Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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- this is with 3x optical zoom -

- Austin, TX at night -

I have a few more, but they aren't uploaded...

Mind you this is a few that were taken the day i got it. I havent really played with it much, but is very easy to manuver.

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Cindy
PHFaust
Email Cindy
Land of the Outcasts!

Looking at pictures taken by another person with a particular camera isn't a very good way to evaluate a camera. Erik's pictures are outstanding, but that isn't attributable to Nikon, it is attributable to Erik's patience and skill as a photographer.

Read online reviews about the cameras regarding ease of use, specifications, and accessories available. Find a sight where one person has reviewed lots of digital cameras so you can get an objective opinion (posts like "I have one and I really love it" aren't really informative!).

Most importantly, before you jump in, decide what features you want in a camera by doing some reading/research on the type of photography you are planning on doing. Some things to consider -
- How many Mpixels do you need (most people overestimate this)?
- How high a magnification ratio do you want in the macro setting (be careful of misleading minimum focus distances!)?
- Do you want to use an off camera flash?
- How much optical zoom do you need (most nikons aren't very good about this)?
- What type of media would you prefer to use?

You will learn a lot more and be a lot happier with your new camera if you approach it by educating yourself and reading comparative reviews. Pics online won't tell you much (even if they are nice pics).

Dear PHFaust,
I am cat lover, and have always been one, but that is the ugliest cat I have ever seen!
And thanks for the 2200x1700 pic. I really enjoyed what parts of it I could see!
JK - LOL

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Chris Harrison

A few peoples pictures won't evaluate a camera but a fair amount is enough information to pull the average. It also shows how user friendly it is, if a novice posts great pics that's a sign of a super camera...if someone really comfortable with a digital shows some rough shots that's a sign of a lower quality camera. I wasn't looking to see quality, I know Nikon has great equipment I was curious to see which ones are user friendly. I simply asked for photos, don't assume to know what I'm looking to find out. Had you considered this prior to your posting of cute comments you'd have saved yourself the taste of feet.

Regards,
Bill Horn
BriarpatchHerps@aol.com

It wasn't any sort of personal assault. Just making the point that looking at online pics is a poor evaluation tool for choosing a digital camera, yet one that I see posted here every week or so.

A few peoples pictures won't evaluate a camera but a fair amount is enough information to pull the average. It also shows how user friendly it is, if a novice posts great pics that's a sign of a super camera...if someone really comfortable with a digital shows some rough shots that's a sign of a lower quality camera.

There is no way that you can figure out from looking at picture. If I look at an Ansel Adams photograph and decide it is great, does that mean his equipment was user friendly? Certainly not.

For example, in Erik's night shots...
Did he use a tripod?
How much exposure compensation did he have to use? Or did the camera's meter get it right the first time?
Did he have to bracket?
Did he figure out the exposure manually and dial it in?
What did his bad shots look like? Why were they bad? Was it photographer error, or weakness of the camera? How could we tell, we didn't even see them?

Another problem with "evaluating" digital cameras online is that the pics you see have been through two levels of jpg compression. So if you look at his photo of a car at night, you can see two major problems.
1. There is significant chromatic aberration around the moon. This is common flaw in digital cameras. Good cameras don't have this. But is that aberration a result of the poor quality of the camera or the jpg compression algorithm? I can't tell by looking at that picture.
(BTW - I think I see similar chromatic problems on the underside of the TX rat snake. Was that a camera problem? A compression problem? Did the snake really have that coloration?)
2. There is significant vignetting in the car at night shot. Is this a lens flaw or a compression problem? No way to tell from that shot, but it sure makes me wonder about the problem.

I was just making the statement that there are too many variables to be able to make a realistic evaluation of a digicam based on pictures you see posted online. To get a real impression, you would need intimate knowledge of the photographer, the subject, the equipment, the way the picture was taken, what manipulation was done to the image, etc.

Whether that was your goal or not, it is a common goal of people who make such posts here on this forum. I was just trying to point out a shortcoming of such an approach.

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Chris Harrison

I asked for photos without an explaination of why and wham...snide comments. If I were looking to get a total break down of camera vs camera Id have went to a professional site or store. Regardless of your level of expertise with digital photography if you'd have offered the information from the second post it may have been helpfull to someone but not the first, it was little more than a attempt for attention. Thinking before you speak is a wise thing to do in the business world (and everywhere else) ie:for instance a month or year from now Cindy or myself see one of your ads or you one of ours and initiate a transaction.....theres a very good chance a future sale is lost because we wanted to be cute.

**for those that have gotten this far, Im still interested in your photos and what model it was taken with...I appreciate you humoring me if nothing else.**

Regards,
Bill Horn
BriarpatchHerps@aol.com

Here is a picture taken with a Nikon coolpix SQ.

I was at the zoo today and this butterfly just came out of its cocoon a few minutes before I took this shot.

Enjoy

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Erik Melander
All Eyes On You Web Media Productions
erik@alleyesonyou.ca
www.alleyesonyou.ca

NECKED CATS WILL RULE THE WORLD ONE DAY! Hehehehe Ya know they have a 'so ugly they are cute' thing going one. You think that one is bad, the ones with no flesh coloration look just WEIRD!
>>
>>Dear PHFaust,
>>I am cat lover, and have always been one, but that is the ugliest cat I have ever seen!
>>And thanks for the 2200x1700 pic. I really enjoyed what parts of it I could see!
>>JK - LOL

PS Remembered to resize image file size but not pic size. Was WAY to excited about having my cool pix. Reviews were soooo good on that. Now to actually LEARN how to use the camera!
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Cindy
PHFaust
Email Cindy
Land of the Outcasts!

It has a wonderful macro mode.

All of my pics are taken with a Nikon CoolPix 4500 with no attachments or gadgets. Check out my photos in the link below these two pics.

Macro shot

My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

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MY COLLECTION

I've taken a few with both a Coolpix 4500 and a Coolpix 995. See the link. All pictures on there that were taken by me from March this year on were using the 4500... I think the first three galleries linked on that page are all 4500, and most of the photos have a date listed.

Patrick Alexander
Link