Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Since I bought this camera in July, I have run over 800 exposures through it. The Coolpix 950 takes some getting used to and the manuals are required reading, but this is a camera worth learning how to use. There are two manuals, one printed and one on CD-ROM, plus the Getting Started sheet. You need to look at all three; each contains information not present in the other documents. The macro capability is phenomenal. I have a picture of a dime that fills most of the frame. The ability to push the sensitivity of the CCD to ISO 400 and to overexpose by up to two f/stops allows even night pictures by available street light. The enhanced speed (at some cost in picture quality) also allows candids by available light. The Coolpix is also quiet in operation, even quieter if you shut off the discreet beeper that tells you that you have taken a shot. On the down side, you will have to spring for rechargeable batteries. I have gotten by so far with NiCd batteries plus a fast recharger. A ribbon on your lens cap is also highly recommended. I have also been having some trouble lately with my off-record-play switch, and there is some barrel distortion and color fringing in the lens at its wide-angle setting. The lens' focus at its landscape setting also seems a little questionable at high magnification. I also wish that the manual focus settings weren't so coarse and that it were possible to do a completely manual exposure. (You can set either the shutter speed or the aperture manually, but not both simultaneously.) There is a noticeable delay between pushing the button and actually getting an exposure. This is sometimes a problem for candids and sports photography and when working with animals, but I have still gotten successful pictures in all these categories, and the Coolpix is faster than most digital cameras in this respect. Other than these few small problems, I am happy with the quality of the pictures I have been getting, and it is small enough for me to carry on my belt for instant access. I could never carry a standard 35 mm camera with similar capability around like that. The Coolpix seems to be holding up well mechanically, even though it gets bumped now and again. (The extra batteries do get a little lumpy when I sit down, though!)