Nikon Coolpix 8400 8MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens
by Nikon
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: NikonModel: COOLPIX8400
Product features:
- 8.0 effective megapixels for photo-quality prints beyond 20 x 30 inches
- 3.5x ultra-wide angle optical Zoom-Nikkor ED 24-85mm lens (35mm equivalent) for sharp, clear images
- 15 Scene Modes automatically adjust controls for great pictures instantly
- D-Lighting improves images shot with strong back lighting or insufficient flash
- Compact all-metal body provides a strong yet lightweight easy-to-carry camera
- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Upgrade [Old Version]
- Serif PhotoPlus X3
- Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]
- Aperture 3
- Pixelmator [Old Version]
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Nikon Coolpix 8400 8MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens
Customer Review: The Shutter Lag and EVF Will Drive You Nuts
Summary: 2 Stars
If you're looking to capture "The Decisive Moment" with the Nikon Coolpix 8400, STOP---DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA!!! For that matter, carefully check any digicam or other camera with which you want to capture "action," because what you think you see, may not be what the camera has the ability to capture as an image.
Let me briefly explain where I'm coming from: I made my living as a field photojournalist for 40 years. By the time I retired out of the business I had probably created something like a million color and b&w film images. I owned and used mostly Nikon equipment all those years (although I sure liked working with Leica rangefinder cameras and short focal length lenses), starting with the original Nikon F SLR (which I still have) and finishing up with the N90S and probably ten different lenses of varying focal lengths. I like Nikon equipment a lot.
I decided to begin working with digital images last year. I was attracted to the Coolpix 8400 because the "spread" on the zoom lens was the 35mm camera equivalent of 24mm--85mm. When I worked with film I probably used my 24mm and 105mm Nikkors more than any others in my bag, so this little Coolpix beauty had just about what I was looking for in one package.
Let me say that while the problems with the viewfinder and shutter lag make this camera absolutely useless for editorial photojournalism, it is, nevertheless, a marvel of human ingenuity. For many other uses---such as taking pictures of fire hydrants or cows standing in a pasture (put another way, things that don't move), it works wonderfully well.
Seriously, I shot an assignment here in Tucson that was essentially architectual in nature. The images can only be described as superb (if I do say so myself). I worked only with the camera and a tripod on the shoot. Working inside I simply changed the light balance within the menu on the 8400 (which you can pretty much do on any digital camera these days), did not have to check the scene with a separate exposure meter, etc. Point being that with film I often carried a bunch of light balancing filters and sometimes a separate Gossen exposure meter and all sorts of lights to shoot an assignment. Even then, I'd sweat blood until I could get the processed film on a light table. Of course with digital, I (you) don't have to worry about any of that stuff. One can check the image immediately and know instantly if you're good to go.
Alas, the shutter lag on this, and many other digital cameras made these days, is the "downcheck" which makes me unable to recommend the 8400. There is also the delay in the electronic viewfinder to deal with. The combination of shutter and viewfinder lag make it absolutely impossible to capture an image, the precise composition of which lasts only a split-second. I have taken many good pictures of people working, "action" shots and the like, but it was only by taking large numbers of images of any given activity and then retaining the one or two that said what I intended that I achieved my purpose. Essentially, my shooting eye (which is pretty damned good) had nothing to with it. It's like a soldier trying to kill an enemy with a machine-gun---if he fires enough rounds, one of them is going to hit the other guy. Marksmanship has nothing to do with it. Same-same shooting with electronic viewfinders and shutter lag. If you shoot enough images, statistically you're probably going to get a good one. But it's not a very good way to do things.
So if you're looking to capture what Henri Cartier-Bresson (I'm not sure I've spelled his name correctly) so artfully described as "The Decisive Moment," look at a digital single-lens reflexes, or wait for improvements in digicams.
Description of Nikon Coolpix 8400 8MP Digital Camera with 3.5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens
The Nikon Coolpix 8400 incorporates an 8 megapixel CCD for prints as large as 20 x 30 inches. With a focal distance of 24-85mm (35mm equivalent), the 8400?s 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor ED lens offers ultra-wide angle capability. The lens includes ED Glass elements, which ensure incredible sharp, clear images. 15 Scene Modes make it easy to take great pictures, and Nikon?s exclusive In-Camera Red-Eye Fix automatically corrects most typical instances of red-eye during the picture taking process. D-Lighting improves images where the subject is in shadow or back lit. The camera?s compact, all-metal body provides a strong yet lightweight camera, and its superior photographic controls maximize the creative possibilities. The camera accepts type I and type II CompactFlash cards. The 8 Megapixel CCD and a 3.5x optical (24-85mm, 35mm equivalent) Zoom-Nikkor lens means stunning wide-angle images at a 3,264 x 2,448 max. resolution (23MB file). Create amazing prints at sizes up to 20"x30". The lens uses aspherical elements, Super Integrated Coating and ED (extra-low dispersion) Glass for superior image quality. The compact design, implemented in a rugged magnesium alloy, makes the Coolpix 8400 a comfortable camera to hold and use. The 8400 was designed for stress-free operation; all controls are accessible through natural finger movements. The result is a strong yet lightweight and easy-to-carry digital camera.Digital Cameras
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