[xico]

Is there some place that I can check out customer satisfaction ratings for web sites like US Camera or DigiBuy.com.

Im seriously thinking of getting a Coolpix 8800, but I want to make sure that Im going to get what I pay for.

Thnaks,

[rpndt1]

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

They give camera reviews but have also been known to rate seller's and stuff also. If you haven't already done so, i would highly suggest you check out your camera model here first. It is the most comprehensive guide I have found.

[xico]

Originally Posted by rpndt1

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

They give camera reviews but have also been known to rate seller's and stuff also. If you haven't already done so, i would highly suggest you check out your camera model here first. It is the most comprehensive guide I have found.

Thanks, rpndt1 The buyers' reviews are a kick!

[rpndt1]

good to hear. I wish I had known about this site before I bough my 600 dollar piece of crap Sony. Glad to see you aren't making the same mistake

[MSM Hobbes]

www.epinions.com has good reviews via actual users. I've also used http://www.dcresource.com and http://www.resellerratings.com in the past to check out some items/vendors of interest.

[xico]

Originally Posted by rpndt1

good to hear. I wish I had known about this site before I bough my 600 dollar piece of crap Sony. Glad to see you aren't making the same mistake

I don't know about mistakes. This purchasing is becoming quite complex. My son, who knows something about photography, is encouraging me to get the "best" for whatever I going to use it for. Well, photography is really an art form. I thought the Nikon Coolpix 8800 was really good, and it is--except almost all the reviews claim that the focusing doesn't work well in low light.
I can get it for $724--more than I really care to spend--but everything below that has all sorts of other problems. Now I'm being encouraged gently to go for the Canon EOS D20 which is $1500! Agreed that that is now what I really need at the moment, another son says, "Well, since you'll be taking photos of our work, what if the company buys the camera--or half the camera?" At first I said, "No." But after a night's sleep, that doesn't sound too bad. But that's the camera without the lens. This is really unrealistic. I'm going to have to become a professional photographer to get my money back. Mistakes? Maybe thinking about buying a camera was the first mistake? On the other hand, it would be a mistake to get less than what you want, cos that will always be chaffing under the skin. Lordy! Lordy!

[xico]

Originally Posted by MSM Hobbes

www.epinions.com has good reviews via actual users. I've also used http://www.dcresource.com and http://www.resellerratings.com in the past to check out some items/vendors of interest.

Thanks, MSM! I'll look up those sites too. From what I've seen thus far "Electric Sams" appears to be the most reasonable and the most reliable and customer friendly. They had very, very few negative reviews. And the reviews on the Cannon EOS 20D there were no cons. And there shouldn't be for that price! The Coolpix 8800 from Nikon all had comments about slow functioning in low light. Hate to buy something and then have regrets.

[jgjulio]

I have a Nikon 8800 and love it. Go to:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1007
This is dpreview's forum for Nikon. Many 8800 users have posted pro's and con's to this camera.
Low light focus problems are common among digital cameras. My experience with this camera so far (since Christmas) is that most of the problems reported are due to not knowing how to use the camera and its settings.

The vibration reduction feature and the extremely long lens make it unique to the non SLR digital camera. It is worth looking at seriously.
Have fun with which ever camera you buy!

[xico]

Originally Posted by jgjulio

I have a Nikon 8800 and love it. Go to:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1007
This is dpreview's forum for Nikon. Many 8800 users have posted pro's and con's to this camera.
Low light focus problems are common among digital cameras. My experience with this camera so far (since Christmas) is that most of the problems reported are due to not knowing how to use the camera and its settings.

The vibration reduction feature and the extremely long lens make it unique to the non SLR digital camera. It is worth looking at seriously.
Have fun with which ever camera you buy!

Wow! Thank you, jgjulio! Cool! Your post makes sense!
Thank you!

[jgjulio]

xico if you intend to take a lot of indoor low light ACTION (such as candids of kids in motion) then this camera will disappoint without the external flash. Most of the negatives that I have read and experienced is with the above scenario.
The focus system "sees" contrast and low contrast situations make it confused. Low light situations are usually low contrast. This camera on its own stumbles.
I recently bought the external flash unit (the 800) and it basically fixes all the above issues, and adds more functionality and "goodies" to make your photos really improve.

The flash unit has a strong red prefocus light that "paints" your scene with contrast. The flas zooms with the lens. It swivels up, down, right, left.

Anyway I am glad you thought my post helpful.

[xico]

That's a cool forum too. Very assuring. Thanks again! I'm going to order the Coolpix 8800 now!

[MSM Hobbes]

jgjulio, on that dig photog forum site.

[xico]

Originally Posted by MSM Hobbes

jgjulio, on that dig photog forum site.

Excellent, isn't it!

[xico]

Thanks again, jgjulio! I bought the coolpix 8800 this afternoon from buydig!
Samselectric also sounded like a very good site, but buydig's been in business for 20 years--that sold me.

[jgjulio]

xico congratulations on your new purchase. Now the sweet pain of anticipation while you wait for it to arrive!
While you are waiting here is another link for you to virtually play with your camera.
http://www.nikonusa.com/livemanuals/...ber=&fb=1&ss=0

Also when you get the camera, check on the version of your firmware that came loaded on the camera. There was an update in December from 1.3 to 1.4. You should have 1.4. If you dont have 1.4 then update your camera from:
http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin...&p_cat_lvl1=23

Also you probably will want to buy a high capacity CF card. I think 512 is the minimum size you will want but the 1 gig is better. With 8mega pixels your pictures will be quite large. There is also a lot of talk about the "fast cards" vs the "slow cards".
I took the advice found on the dpreview forum and bought a fast card but not the very fast ones. The advice basically was that the maximum speed the camera is able to download to a card is 24X. Any faster than that you are overbuying speed.
According to a few posts on dpreview, Nikon uses Lexar as their CF card when designing their cameras....