A Complete Novice Review of the Coolpix 4300

Author's Rating:

Pros: Auto, pre-set Scene and Manual modes. Lithium rechargable battery and charger incuded. 4 MegaPixels.

Cons: None that I can think of.

The Bottom Line: 
Easy enough to handle for complete newcomers and advanced enough for amateur photographers this camera is the perfect camera to learn on and develop your skills as a digital photographer.

Author's Review
Lets get something out of the way before I start.

I am a Novice. A N00b if you will. To give you an idea of how new I am to digital photography, my previous camera was a Hewlett Packard 215 PhotoSmart (with an included whopping 4 MB compactflash card!!). Horrible picture quality; the thing has a shutter and a scroll wheel to select pictures. That's it.

Anyway, I decided to go with the Coolpix 4300 (quite a step up for me) because it gives me exactly what I need. Automatic and Scene modes for point and shoot situations and manual controls so I can develop my skills as a digital photographer.

I got the camera yesterday and I am already learning new things like how to play with the exposure and other settings to achieve interesting results with light, etc.

This camera is quite impressive. It has a light, small body however it is quite comfortable to handle -and I have large hands-. I was suprprised in that sense because I was expecting a very hi-tech gadget that would be hard to handle; not the case. It has a big comfortable grip with adequate position for the shutter and settings wheel at the tip of your thumb.

The included manual is basic but clear. You will need to dig around on-line for tips and tricks that might help you achieve what you need -if you're into that-.

The camera has full maual mode that lets you control every single aspect of your picture. I have yet to learn many things here, therefore I will keep out of that. All I know is that I was looking for a camera that would allow me to learn all this in order to make my own pictures and achieve my own unique results.

For the average point-shoot situation, this camera has more than what you need. It has preset Automatic Scene modes that cover pretty much every single situation you might want to shoot under normal circumstances. And they actually work. Choose nightscape mode and you will be able to capture dim lights in dark backgrounds for example. Choose firework mode and you will be able to capture the explosion of fireworks as intended instead of just dots of light.

The camera includes a re-chargeable lithium battery and a charger, which is also one of the things I was very excited about. After owning the piece of junk I had before that would deplete a brand new set of 4 AA batteries in about 45 minutes, I decided that my next camera MUST have rechargeable battery. So far, I have not depleted the first charge. However I understand that a full charge with LCD on at all times will last for about 90 minutes. Not bad, although you might want to buy a spare one.

The included memory card allows you to test the camera and make sure it works properly. It is not intended to be your every day use memory card. That's why it's called a "starter" card. I hear people complain about why Nikon does not include a larger one with it's camera and this and that... well, when you buy a film camera you don't expect it to come with a lifetime supply of film, do you? Same here. The digital film is up to you -I was able to pick up a 256MB ScanDisk CF card at Costco for $45.00 so when I got the camera, the card was already waiting for it.- A 256 Card is plenty unless you plan on taking 300 pictures in one day.

The camera also has a movie mode that lets you record short 40sec silent clips. I hear many people complain about that too. Personally I could care less about this feature. One day I might find it useful, but I am one of those people that is aware that this is a digital camera, not a video recorder therefore I appreciate the feature as a little bonus not as a main function.

As I said in the beginning, I am completely new to manual settings in Digital cameras, although I do know how to handle film SLR's therefore I am catching up quickly but this is the perfect camera for the beginner that needs the flexibility of automatic modes that work and manual modes that let your skills grow as a learning photographer.

I might grow out of this camera one day and will be ready for a D-1 but until that day comes, this camera is just what I need.

Plus, at around $350.00 it doesn't get much better than this.