I found the last generation of coolpix cameras to be disappointing at best. This one however has received some massive improvements.
1. It's very very fast
It is speedy in all ways possible. The shutter response time in almost instantaneous. As soon as you click the button the photo takes... give 1 additional second in poor lighting at worst. Best of all is the photo navigation. Remember those old coolpix commercials where Ashton Kutcher would flick his finger and all the photos would scroll by fast? That never worked before, but it actually does on this one. There is no lag whatsoever on photo viewing or changing settings.
2. Excellent photo quality
I was playing with this in best buy and it took very noticeably clearer photos than the other camera in the same price range... including the Canon powershots. Its actually what made me decide to buy one before I learned all the other good stuff.
3. Functionality
It doesn't allow manual exposure and aperture controls because of its size. However they give you a ton of different scene modes to play around with. Some are a little too niche to matter, but all the main ones are there. Also you can do lots of adjustments to a photo that has already been taken. These are made even easier by using the little included stylus which hangs off your camera strap. The camera has a very good feature which allows you to choose the focus of your picture simply by tapping it on the screen. Finally a purpose to using a touch screen besides flashiness.
4. Looks
Its slim and the screen is large and clear. It's very minimalistic with only 2 buttons on the back. The camera looks very traditional and minimalistic, like most of the coolpix range. It doesn't look or feel cheap by all means, but you're not gonna turn heads when you use it... unless of course you're caught scrolling your library (which does feel pretty cool).
The Bad Parts
This camera only has a couple of negative issues. First off, the lens does not retract into the body when you're viewing photos. It means you can switch to shooting really fast, but it also burdens the way in which you can hold your camera. I would have liked to have been able to hold it flat in my palm while looking at my photos. Another problem is that it doesn't use a battery charger, it charges with a usb cable that plugs directly into the camera. It comes with an AC power adapter that you can plug the cable into if you want... kind of like what an ipod uses. I guess it makes everything simpler and you can carry less stuff when you travel, but I like to charge extra batteries while I'm using my camera.
The touchscreen has a slightly matte surface. Which means it gets very dirty very fast. I put a surface shield on this immediately and it has eliminated that problem completely... but it also makes the touch controls slightly less responsive. If you do this, you can still control the camera well with your finger, but it's faster and easier to navigate photos with the stylus.
I HIGHLY recommend this camera to anyone needing a good point and shoot, especially if speed is important to you.
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