5.1-megapixel effective recording * 3X optical Zoom-Nikkor ED lens (4X digital/12X total zoom) * 35mm equivalent lens focal length: 38-114mm * approximately 13.5 MB of built-in memory (holds about 5 images at highest quality setting) * 2" color LCD *
1 Pleased, but not entirely thrilled. sample photos link here
Here's a link to some 3MP and 1 5MP random pics I took. Click on the dog to view more.
http://www.pbase.com/digitaltim/nikon_5900_pics
Overall I'm very happy with this camera.
I'm not crazy about the lack of sharpness, but I think it might be from motion blur. Some shots are fairly clear, but I'm often deleting fuzzy pics. I have a couple digital olympus cameras that are 2X the size, but much clearer. The 640 X 480 30fps videos w/ sound are great, especially considering its a compact camera - no complaints in the videos. The sound in the video is better than I expected, not perfect -->adequate. (my latest camcorder is a canon zr-85, which I'm weighing my opinions against in the video department) The cam lightens videos when needed. It's useful for candle or dimly lit rooms.
The camera feels solid, its fun to use, and easy. For me its a nice point and shoot.
Its tough to say whether or not I'd buy this again. The pics are good, not excellent. I think alot of the sharpness problems would be fixed with a tripod. I'm really happy with the video quality from this camera, but I'd look at other cams before deciding.
2 Excellent quality:price ratio!
This is my first digital camera. Before this I owned a Pentax and a Canon SLR and a Canon ELPH APS camera. I was pretty set on getting a Canon, but after doing a lot of online research and visiting many camera stores, I decided on the Nikon CoolPix 5900 - and I'm glad I did.
As far as I can tell this camera beats every other in its price range on advanced features. I won't go over them here, you can look at the product description for a list of them, then go to the page for the Canon SD300 (or any other brand) and compair. Also note that the SD400, Canon's 5MP camera, is actually priced at $399 and the 4MP SD300 is at $349, though you can currently get discounts on both. More importantly, the standard image quality is on-par with Canon and Sony (the only real competition in this range if you ask me), and when you throw in in-camera red-eye removal and D-Lighting it goes a step beyond. I know there are many other quality companies making cameras in this price range, but after reviewing actual prints from just about every one, it became aparent that Canon and Nikon in particular always looked noticably better in my opinion.
Also of note are the quality Nikkor ED optics, sturdy and light aluminum body, 2" LCD with a stunningly (really) high refresh rate and an excellen user interface, 640x480 movie mode at 30FPS with sound and surprisingly long battery life.
I highly recommend this product to anyone looking into getting a digital camera or looking to replace their aging one.
3 Great camera.
I purchased this camera as a replacement for a stolen Canon SD300. The camera is very light and only slightly less compact than the SD300 (while having a much better grip). The 2" screen is bright with very high refresh rate. Similarly to the SD300, the user interface is easy to navigate and the camera rips through images very quickly. I actually prefer the interface and the number of manual settings of this Nikon. The lens is fantastic and provides very nice and crisp photos with little noise. I am very happy with its picture quality and plethora of manual settings. The auto-focus is, in my opinion, not as fast and robust as the Canon's 9-point AiAF. However, I still need to experiment with it more. Pictures taken in the macro mode are exceptional. In my opionion, this is currently the best compact camera in the $350 range. Highly recommended.
