Nikon Coolpix A - a good buy at £279 ?

hobodan

hobodan

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looking for a pocketable camera with the best IQ available and noticed that these are £279 new on Amazon. I'm aware of the smaller sensor compacts like the rx100 & g7x etc, but a new rx100 is around £800 which is bonkers to me. So, anyone own and love the Coolpix A ? Or hate it? Considering it was £999 on release 2 years ago, it seems like a very good price, but is there a reason for such a drop?

Also, is it really a pocketable camera? It's hard to judge by looking at pics online & ive yet to see one in The flesh..
 
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It's a great little camera and excellent value at that price. I don't own one, but have used one extensively. It's one of very few truly pocketable cameras with a decent size sensor, with a very sharp lens. Solid, high grade build too. It's not been a great success for Nikon though, hence the sell-off.
 
Depends hugely what you want from a camera. It's pretty good as a street camera, but will that fixed focal length be too wide for you? Personally I'd always want a viewfinder. Cameras are such a personal choice. They are not well supported on the market for extras like cases etc.
 
M43 is out for me as it's not 'pocketable' - I should have mentioned I already own a Nikon D750 and a handful of lenses, I'm really after something that will fit in my jeans pocket. I would love a Fuji x100 as I've previously owned one, but again it's not pocketable. It's a tough decision on whether I go for a APSC fixed 28mm or drop to a much smaller sensor with a zoom like the g7x..... :pompous:
 
Its pretty much the same thing as the excellent Ricoh GR. Which is another you should look at.
 
hobodan said:
M43 is out for me as it's not 'pocketable' - I should have mentioned I already own a Nikon D750 and a handful of lenses, I'm really after something that will fit in my jeans pocket. I would love a Fuji x100 as I've previously owned one, but again it's not pocketable. It's a tough decision on whether I go for a APSC fixed 28mm or drop to a much smaller sensor with a zoom like the g7x..... :pompous:
Click to expand...

What about a Panasonic GM5 with 12-32 lens its tiny micro 4/3 sensor and has a viewfinder


http://www.digitalrev.com/category/gm5/MjY2MDY2NDIz
 
I use the Ricoh GR which is very similar and I love it. The Coolpix A was a bit of a sales disaster despite being a very good camera so that's the only reason Nikon trashed the price.

If you're happy with a fixed lens (I love the 28mm length) then I say go for it, you wouldn't lose much if you didn't get on with it. A m43 would be more flexible in terms of lens options but image quality would be a step down and only the smallest m43 bodies are actually pocketable. We have the E-M1, E-P5 and GM-1 and only the latter is pocketable and only with one of the pancake lenses, none of which are as good as the lens on the GR or Coolpix.

The only other camera I would throw in is the original RX100, it's got a bit of zoom and packs a lot into a small size. The GR and Coolpix are slightly more "serious" but the Sony might actually be more enjoyable. You should be able to get the mk1 for your budget.
 
I have been on the hunt for a pocketable camera to pair with the D750.

G7X, RX100, GM5, EM10, X30, LX100 are the ones that spring to mind.
 
I've noticed he Ricoh GR iI is out now - the LX100 X30 EM10 are not what I would call pocketable, the G7X & RX100 most definitely are along with the Coolpix A.
Tbh I'm swaying towards the coolpix A because of the the price & apsc sensor - & I know nikons menus inside out.
 
Apparently the GRii doesnt offer enough over the original so worth saving a few quid.
 
hobodan said:
I've noticed he Ricoh GR iI is out now - the LX100 X30 EM10 are not what I would call pocketable, the G7X & RX100 most definitely are along with the Coolpix A.
Tbh I'm swaying towards the coolpix A because of the the price & apsc sensor - & I know nikons menus inside out.
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I've got one of these, it's a very good stand in when anything larger is too much fuss. I also quite like 28mm. A small flash on top and it's a cracker set up. Wish mine was black though...

Side note, don't count out the Nikon 1 series. Focus is startling, and they are small. J5 might just Scratch your itch. I use my 1's way more than the A. Older models go for a song as well.
 
I picked up a Coolpix A for £325 a few months ago and have been very pleased with it. If you can live with the 28mm focal length then do consider it, especially if you are used to Nikon menus. Image quality is very good, and it does fit in jeans pockets. Not quite as well as a Sony RX100 does but not a whole lot different.
 
I failed to resist a silver Coolpix A for £279 and find it almost ideal for my purposes. Can't fault the images it produces. I like 28mm focal length equivalent - but a screw on lens to give 50mm equivalent would have been nice.:)
 
And I failed to resist and pick up a black one last month for £215 (-:
Really impressed with it and find it more useful for me than the Ricoh GR I owned; just a shame you can't maintain the manual focus distance set when you turn the camera off.
It's great for family stuff - forget about the focus nay-sayers, it's no worse than any other compact camera.
Sharp, fast and fun.
Indeed since I bought it my RX100 iii has sat in the drawer.....what to do.......

But, the video is rubbish........
 
I bought a silver one from Amazon for £335 a couple of weeks ago, to replace my Ricoh GRD which I broke.
I hated it at first as I was used to the numerous customization options and 1cm macro on the Ricoh, but after being out and about with it I was bowled over by the picture quality.
The U1 and U2 settings have basically done away with the customization I had on the Ricoh anyway.

With the Ricoh I was bracketing nearly every shot because of blown highlights, but the Nikon is spot on, and no blown highlights at all.
The auto mode is so good that I haven't had much use from PASM yet.
Probably mainly due to the prime lens, but it easily beats my D3100 for IQ.

It has a few badly thought out quirks, but I can live with them if I'm getting this sort of IQ for a bargain price.
 
What cases are people using for the Coolpix A?
I'm looking at getting one of the Lowepros, either the Apex or Dashpoint, but not sure which size of either to go for. None in the local shops for me to try out.
Cheers
 
I use an OpTech neoprene pouch for protection. Think it's the Micro D model?
 
Cheers Dave, that looks like the sort of thing I'm after for walkabout protection rather than actual storage.
 
Sorry for the thread resurrection folks. I'd like a small camera with great IQ. I quite fancy a coolpix A and I see that I can buy a refurbed model for £279 these days. It seems that all of the alternatives are more expensive or not suitable.

With a budget of £300 it seems I could get:

Refurbed coolpix A and a bit of change
Fuji X100 (this seems to be the starting price for used ones)
Ricoh GR II (actually I think these go for more but maybe if I wait long enough...)
Sigma Merrell's (sounds far too compromised for me, shame)

Ruled out:
X100S and X100T - Too expensive for me.
X70 - I like these but too much money right now. Maybe in a year or two.
RX100 - Nice option. Not totally ruled it out but quite a lot smaller in the sensor department.

In context of those options, the Nikon is quite appealing and I'm very used to Nikons generally so I assume it would seem quite intuitive to use. Any thoughts?
 
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For reasons which I don't fully understand, I have wanted one of these since they were announced. A "mini D7000" with a fixed focal length is very appealing, and I know the IQ will be very good too. I even like the focal length (though maybe 35 equiv but ...)

Out of curiosity where are they available @ £279??? (honest it's just curiosity :whistle:)
 
PaulButler said:
For reasons which I don't fully understand, I have wanted one of these since they were announced. A "mini D7000" with a fixed focal length is very appealing, and I know the IQ will be very good too. I even like the focal length (though maybe 35 equiv but ...)

Out of curiosity where are they available @ £279??? (honest it's just curiosity :whistle:)
Click to expand...

They were available for that price on Amazon and also Currys I think.
 
Thanks Richard ... I'll take a look (again just for curiosity sake ;))
 
Just couldn't get on with it. Slow af and pretty poor build quality. As an all in one it had its uses, mostly because of the standard flash mount. Sensor size wasn't enough on its own for me to keep it. I wish I had just got a D3200/3300 instead which I would probably still have.
 
PaulButler said:
Thanks Richard ... I'll take a look (again just for curiosity sake ;))
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Silver ones are now £320 on Amazon, but nothing I can see at Currys ATM. I've noticed Currys often has good Nikon deals from time to time, so worth keeping an eye on.

As I posted above last year, I'd rate build quality as high (disagree with Vishal on that) with a good solid feel. The tiny size is the thing though, it'll go in a jeans back pocket - so long as you don't want to sit down! Lens is very sharp (suffers from vignetting though) so it'll crop to 35mm-equiv field of view without too much impact on IQ.

If I thought I'd ever use it as a walkabout, I'd get one at that price. It lacks the Fuji X100's charm (and viewfinder) but for performance, pocketability and price, the Coolpix-A can't be beat.
 
I've hardly touched my D3100 since getting the Coolpix A. I used it for walkabout on my last holiday, and only had 2 shots where I would have liked a longer lens.

It was £295 on Amazon a few days ago, but now back up to £335. Might be worth putting one in your basket, and keeping an eye on the price fluctuations.
 
I had one for a while and really rated it. I thought it was really nicely put together and felt very solid, used it a lot on holidays/travelling etc. and still looked good as new when I sold it. Excellent image quality and really discreet, well worth the £300 or so if the focal length suits you.
 
Mileage will vary regards to build quality but mine had paint wear on the corners , the d pad was temperamental on the left and upward directions and finally the shutter cover didn't always close properly. Got 3000 pics out of it before selling at an exchange place for very little. Will agree lens is sharp and when the pics were good, they were better then out of the D7000 I had at one point. The leather strap is also very nice. I'm pretty good with my gear and I paid a lot for this camera, so I was a little disappointed in the end. You will be happy with the picture quality/lens, is the best thing I can say.
 
Cheers folks. Great feedback. I'm tempted to give one a whirl I must admit.

One question for the owners and previous owners, is there any kind of focusing scale, either digital or on the lens itself? Nothing I can find on the reviews mentions it.
 
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