Nikon Lens Error, March 10, 2006
Reviewer: Elston Hill "Elston"

I was down in Antarctica when I turned on the camera and it said "lens error". After a day of missing some of the best pictures of Emperor Penguins with my 8800, I twisted the lens and got it to work. The same thing happened to me in Bolivia, just after the warranty expired. I called Nikon and they insist there is no problem with the camera. Do a Google search of "lens error" and Nikon 8800 and you will find lots of unhappy people with the same experience. This is my third and last Nikon.
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Excellent 10x Optical Zoom and Vibration Reduction, December 16, 2005
Reviewer: Rachel Krein

I've sold Nikon cameras for 4 years. I've owned the Nikon N60 and N65 35mm SLR film cameras and a Nikon Coolpix 4300 digital camera. I am now down to one camera, the Nikon Coolpix 8800.

I bought the 8800 because of the 10x optical zoom (35mm-350mm) and because of the vibration reduction. I've owned it for about a year. I like the vibration reduction the best because I like to travel light and don't like to bring a tripod or monopod with me and I'm not the steadiest hand in photography. In lowlight conditions, some kind of support is definitely needed.

The zoom is absolutely amazing. I have used it on many occasions with outstanding results. I think Nikon is right on track to offer this kind of zoom with the vibration reduction.

I am very happy with the picture quality although I haven't made any prints larger than 12x18 yet. I've noticed that the 8800 picks up on subtle coloring and detail very well.

I also like the flip out LCD monitor. It's a great feature because of the different angles you can turn the monitor to help you get your shot and because you can clip it into the back of the camera so it's stationary. It's also nice because when you're not using the camera it can be clipped back into the camera with the LCD facing in so it doesn't get damaged.

I do wish this camera was the same size as the 8700 because that camera fit into my hands a little better. There are many more features to this camera that I didn't mention, but, I thought it would be helpful if I just pointed out my favorites. Overall, I highly recommend this camera to those who want more than a point and shoot camera, a large non-interchangeable zoom lens with vibration reduction and more versatility than your everyday camera.
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Expected more from this camera, buy a SLR, December 12, 2005
Reviewer: Doctor Z
I bought this camera few months after it came out. I like the features that it has. The Remote, the stabilization, the zoom.
Why, you ask I give this camera a 3 star?
well, first of all, I took many pictures with normal light. The results aren't as great as Nikon advertised. During my first use, I had pictures that for some odd reason gave ppl black lips. No, I know for sure that they weren't wearing any lipstick.
I asked Nikon support for this anomaly, they still haven't gotten back to me. I just updated the firmware today. Hopefully this makes a difference in normal picture taking situations. The lip color for some pictures is a mystery. I haven't seen this problem much lately. Maybe I don't take in door pictures as much.
The Remote, it doesn't work well either. It seems to work when it wants to work.
I do like Nikon's softwares that accompanies this camera.
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Image quality superb, December 7, 2005
Reviewer: One Happy Retiree
I've owned the 5700, then the 8700, and now the 8800. I've also owned a half-dozen high-level 35 mm film cameras over the years, beginning with the Nikon S2 in the 1950s ^|^. The 8800 is a fine upgrade and the 10X zoom and VR is FABULOUS! I do a lot of macro work, and tripods are not really always necessary these new days.

Best of all is the image quality: vibrant, plenty of "snap," and when recorded at 8Fine Jpeg, easily enlargeable/croppable to really big prints, with resolution to spare. AF works well, controls are more logically placed than its predecessors, still with far more bells and whistles than I'll ever use but they're not in the way. One TERRIFIC digicam. Complaints: ALL accessories are unique and available only at great price from Nikon. Bah!
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Slow Write Speed for RAW Format, November 4, 2005
Reviewer: LarryAOL
I've had the CoolPix 8800 for about 2 months. It is a remarkable alternative to more expensive digital SLR cameras. My first priority was to buy a camera that had RAW (Nikon NEF) file format capabilities. The 8800's 8-megapixel RAW images are 12 MB files. Even with a 50X CompactFlash memory card, individual files can take as long as 10 seconds to write/save. And while the file is saving, you can't adjust settings such as shutter speed or exposure. It can be a very frustrating wait.

I'll keep trying various high-speed cards, hoping I can get better results, and update this review if I find "the perfect card." (NOTE: Write times are much faster using the multiple JPG or TIFF formats. But if you're not going to use RAW, there are less expensive alternative cameras to consider.)

I would still buy this camera over anything else available when I purchased it. The 10X zoom with VR image stabilization is unbeatable!

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