Must remove battery to charge, flimsy plastic keeping it in
that I'm afraid is going to break.
- Picture organizing software not great. I want to be able to
delete photos, and only can from "some" directory views
of them.

I was agonzing over this vs the Canon a610. I didn't like
the Canon's larger size or AA batteries. ________________________________________________________________

          
Ignore what you've read from other users, PLEASE!, March 16, 2006
Reviewer: K. Hueftle
I read all these reviews and cannot FOR THE LIFE OF ME understand all the crying and whining about the WiFi mode. I keep hearing how "complicated" and "annoying" it is, but this is just plain WRONG. I actually set my WiFi up yesterday, and do you want to know how long it took me? About a minute. Pop in the setup CD, click "wireless setup only", plug your camera in by the USB cable (you need only do this the first time to set up! The setup CD will give you all the directions, just follow along), install it (takes all of a few seconds), choose your connection mode, name, and icon, and you're DONE. Then unplug the USB cable (you now no longer need it!), rotate the click-wheel at the top of the camera to wifi-mode, click "ok" and VOILA (you'll see the WiFi antenna flash blue). Easy as that, and it will download all of the images in your camera at a fast speed without any wires needed. How in God's name are people making this out to be a big deal?

Read your manual and you'll be fine. I did my homework for literally months and ended up choosing this model. I know cameras and this is easily the best deal for the money. Do get familiar with the scene modes, they're absolutely phenomenal and there is something for every shot and angle. Each scene mode has a choice of 3 different effects, which is really nice. The variety of shots you will be able to take is second to none. 5 MP is a perfect compromise for image quality, resolution, and price. Nikon as always is top-rate. Photography is something that seems to run in the family and when my grandfather approved this camera, I knew it was truly great.

The screen on this thing is AMAZING. 2.5 inches! The loss of the viewfinder is something you won't even notice, the LCD is a far more accurate tool anyway. Erasing pictures is simple, operating the zoom is a piece of cake, and the Zoom Nikkor lense is one of the best on the market, (along with the SchneiderKreuznach lenses on the Kodaks and the Carl Zeiss lenses on the Sonys). Nothing against Canon's Elph line because they're amazing, but the lense on the Nikon is better and I honestly feel that the Canon models are overpriced. Ever picked up an SD400 or 450? They feel far too tiny and almost flimsy. The SD500 and 550 are a bit better, but there's virtually NOTHING to grip. Trust me, when you want to really focus on a subject and get the perfect shot, the LAST thing you want is not to have a firm enough grip on your camera and have it slip. This also increases the likelihood of dropping it, which is never a good thing! Some complain that the red-eye reducer takes too long. The flash will go off three times in red-eye-eliminator mode, so if you're taking a picture of your dog, turn it OFF, (because the subject will have moved by then). For people though, it will be fine. The P2 comes with great software and it will take all of 5 seconds to remove red-eye manually once uploaded if the time before the final flash goes off bothers you too much. I've heard whining about the P2's size...why? Pick one up if you can look at one in person. They're wondefully compact yet still have a heft to them, and a very substantial hand grip that doubles as the battery casing. It's all metal and beautifully designed, the worksmanship speaks for itself. Nikon is a great choice, and I also recommend Olympus and Kodak (Kodaks are the king of easy-to-use cameras).

Even full price for this camera is worth it (400 dollars), though you'll see it advertised from between 250-350, which are very fair prices. You're going to love it, it's a very capable little machine that will take you gorgeous pictures. Nothing is off-limits and there is a scene mode for any situation. I have NO regrets. The rechargable battery is good to have and will save you money. I HIGHLYYYY recommend you purchase LCD screen covers to protect your very-large LCD screen. These can be bought on Ebay in packs of 3 for about 10 dollars with shipping.
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great features at a great price, February 26, 2006
Reviewer: J. King
I was looking for a snapshot camera to replace a 1.3MP camera function on a Canon video camera. The Coolpix P2 is compact, and takes capable pictures in most settings. Auto red eye reduction works as advertised. Wifi capability helps reduce wire clutter in transferring images. I set up an adhoc or peer to peer wifi connection. I Recommend reading the good techical help section on Nikon's website to help you set it up. It is found at: http://support.nikontech.com/. Screen resolution and size is adequate, if a bit difficult to see under bright outdoors. A helpful feature I found is the built in "help" function. If you can't remember what Effect 1 and Effect 2 accomplish under the Party/Indoor setting, the help button will tell you. Now you don't need to carry around the camera manual. Facial tones seem natural, landscapes pleasant, with blue skies. Great snapshot camera. Prints came out very good to excellent also.
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Do Not Buy The P2 For Its Wi-Fi Capability, February 11, 2006
Reviewer: C. Holliday
The P2's overall quality is quite good as one would expect from a Nikon product However, the wi-fi capabilty is poorly done for two reasons:

1) Wireless support software ONLY runs on XP; this bit of info is not listed anywhere I have found including the product's packaging

2) Must upload a profile to the camera from the PC (i.e., one cannot configure the wi-fi in the camera itself)

The only reason I did not return the camera is because even without the wi-fi capability, the camera is still a good value.

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