Digital Pix with Nikon Coolpix 2500 Digital Camera

by Lee Hudspeth
(This article appears in The Naked PC #6.01, January 3, 2003)

** 03. Digital Pix with Nikon Coolpix 2500 Digital Camera
       (by Lee Hudspeth)

Digital cameras come in a wide variety of ergonomic designs, 
feature sets, and price ranges. This particular camera is in the 
"affordable consumer digital camera" niche, offering high-quality 
images combined with a sleek design and easy-to-use controls and 
menus. In a nutshell, the Coolpix 2500 weighs in as follows: 2 
megapixels, 3x optical zoom plus 4x digital zoom, a maximum 
resolution of 1600 x 1200, auto focus, 12 scene modes (portrait, 
landscape, party/indoor, museum, etc.), USB transfer, 
CompactFlash (CF) memory card, movie mode, dual platform PC 
support (Mac & Windows), 1.5" LCD monitor, 6.0 ounces (it's a 
camera with a small footprint), rechargeable Li-ion battery 
(recharger included, with about 80 minutes of charge life and a 
two hour charge cycle). All for a street price of around $279.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/601/tr.cgi?lee1

The camera comes bundled with the following accessories: strap, 
starter CF memory card (the Lexar 8X starter card's storage is 
limited to 16 MB, so you'll definitely want to get another, 
larger memory card), USB cable, a battery charger, Nikon View 5 
CD-ROM (for transferring, viewing, and editing images), and 
printed documentation.

Digital camera first-timers will find the Coolpix easy to set up 
and use. The unique swivel design for the lens allows you to 
store it pointed up inside the frame when not in use, thus the 
lens is protected but doesn't require a lens cap (you'll have to 
see a picture of the camera, or play around with it at the camera 
store, to see how this design works). Its controls, displays, 
menus, and battery and card slots are all intuitive, and the 
printed user's guide is detailed and well laid out. So far I'm 
not particularly impressed with the Nikon View 5 software, it's a 
bit clunky. Maybe it'll grow on me.

Some tips... when learning to take your first picture with any 
digital camera, take the time to carefully read the user's guide 
and/or quick start guide about exactly how to take a picture. 
Getting familiar with your camera's auto-focus, flash, scene 
mode, and resolution functions/settings is important for getting 
the best possible picture under varying conditions. For example, 
with the Coolpix 2500 you'll want to memorize what each little 
scene icon represents so you can quickly select the appropriate 
one without wasting time thinking about it. Yes, you can just 
point, frame, and shoot, but by spending a little extra time 
reading and experimenting, your pictures will come out much more 
to your liking.

(c) 2003, Lee Hudspeth
You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
mailto:LeeHudspeth@TheNakedPC.com

You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com

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