could just point and click straight away! You'll be happy to know there is an "auto" mode, which is set to flash for normal daytime conditions. This produces some wonderful photos, and most of mine are taken in this mode.

The other modes include the following:

- close up
- night landscape
- dusk/dawn
- sunset
- beach/snow
- party/indoor
- museum
- fireworks show
- copy
- back light
- portrait (with lines on the screen to show a couple, a person on the right or left, etc), night portrait
- architecture (with lines to show vertical and horizontal)
- scenic view
- landscape
- sports, sports spectator, sports composite
- manual, which you can edit as you wish
- video (a 15s video clip without sound can be taken)

Some of these are identical, and some are simply frills - for instance the "scenic view" with the hills ready-drawn on the screen. However, it is good to know the camera "knows" what you are photographing!

The sports mode is particularly useful for moving shots, as it has something called "BSS" which means that the camera continually refocuses on the object. The party mode automatically adds red-eye reduction and a flash, while the museum mode is of course no flash. I have found the architecture mode handy for taking pictures of immensely tall cathedrals, while dusk/dawn mode has allowed me to take one or two lovely sunset pictures that look just like the real thing. The video would be great if I knew how to view them on my computer - but without sound, it's not an essential part of the camera's abilities.

In manual mode you can add flash, no flash or red-eye reduction, a close-up or BSS function or a 10-second timer. These can be added to other modes as well, which creates a fairly infinite range of functions. These are all denoted by little symbols on the camera screen (which can be removed while taking the photo if you wish), so you are rarely lost - unless you don't know all the symbols, and they do take time to learn.

The 3x optical zoom is one of the best parts of this camera. Not only can you use it while taking pictures - extremely useful when there's a bright yellow lorry parked in front of whatever scenic view - you can zoom in on pictures already taken (this would be the digital zoom), cut them if you wish, and see details you haven't noticed before. In display mode, it allows you to see up to 12 photos at once as thumbnails.

The 8MB CF card that comes with the camera will fit a fair number of photos on it - I don't know the exact number - but my 64MB one has more than 300 on it and shows no sign of running out of space. There is no multiple delete function on the camera; deleting lots at once has to be done on the computer.

I've only had a couple of difficulties with this camera. First of all the charger that came with it was faulty, so I had to have it repaired (I think it was actually replaced). This was happily covered by the Dixons guarantee and repair scheme. The 2000mAh batteries that come with the camera aren't as reliable, in my opinon, as some 23000 mAh ones I bought, which last longer. Nikon of course says that only the original Coolpix batteries are recommended for use in the camera, but you can interpret that as you wish.

The second disadvantage is that the on/off dial and the mode dial can change position when the camera is off, sometimes meaning it turns on saying "mode dial not in proper position", or that it runs down the battery being turned on while not in use. The camera doesn't come with a case, and not having £20 to purchase the Nikon Coolpix one, I bought a cheap Samsonite one, which, not being adapted to the dials, sometimes causes these problems.

I develop my photographs through a website, which has worked brilliantly and is pretty cheap. The print quality on my own printer isn't very good, but it's not designed for high resolution colour printing.

All in all this is a high quality camera for amateur use. Its long list of modes is daunting to look at, but I find I only use a few - and it's good to know the others are there, should I want them. The display on the screen is good quality and the photos that come back from the website I use are as good as, if not better than, normal photographs. I'm still in love with my Christmas present! 

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