Nikon P80

[taylorconor]

I got a Nikon P80 and im not quite sure what to think about it. On one hand, it has great optical zoom and megapixels, but on the other it is slow, laggy and has a very bad battery life. Does anyone else Think this camera is good? why/not? Thanks

[DaveG40]

Choosing a camera is more than a matter of going for mega-pixels, brand, spec, ratings, uber zoom ranges etc,etc, you have to feel comfortable with the camera you buy, and in truth I don't think many photographers have had second thoughts about a camera or lens they've bought, I certainly have even though I've researched to the hilt & physically tried my short listed choices, and once you've bought your camera it can take a while to get used to your new model, e.g when I moved from a bridge camera to a D-slr.

Forget about mega pixels and zoom ranges are you happy with the photo's it produces & does it feel right in your hands ?. Bad battery life can be resolved by buying a 2nd battery (I bought a spare one for my Panny TZ3), slow and laggy compared to ?. I like the look of the Brand new Fuji F200EXR and by all accounts that's slow to start up, slow and laggy is'nt great for fast action sports but if you're into landscapes etc you don't need super fast.

If it feels alright and produces the goods sticking with it may pay in the long run ?. However if it's a camera you just can't bond with (like the A100 i had), the only option is to go for something else, because there will always be that nagging thought; what if i'd bought ..... instead ?.

[parisian]

I am sure you researched the camera thoroughly prior to buying it and I am also sure that it does what it says on the box.
Compact cameras all have shutter lag to one degree or another, they can be slow to start up compared to DSLRs, the zooms can be slow in action and slower to focus. The batteries on these things are pretty small and the 'lags' are not only design issues but also battery saving. None of them are designed for fast action of any kind and the problems although improved over the past few years are pretty much the same as we were discussing on here 4 to 5 years ago when most of us were just dipping our toes into the digital waters.
The improvements in compacts have come in the fields of image quality, the ability to shoot in RAW mode and the addition of some degree of manual control. Taking those away I don't think they have improved much at all over the past few years.