This camera takes great pictures! It fits very nicely in the hand. With the use of the optional thread extender, your choices of lenses, filters and accesories are limitless. I've used this camera for over a year now and it's still the best camera I've ever owned.
Strengths:
great picture quality. thread extender allows use of accesory lens/filters.
Weaknesses:
here's the bad part! recently had the PLASTIC tripod mount strip out on me! Nikon wants 85 bucks to fix it... not worth it in my case. the off/on switch turns on while sliding the camera into it's soft case (if you use that one)
Similar Products Used:
Agfa E-click
Casio uv-2000?
Canon s-10
Nikon 990
Customer Service:
I'd rate the service as very poor. with shipping they want 100 bucks to fix a poor design flaw in the camera (plastic tripod mount) and aren't even willing to talk to me unless I send the camera to th
Wow, thought I had used the best until I tried this one!!This camera at today's prices is difficult to surpass.Very, very nice!!My Favorite camera, a definite winner
Strengths:
(1) Extremly sharp glass,(as good as the Sony Ziess!!)
(2)- macro shpuld be renamed MICRO, the results are nothing short of stunning!!
(3)-Metering is very good, most accurate that I have used
(4)- colors rendition is brilliant and well saturated, without looking unnaturel, reds are great and not blown out.
(4)- menu is intuitive, auto mode produces great images, scene mode is also very useful!!
Weaknesses:
I suppose battery life is an issue.But I have used a Li-on,nonrechargeable, and have been quite happy,(I will soon purchase the EL1 rechargeable)
Similar Products Used:
Sony's DSC-75, 707,Fuji's 4800, 1700, 2300 and 2900, Casio's 2900, 3000 and QV4000,(a very disappointing camera)
Customer Service:
Have not needed.Should you be interested in purchasing one, please email me,price 350.00, plus shipping.You will not be dissapointed!!
This is a solid camera with very good image quality. The zoom is only 2x, but is very good. Edges are mostly sharp and there is minimal chromatic abberations. I've seen the 885 sample images and they don't look as good to me. It seems like the 880 was a very good effort by Nikon to make a handholdable brick. It is kinda chunky, but feels solid. One way SLRs can match- I can drop the 880 (and I have) and nothing happens to it! I even jammed the lens, but then pushed it back in and nothign happened- this is a great snap shooter. In Fine full res mode I can get almost 200 shots on my 256Meg card! That is like 8 rolls of film- and I have done it too. For 8x10 printable images- they look colorful and somewhat accurate in tones. This is way better than other brands of digital cameras. The camera does best with images of medium to low contrast- I get the best detail this way and when printed with Qimage, I swear I almost favor it to scanning film because shot-to-printing is so effortless. I carry it around as a supplement to my SLR for the everyshot, using my SLR for the keeper shot, but I have many keeper shots from the 880. Printing at 8x10inch gives me about 200 Pixels Per Inch, which I think is very acceptable. Surely, amateurs don't enlarge most of the time, but now I don't even bother with 4x6 prints, I just enlarge the ones I like to at least 8x10 and hang them on the wall. Super easy with a decent camera with a decent lens. Very nice quality lens- equivalent to an serious amateur lens, which is saying a lot. Night images are superb with hand holding ability to 1 sec. Thank the small CCD size and corresponding smaller lens.
Strengths:
very respectable image quality- Nikon cares about it. Resolution good and clean, with few lens abberations(important). Durable, nothing to really break. Fastest, easiest way from shot to print.
Weaknesses:
flash is almost useless (no range). Chunky, 885 may be smaller, but I like 880 lens better. ON switch too switchable. lenscap fits too well. Sometimes sluggish first shot performance. Matrix metering on Nikon Digital is complex, not as predictable as on my Nikon FA+others.
Similar Products Used:
similar others Oly-too much chromatic abberations, but good form factor, others- colors strange and reddish. Nikon has best balance, looks most natural.
Customer Service:
dead pixel in LCD, might send it in. good value since discontinued. excellent performance in its field. Oh, be sure to buy rechargeable L-ion from Digipower.
Rating Reviewed by: Mario (Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date February 24, 2002
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Value Rating 4 of 5
Used product for 2-5 years
Review 4 of 41
Price Paid:
$590.00
Summary:
Nice all around camera. Great for outdoor shots. Lack of TWAIN support is a bit inconvenient and forces us to use the "Nikon View" software which is quite lacking.
Strengths:
Awesome outdoor fotos. Also takes great pictures when indoor lighting is sufficient. Can also take a mini video (no sound) and can hook up to a TV to view pictures, no PC needed. I have developed several pictures at ofoto.com and the quality surpasses some of my 35MM prints. I use a 128 Meg flash card and can store 77 shots in the highest quality and 2200 in the lowest. The camera is very lightweight and compact. Battery life is average.
Weaknesses:
Indoor shots require lots of lighting and the flash will give you strange effects at times. There is no TWAIN support and the included software (the only one possible to use due to the lack of TWAIN support) is very lacking. For example, if I have 60 pictures and want to transfer 59 and 60, I have to sit and wait for 1-58''s thumbnails first.
This camera is at a great deal now. Although it is a dated model, it has the resolution that you need for 8x10s.
The 885 is slightly less tall, but the same thickness- it is also a tad quieter, but has a noticeably smaller LCD and my fingers get
caught between the lense and the grip. Too small? Back to the 880:
From looking at sample images,the lens+CCD combo has some of the fewest purple fringing and sky/shadow artifacts of most consumer 3MP cameras.
With a fast CF card, the lag times are reasonable- the same or a tiny bit more than a zoom point and shoot film camera.
For sure, my SLR bodies are faster and surer. The 880s image colors are saturated and very neutral- they are very close to what I imagined they looked
when I took the shot. Matrix metering is superb and very predictable- you only run into problems with very high contrast (dark or light), which you
can usually fix with a tad of exposure compensation- the same as in film cameras, but then maybe I shouldn''t
be taking pictures in high noon!
To solve the expensive battery issue, I got a Digipower rechargeable pack, which also has a car adapter- so I can recharge onthe run- this makes
the 880 a great street/car camera. The zoom length isn''t all that great, but the images are really good- I''d prefer that
to a slightly longer lens. Using FINE mode is sufficient, I can''t justify the long wait times of Tiff mode or the memory usage.
On average, having a usable 3MP has allowed me to snap freely while running errands, saving me the random roll or 2 of film a week. the results are great
8x10s of images I normally would have neglected for lack of time/expense/spontaneity. I will still use my film
cameras for wide angle shots, landscapes, weddings, or anytime I need concrete high MP results (my Coolscan works much better for this and gives higher res results, but it takes much more
time to prep the image for printing). Also, film is great for making lots of prints for friends and family. The 880 is a great suppliment to my film gear
Strengths:
small
quick (when used with a fast CF card)
scrappy- tough with square edges
portable, not like my SLR bodies
fairly quiet if you learn to be discrete
customizable-great for SLR enthusiasts
super lens-in Nikon fashion-saturated, sharp, clean images
good algorithm-noiseless skys, noisefree shadows
FINE jpg is decent
at a good price-not like an expensive toy
Great LCD info on top-looks like a ''real'' camera
a real photographic tool, not toy
for what it can do and how well it takes images, 5/5 for rating/value
Weaknesses:
battery issue-Nikon is crippling users/buyers by leaving out a rechargeable- sort of cheesy, but that''s business
even the 775 includes the rechargeable battery
non integrated lens cap- possible to lose
a bit thick, but nothing to complain about if you seee the 995
switches don''t ''click'' like my Nikon FM-worry about plastic wear
grip is a bit uncomfortable compared to newer models- too many busy bumps