Reviews for Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8 mm-24 mm - Silver

Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Outstanding image quality, very sharp. Very small and portable. Small good quality lens suitable for digiscoping. small price so it's a very good value for the money.

Weakness: Only F2.8 or F7.6 at wide angle and only F 3.8 and F13 at telephoto. More range would be much better! Poor focusing in macro mode and difficult to adjust the depth of field due to limited F number.

This camera produce very sharp images. At a price of around 415$ now, it is the best value for the money that one can buy. It is a bit limited in F range and that's my only grieve with it. The Nikon 4300 is VERY clear of red noise as opposed to the 5700 or 4500 which I could not bare the red noise in the sky. The colors are great and the camera auto-connect easily and has fast transfer. The battery life is not very good and I whish that the camera would support Nimh!

The body is all plastic yet it feel Ok. I cannot say that if feels as solid as the Canon G2 or the Sony S85 which I have also evaluated, but it does not feel cheap. The Nikon 4300 is incredibly light and small for the quality of image it takes. It can be easily carry around the neck all day without fatigue. Works very well with both of my teleconverters (Oly Tcon14 1.45x and C210 1.9x) with no chromatic aberation or distortion, thanks to the small and high quality lens.

I had an Olympus C700 which I will seel because I entend to use a spoting scope with the 4300 to do some digiscoping. The wide angle shots are incredibly sharp and show lots of detail in the vegetation and landscape. For me it's a touch choice between the Canon G2 and the Nikon 4300 but the small lens of the Nikon 4300 and it's 100$ less in price makes it a winner.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Great size, Comfortable for your hand. Great value for the camera. Has great clarity, easy to use.

Weakness: Slow reload time!

I have had this camera for a long time and I love Nikons. It is a great camera, we have used it for every occasion and it has never failed us. The only thing that bothers me is how long it takes me to be able to take another picture. It is a good 5 seconds if not more. If you miss your shot you probably aren't going to get it again. We did have another camera and have not been half as happy as I am with my Nikon. The zoom is really good too, we have got things that we wouldn't have with the other camera. I will be very upset if it breaks or I have to get a new one. I love it!!! And the software is great too!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Great options for photography! Good picture quality, ease of use, good size for handling, decent price.

Weakness: Bad ON/OFF switch design.

This is my first digital camera. After a month of using this camera- and plenty of experimentation- I totally adore it. There are a lot of fun options such as continuous shooting mode, 16 shots per frame, sepia, B/W, etc... I've printed some of the pictures out 5x7 and the quality is fantastic. I haven't had too much problem with auto-focusing, however, the reboot rate between pictures is slow.

The camera body is strong, as tested by my clumsiness. However, due to bad power switch design, the camera turns on whenever it bounces around in the bag. As a result, the camera's lens jams. And after several reoccurences, the camera is rendered useless.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Excellent focus and color. Lots of flexability. Indoor flash works well. Most of the complaints I've read seem to be the result of the customer not reading the owners manual.

Weakness: It would be nice if manual focus and zoom had a read out so you could tell the distance to the subject and the zoom setting. Somewhat better battery life would be nice.

Arrived via FedEx with damaged box, but undamaged camera. Have found that it would be nice if the life of the battery were longer, but it is quite managable as is. After reading customer reviews complaining about this camera, I had some concerns. However all those complaints (poor focus, poor color, poor flash, very poor battery life) seem to be the result of improper use of the camera and/or failure to read the instructions. For example, there is a manual focus mode, a "one shot" focus mode and a continuous focus mode and you can turn off the continuous focus even in automatic mode (if you turn off the screen). I have been able to trust the auto mode almost entirely. In actual practice, manual focus is a joke, but you have the choice of several auto focus modes and focus areas that seem to do the trick nicely. I don't notice as much blue (purple) fringing as I observed in a Canon G-2. In anycase it is truely slight and only visable in extreme contrast conditions. I am quite pleased and recommend the camera.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Easy to use, very sharp,clear pictures. Lots of manual controls.

Weakness: As all cameras hungry to power. Buy additional batteries. Low light focusing is a problem somethimes. Why Nikon didn't put a AF assist lamp I can't understand....

I'm a beginer. My first digicam. I'm just using the auto mode for now.
I took more than 200 pictures.Great pictures, sharp,clear and with very nice details. I have to learn how to use the manual controls but it is early for me I think.
I ordered 2 256MB Lexar 12X CF Card from Provantage. Great camera.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Loads of great features like close up shots and 12 scene modes.

Weakness: Short battery life but is compensated by the other great features.

This is an absolutely great camera with almost no downsides. I have taken many pictures which when printed on a photo printer (8X10 high gloss photo paper) looked as good if not better than pictures taken with a 35mm camera. It has a very useful close up picture setting in which picture can be taken from 1 inch. It has settings in which the user can control everything and a fully automatic (point and shoot) mode. It can take up to 40 seconds of high quality video. The video could have sound but that may be asking too much. Compact flash cards are cheap and easily available. Its compact size makes it the best digital camera I have owned. I would recommend it for everyone from beginners to professionals.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: takes the best quality pictures not matter what the resolution, takes video clips, easy uploading to PC great editing software included! HIGHLY RECOMENDED!

Weakness: they are pricy, but you do get what you pay for and this is worth every penny!

I love this camera its the best buy for your money. it has great features and takes awesome pictures. Nikon is the way to go. even professional photographers use Nikon. I highly recommend this product the cool pics 4300 4.0 mega pixel.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: image quality, can use lens attachments, cf media, Nikon is a proven name

Weakness: auto focus is constantly on, battery life, no sound with video clips, "manual" lens cap, no low light AF aid

I've had this cam for 5 days and am very satisfied with it. The image quality is excellent due to the nikkor lens. Compact flash media is very common. It is the perfect size for me, not too small to where you worry about blocking things with your fingers.
I dislike the fact that the autofocus is always on in auto mode constantly working the AF motor. Longevity is a concern. The battery life is pretty short, but keeping a spare on hand is no problem. Low light focusing is not very good, made even worse by Nikon not providing an AF illuminator beam. Hard to take pics of dogs and cats because the camera emits lights just before the shutter is tripped making them blink in almost every picture. May be preventable but haven't figured out how yet in first 5 days. I am not talking about the red-eye reduction feature.
These minor complaints are all forgotten when I view the wonderfully sharp and well exposed images that this camera creates!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: The price was a plus....$297 with a $50 rebate. It is very east to transfer photos to computer.

Weakness: It should come with a larger flash card and the battery life could be improved.

I am new to digital photography and a novice to all photography. I bought this camera to take pictures of friends and family. The price was excellent. Most of the places wanted more than $300. Butterfly photo, on line, wanted only $297, with a $50 rebate. The menu is easy to follow and I would buy Nikon, again.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Excellent picture quality. Variety of scene modes, picture sizes, and picture quality. Easy to use.

Weakness: Short battery life, small CF Card provided, no carrying case, AC adapter not included, and the infamous lens cap.

Still in early stages of ownership. Need to use it for sometime to find any bugs. EXCELLENT value for money ($250 after $50 MIR). Would higly recommend.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: great clarity of prints fairly easy to understand

Weakness: no sound for video mode limited battery life

Loving my new camera. I trust the Nikon name, have owned other older 35mm Nikons. They always have good quality.
Take note of the Feb.2003 issue of PC World, and don't buy the cheap "International" version! I am stuck with a poor photocopy of the manual, and probably can't use the 1 year Nikon Warrantee! Be careful!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Great Nikon picture quality

Weakness: Odd shape, Slow focus, long lag time

I got this camera for my wife. It doesn't come with a case but because of it's sm size, I figured that w/ case, it would be able to fit in her purse. I found out later that even though it's relatively small, the lens sticks out quite a bit. In the Nikon leather case (purchased separately) it's too big to fit in all but my wive's largest purses.

Picture quality is great as is the software. Propriotery batteries don't last very long but higher capacity generics are cheap on ebay (they work fine). The camera comes with a short wrist strap. It should include a neckstrap!!!

This camera is SLOW. Focus speed,zoom speed are both medium to slow. Lag time between pictures is terrible. Taking pictures of quickly moving subjects (kids,sports,etc) is difficult. You have to prefocus on a spot then click the shutter when the monent arises, but, if you want to quickly take another shot, you have to wait while the camera is processing the last shot. For some people these problems may not be an issue.

I gave away this camera and got the Canon s400. Its also 4MP and much smaller. Focusing is faster, pause between shots is dramatically shorter. It's about the size of a deck of cards so my wife keeps it in her purse (with case).

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Ability to focus in most lighting Conditions. Easy to handle, Super sharp pictures even at lower resolutions. *** Easy for an amature to pick up and use in automatic mode.

Weakness: No provision for external flash. compact Flash type I only not type II compatible. Proprietary Battery pack with limited power.

This Camera litterally Blew me away when I took the first set of pictures at home. The pictures you could take at a camera store are limited to glass cabinets of stuff and a few people under fluorescent lights. At home I snapped pictures of my daughter and wife in real life settings and the pictures were incredible. The colors were so vivid and true to life that I had to show them to my neighbor to validate my review.

I have two cats that are light gray and I took pictures of them in very low light to try and trick the auto focus system. NO dice the pictures were very sharp with surprisingly well balanced contrast.

The real test came when the last snow storm came. I took pictures of my daughter climbing on a snowhill with some overcast skies and bright sun. No over or underexposed subjects in auto mode, Impressive!

Easy of use
Before I left on a business trip I briefly explained how to turn the camera on to my wife. She isn't tech savvy so I expected her to use our other camera. To my surprise I came home to a multitude of pictures that she had taken with my daughter and a friend when the went out to chuckie cheeses.
She even took the digital card out of the camera and had prints made at our local CVS. I couldn't believe it.
She was so excited to be able to get her pictures a half hour after she shot them.
This camera is a great replacement for the High/Low Tech couple because we can take great pictures and still have advanced creative controll.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Amazing Clarity, Fast Focusing, Easy Operation, Wonderfully small sized, Nikon name, Beautiful Package, ability to be super-advanced if so desired, High Capacity CompactFlash platform, Easy Start-up..

Weakness: None that I can predict.

What more can I say? This is God's gift to...well anyone that buys it! I bought this at www.buydig.com for $344 including shipping. Fedex shipped it within 5 days. I was already impressed.

The box includes everything you'd expect, including that vital Nikon Warranty.

The included card is 16 MB, which is more than most include (8 MB). I am not stressed by this because of all the other incredible features.

Nikon has availible to the super creative, fish eye and 2x zoom lenses. So keep this in mind if you want to add on to this already amazing camera.

I bought a 256 MB Card so that I could start taking some high quality pictures. WOW. This camera really is amazing. The macro modes are precise and so much fun, allowing you to choose which part of the subject you'd like to focus on. The scene modes are labeled so you don't have to learn 14 new symbols on the fly. I haven't even opened the plethora of information supplied with the camera. (I will save this for on the john reading.) :-) I am a little scared to see what Nikon has packed into this little tiny box that I haven't found on my own as of yet.

I cannot TELL you how excited I am about the value PriceGrabber has found for me, and the quality Nikon has provided. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: easy to use light wt. lots of features

Weakness: battery power if you want to take many pics recommend back up battery larger memory card

excellent novice to pro camera easy down load to pc (windows xp)great pixs black & white mode awesome at fine pic mode menu needs a little study the more i use it the easy operation becomes

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Small yet still reasonable lens aperature

Weakness: Focus hunt on macro

2nd camera, started with an Olympus C2040 zoom and let daughter have it. I The menus are a little confusing but after 7 days with 3 uses.. to be expected. The only uses so far have surrounded close up shots (3 inches or so) of Lionel trains I am selling on ebay. I noticed the focus hunts and hunts and I cannot get the sharpness. Probably something I am doing. Lighting is more than adequate which is usually the cause. I love the construction and feel.. fit and finish. It does not sound like a cheap toy when lens extends and retracts like my Olympus.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Icredible sharp pictures, gorgeous colors. Sublime lens. Very easy to handle. Only 250gr with battery and card.

Weakness: bundle in the Netherlands with only 16 mb card.

Beautiful little camera, with incredible amount of manual controls. Makes me feel like having my old 35 mm pentax all over again, but then smaller and lighter. At the same time very easy indeed in automatic mode. Very sharp ccd, good optical viewer. Bundled with Photoshop Elements(!). A wonder in macro mode. The 12 preset-modes work fast indeed. Very fast in loading down pictures to computer with (bundled) Nikon View. A must for serious amateurs for a very affordable price.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Value

Weakness: Can't let it drop from the bed to the carpet and land on the active zoom lens.

This is the best value in a camera for less than $1,500. So until you're ready to spend that much, use a Nikon 4300.

The photos at 100% will likely appear larger than your browswer window. If you have an older computer that the Nikon software won't load to (must have Windows 98SE or better, not just plain old 98) a picture organizer like Picasa at $29 or Yahoo!'s online service will be needed in addition to a $20 card reader.

I set my 4300 on the edge of the bed while it was on and it slid off onto the plush carpet, jamming the zoom. It cost $150 to unjam the lens, so always wear a neckstrap when handling the active zoom. By contrast, I dropped it again from waist high onto some innumerable block of tufa at the Roman Forum when it was off. That put scratches all over the back and makes it unfit to sell as used, but otherwise didn't harm it at all.

I also popped the battery out before shutting it off and that wrecked a bunch of photos on the card. Remember to not do that.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: A wonderful digital camera. Manual Mode gives you complete control of all setting, including exposure,..., lots of fun. 'like Pfrofessional' It is worth buying and owning !

Weakness: some little weakness doesn't mean anything to me.

I just bought it few weeks ago, this is a very functional and useful digital camera . I like it very much and recommend people to buy and enjoy it. It has multiple options for you or your family to use, not only auto mode, but manual mode. 12 scene modes let you to use it easily, if you do not want to use manual mode. A very good and nice DC. Lots of advantages are waiting for you to discover.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: The very best quality photos

Weakness: Menus are a little overwhelming

This camera is very easy to use. It has a mode for almost anything you would want. It took a bit to learn the menus system but was well worth the time and effort.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Small size & weight

Weakness: Never worked at all

The camera worked to download 3 photos then quit. It was not recognized by the computer, on all three of my computers. Ten sessions with tech support could not identify the problem or fix it.

After sending it back for warrinty service, It still did not work. The factory repair had fixed three functions that there was nothing wrong with, but not the original problem.

Now the camera is back with factory service. So far I've had the camera for 8 months and it has never worked.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Lots of features and capability and the Nikon name

Weakness: none

This is my first digital camera. It has been very easy to learn how to use and the pictures are FANTASTIC! I bought it online by searching "Pricegrabber" and choosing Abes of Maine as my source. Their price and service was fantastic!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Incredible macro! Great pictures in general with auto settings. I'm new to photography. This thing was effortless.

Weakness: plasticky

I bought it for auction photos. Works great! Knew nothing and still don't know anything) about photography. Great price and treatment from Electricsam.com ($339.00 + 19.00 shipping on 8/1/03). I recommend this camera for those who are novices. I can't tell photographically talented people whether it's any good or not.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Excellent photo quality. Outstanding clarity. Lightweight. Comfortable feel. Compatible with numerous accessories.

Weakness: Video clips max at 40 seconds, and no audio.

I am a Canon enthusiast and found it hard at first to agree this camera would be my best purchase. I first bought the Canon Powershot S45. It is also a great camera, but I couldn't help but feel limited. The optional Teleconverter lenses, Wide Angle lenses, and Fish Eye lense gives overwhelming possibilities. Not to mention this camera was cheaper.
I give this camera 4 stars instead of 5 because of the limited ability with the video clips. It would be great to have that ability with a baby on the way

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: This was my first digital camera. I liked the size and feel of the camera. Picture quality was good.

Weakness: After nine months, the shutter button froze and the camera would not work. It also did not focus well indoors in dim light. Recycle time between pictures was very slow.

I was disappointed that it quit working after 9 months, especially for what I paid for it. Of course, it was out of warranty.
I won't buy Nikon again.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: good lens

Weakness: focus hunts all the time, very short battery life, start up time very long, then the thing shuts off in a very short time ,only two f-stops!

what a piece of junk! I did'nt know how good I had it with my Sony dsc-p92, had to have a Nikon, what a mistake. I'm a nikon fan but this thing should never been sold as a Nikon. for the kind of money these things cost,do yourself a favor if you want good snapshots from a small camera get a much less expensive film camera , you will get better results and save a whole lot of money. I had to learn the hard way.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Fair quality pictures

Weakness: Camera failed 1 month after the warranty ended. Unit would not power up. Problem was not the battery. Nikon wanted to charge $175 to repair the unit.

While it worked, the camera took fair quality photos.
The menu was a bit cumbersome.
Will never buy another Nikon camera again.
They are garbage and will not outlast the warranty.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Excellent picture quality. Relatively small size. Manual controls.

Weakness: Could be a little thinner to be more pocketable.

This camera takes fantastic photo's. I regularly have them printed at Wolf Camera on 4 x 6 photo paper, and the pictures are consistently better than I have ever gotten from 35 mm SLR and other camera's I have owned. I just wish it was as thin as the Sony P9 or the minolta dimage so that I can fit it into my pocket comfortably. Because of it's bulk, I have to carry it around my neck. That takes away the flexibility of having it fill the role of bar/vacation/spontaneous camera. Did I mention that the pictures are excellent, however.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: easy features to master quickly, great Nikon software that makes transfer to computer a snap, photo editor is also included which is great. clear viewfinder, nice compact size.

Weakness: don't like the manual "SLR-like" lens cap arrangement. This type of model should have had an automatic lens cover integrated within the body itself.

Very nice camera, would buy one again. Like its features and performance over Olympus line. Rechargable battery. All cables included. good features on flash. 4x megapixel quality. new model. except for the lens cap (poor design), I would recommend this model to anyone.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Easy to use

Weakness: Poor battry life. Requires constant battery recharging.

Because of constant battery recharging, the battery lid has a design fault. That fault is, it will not continue to close properly. Nikon will not honor its warranty agreements. I had this camera for less than 6 months when I returned it to Nikon for repair of the battery cover that would no longer close completly! They would not honor the warranty and charged me $154.00 to repair the plastic cover. I am upset with their customer service. They will not honor their warranty if you buy their products!!!! Buy at your own risk!!!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Compact size, image quality, zoom.

Weakness: Recovery rate.

This has been a great little camera for us. It fits in many pockets, making it easy to carry. The images are great. But the camera takes a couple of seconds to recover after taking a picture.

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Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 Megapixel Compact Camera - 8...

Strengths: Great Pictures, many features, good price for 4MP.

Weakness: plastic casing, only 8MB CF bundled.

I'm a beginer for digital cameras, 4300 does everything I need, easy to use and does awesome pictures! For total $420.00 I spent, it's a great deal! I strong recommend this camera for beginers!

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Nikon Coolpix 4300

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