not getting the most out of my Nikon

[jess128]

I've been wanting a DSLR for a while now and last year for my birthday my parents got me a Nikon Coolpix P100. Not exactly the camera I was looking for but they are expensive and as my first 'real' camera, I figured this would do for a while. But I still really feel like I'm not getting the pictures I want. I do need to spend some more time with the user manual, but so far I haven't had any luck using the manual settings, so I just shoot in auto mode. Sometimes my pictures looks fantastic, sometimes not at all. It's really hit or miss. Have any of you used this camera? Is it just good for your everyday picture taking or can I get some more creative shots out of it? I've been getting really frustrated because I get these creative ideas in my head so I get excited about getting my camera out, but then I'm disappointed that I'm not able to execute the shot that I want. Also as of now I can't afford a DSRL, so I guess I'm wondering if I should just save my pennies for one or if I should be able to get some more use out of this P100 if I learn how to use it better. Any suggestions? Thanks!
-Jessica

[Photologyst]

The Nikon CP 100 has some image quality problems. It is really geared toward auto program modes. You should read your manual to comprehend how to use those programs.

Take photos of the same subject with different settings.

Post some photos on DPS.


For the same amount of money you could get a previously loved or refurbished DSLR.

[jml79]

I have not handled a P100 but it seems similar to my Canon SX20is and dpreview put it slightly below in IQ. I am not sure about the interface but my canon does it's best in the priority modes or P so that I can have some control. Manual is just to finicky without a finger wheel like a DSLR. The good news is that these cameras have most of the functions of a DSLR so they really can be a learning tool. What you are missing is depth of field control. It is just outright difficult to get bokeh out of the super zoom camera's. It can be done but not easily.

What are the specific issues you are having? I don't have a Nikon but I am very familiar with the limitations of small sensor super zooms. Give some more info to help you out.

As for buying a used DSLR, I bought a Sony A100 with 3 lenses and a bunch of accessories for under $300. Good deals can be found you just have to look hard.

[zona5101]

continue to work towards your dslr but it is NOT going to be a magic wand. Really get to understand what has happened when the image you envisioned doesn't come out as you planned. I'll bet a good bunch are not a limitation of your particular camera.

[inkista]

In full Manual mode, you have to take control over the exposure: the camera doesn't set it for you. This is a feature not a bug. You have to understand how iso, aperture, and shutter speed work and interact with each other, and what your light meter is telling you. Also your histogram.

When you're in the non-M modes, the camera uses the meter to set the exposure in your camera. That's why you're not used to looking at it. The needle's always bang in the middle, and you use exposure compensation to adjust the exposure. When you shoot in full Manual, that needle is going to be wherever your settings have put it. You have to adjust the settings to get that needle to sit on 0 (or wherever you want it to be). The point here is that full Manual does not straight-jacket you into whatever the camera's autoexposure system thinks is a good exposure. It lets you do whatever you want. If you aren't paying attention to your meter, you can royally screw up the exposure.

My recommendation would be to get comfortable in either P or A mode, first, using exposure compensation. And then try moving to full Manual. Like going from driving an automatic to driving stick. I would also highly recommend studying the basics of the "exposure triangle". A really good book for this is Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure, which has just had a 3rd edition (where he finally makes a weasly footnote about diffraction effect and f/22, but still forgets to mention he's shooting with a full frame camera. Sigh).

While I haven't used a P100, it looks very much like a typical P&S bridge camera, which are the most highly capable of the P&S cameras in general purpose outdoors photography. The one thing they lack is low-light capability. But if you get a P&S that can handle low light, it typically won't have the zoom range of a bridge camera. Depending on what you're trying to shoot, the camera could be holding you back, but for the most part, I think it's probably a better camera than you think, and that whatever problems you're having, a dSLR probably wouldn't solve them, but in fact could exacerbate them by giving you a more limited lens and adding focusing and processing issues into the mix.

dSLRs are much like manual-shift cars. They're for the folks who are control junkies, who want to wring every last bit of performance out of their machine, and are willing to go to a lot of trouble to do so. dSLRs give you more control over processing, over focusing, over lenses, over lighting, over exposure. But you have to learn how to do all that, and none of it is trivially easy. Not to mention? Liveview and exposure simulation is not a default for dSLRs. Compared to your bridge camera, with a dSLR, you'll lose supertelephoto range, macro capability, and (possibly) HD video. You'll have to buy another lens to get the supertelephoto back (which will probably cost more than the camera). Another lens to get the macro back (which will probably cost about half what the camera did). A bag to put everything in. And more lenses to get the touted low-light performance capability. And you'll still have limits on what you can do. A dSLR is not a magic bullet, or even a straight-forward upgrade. It's a completely different way of doing things. And, just like transitioning to a stick shift, you're gonna spend a lot of time grinding gears at first.

I'd say get used to your P100--learn what every feature on it is for and what its limits are. And get comfortable in P, A, and M modes. Those will give you the most control over the camera and exposure, and help prepare you for shooting with a dSLR.

[Photologyst]

Great answer, Inkista, with the exception of one thing.

The analogy of the manual vs. auto shift car. I learned to drive a stick first and owned these for many years. I can stop, turn and control such a vehicle on a dime.

Still, the computer is much more efficient than a human being, no matter how good a driver.

Four wheel drive is a terrible thing to have during inclement weather. What you want is computer controlled, all wheel drive along with that automatic tranny. Many a 4 wheel vehicle can be seen turned over on the side of the road when the snow and ice hit.

The computer on the camera is different, than that of a car. Control freaks can follow their artistic vision in manual, but they don’t have to worry about not reacting appropriately in a snow storm.

I fully agree that she should learn to shoot well with the P & S first, and then consider a DSLR.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Photologyst

...Four wheel drive is a terrible thing to have during inclement weather. What you want is computer controlled, all wheel drive along with that automatic tranny. Many a 4 wheel vehicle can be seen turned over on the side of the road when the snow and ice hit.

That's more to do with the height and wheelbase and great big gobs of driver ignorance than the transmission, imho. Personally, I don't think you want four-wheel with automatic transmission as much as you need serious amounts of off-road training and practice, a differential lock, and a granny gear. But I'm weird about these things, since my brother-in-law used to restore pre-emissions-code Rovers as a hobby, and he thinks synchromesh is for wusses.

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by inkista

That's more to do with the height and wheelbase and great big gobs of driver ignorance than the transmission, imho. Personally, I don't think you want four-wheel with automatic transmission as much as you need serious amounts of off-road training and practice, a differential lock, and a granny gear. But I'm weird about these things, since my brother-in-law used to restore pre-emissions-code Rovers as a hobby, and he thinks synchromesh is for wusses.

LOL

Well, I’d rather be a live, in-one-piece wuss, than a maimed or dead macho 4 wheeler.


I live in a state where people can barely walk a straight line, much less drive properly.


I love my all wheel with auto tran.