Nikon N75 - Great Value, Great Amateur/Semi-Pro Camera

Author's Rating:

Pros: Relatively simple, well-done body design, great pictures, and good for both auto and manual.

Cons: Tends to be a little non-intuitive in manual mode, flash can function oddly at times.

The Bottom Line: 
The N75 is good for all types of enthusiasts. An excellent buy for anyone looking for an SLR easy enough for snapshots, but also the capability for full manual control.

Author's Review
I chose the N75 over other comparable SLRs, thinking it provided me with the best photo quality and best features. It has not dissapointed in the least.

The first important quality of the N75 is the ease of use. This camera is pretty intuitive and simple. In addition to an automatic exposure mode, it has 5 different preset modes (portrait, landscape, closeup, action, and night), all available by turning a dial. This is all in addition to a fairly advanced auto-focus mode, which can be set to focus on different parts of the picture. Combine these two features, and you have a camera that can function as simply as point and shoot, with no manual adjustments needed.

However, if you are a more experienced photographer, there is no end of manual control over the pictures. You can easily switch to manual focus, and there are four manual exposure modes on the camera. These include Shutter and Aperture priority modes, and a full manual control mode where you can set shutter speed and aperture. The light meter is relatively intuitve, though occasionly is difficult to interpet in full manual mode. In addition, sometimes the pop-up flash will come up in manual mode when not wanted, and it can be difficult to turn off. There is also a handy depth of field preview function, that many comparable SLRs seem to not have, that shows you how deep an area of the picture will be in focus.

In addition to the relatively simple and powerful functional features of the camera, the body is fluid-looking and well designed. All necesary controls are within easy reach and well placed. An lcd display showing exposure settings and the number of frames left is on the top, easily readable. While the body is made of plastic and would not survive extreme conditions, it feels well engineered and put together.

Finally, the quality of the pictures are very good. They are clear, crisp, and very colorful. I can guarantee you will not be dissapointed with the results from this camera, as the pictures are much more impressive than those from disposables, or simple point and shoots.