Over the last couple of weeks I've bought all three, returned the Canon
and Panasonic. Here's my opinion (again this is mostly opinion, not
fact):
- P300 and S95 are almost the exact same size, LX5 was too big (i.e., too
thick for a pocket)
- P300 and LX5 both have direct video record buttons
- LX5 and S95 both shoot RAW (wasn't a factor for me, but may be for
you)
- All three have great picture quality (1. P300, 2. S95, 3. LX5)
- Two have great video quality, S95 is just OK (1. LX5, 2. P300, 3. S95)
Because I have an SLR for high-quality pictures, I just want a portable
p&s for when I don't feel like carrying an SLR. That factor hurt the
LX5, which I thought was the best camera, just not pocketable.
The LX5 had great video, really fast focusing (for pics and vid), and
strong build quality. It's JPEGs were the worst of the three, but third
best in this class is generally better than 1st place in a lesser class
of cameras. It felt solid. I liked the direct video record button. I
disliked the lens cap.
The S95 never did much for me, it's pics were good but not better than
the P300. It's video was definetly the worst of the three, but again,
solid for a point and shoot. The ring around the lens was cute, but felt
loose to me. The lack of a direct video record button was limiting and I
found the auto pop-up flash annoying (it pushes your finger out of the
way, both other cameras have mechanical flash pop-ups).
The P300 is great. Love the picture quality and video quality. Warning,
the video is jumpy on pans, this camera won't take the place of an HD
video camera, but it's great for a point and shoot. The direct video
button is great too. The lcd screen is beautiful. The camera turns on
and snaps very quickly. Shot to shot is excellent too. Picture quality
is great (again, I'm a JPEG user, if you're all about
RAW-post-processing-for-point-and-shoot-quality-pics you may have a
different experience).
You can slice this opinion a million different ways, all three are
awesome cameras. Pick what the most important factor or two is for you
and decide based on that. For me, the discriminators were size and video
quality (as they all took great pictures).
Update 1:
After using this camera extensively for a week or two I've come to appreciate it more. Some of my recent findings which may or may not be helpful to you the reader:
- Indoor video can take on a soft appearance and the colors can be off under certain lighting conditions in auto mode, however, it appears that manual tweaks in the program/manual modes carry over from photo to video. So you can set the AWB to a better lighting mode in one of the manual modes and simply switch modes as the lighting situation dictates. Outdoor video continues to be outstanding in auto mode.
- The creative modes (black and white, soft, etc.) can also be used for video, again you will need to be in a program/manual mode (P, A, S, M). Of these I do find the black and white to make interesting video depending on what you're shooting.
- The fast motion and slow motion modes for video are quite fun to use (they may not be all that useful, but they're fun).
- The panning motion panorama (easy mode?) combined with the Nikon software if pretty impressive. The stitched assist mode panorama works well too. It's particulary impressive in multiple monitor set ups, I can spread the picture across 3 screens and see an impressive panorama.
- Having no "welcome screen" is the way to go if you want a quick start up.
- The camera does not weigh much, it's a little off-putting at first, but light is good.
- I love being able to decide if the flash should be used by flipping the switch because I usually do not want a flash (fill flash is all I use pretty much) and it's apparent by looking at the camera if the flash is on or off, there's no digging into menus to find out.
- If you're reviewing your work (via HDMI for instance) on the camera or a tv you can press (and hold) the play button instead of power to avoid opening up the lens.
- The battery has provided a long life per charge, I haven't tested it but it may be better than advertised. Two drawbacks: it goes from fully charged to empty without much warning (icon is full, and then it's down a bar for a few minutes, then empty) and you plug the camera in to charge vs putting the battery into a charger (that's a draw back because you can't swap a fresh battery in and charge at the same time, if you buy the separate charger you can do this. I bought both an extra battery and charger to avoid any power outages).
- Applying after effects in the camera works well and the camera automatically copies the original.
- This is a piece of advice that will be obvious to some (ok, it's really for my mom): set the date and time accurately and don't have the date imprinted on your pictures. This info is part of the "meta data" that you can see on any computer. You want an accurate date so you can sort photos later if required and you don't want the date imprinted on the photo because it ruins the picture and is already in the meta data. Nikon COOLPIX P300 12.2 CMOS Digital Camera with 4.2x f/1.8 NIKKOR Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video (Black)
"Should I buy this camera?" is like asking "Should I buy this car?" The answer to both questions is: It depends on what's most important to you. For me, I was looking for a point-and-shoot that takes good HD video as well as good still photos, and is reasonably small, light and affordable. I already have a DSLR, and wanted a camera to complement that -- one I could slip in a pocket and take to the beach or an evening out without having to worry about it.
I believe other commenters that there are P&S cameras out there that take better photos than the P300, but those models are either considerably larger and heavier, a good deal more expensive (one comment here compared a camera costing $500 with this one at slightly over $300), or the video quality is unacceptable. After a lot of research, the P300 turned out to be the camera that best met my needs.
I've only had this for a couple of days, but here's what I like so far:
* Nice ergonomics. I enjoy holding and using the camera, which isn't something I can say about my previous P&S.
* Large, bright, sharp LCD
* A good mix of manual controls for when I want them and auto settings for when I don't.
* Macro closeups are excellent
* Low-light performance is generally good for a P&S, especially with the fast 1.8 lens.
* I've been pleased so far with my outdoor shots, although I haven't really had a chance to do much with this outside yet because weather's been bad
* The flash only fires when you first pop it up, so it doesn't inadvertently ruin a shot
What I don't like so far:
* White balance in mixed indoor lighting seems worse than average
* As I read in another review, video can be jerky while panning
* Detail in distant objects doesn't look as crisp as in photos I've seen from competitors in its class
* (updated) You will hear motor noise when zooming in and out on video (at least I do)
* (updated) Focus in auto mode is limited to frame center
* (updated) Photos taken in portrait mode don't auto rotate
There are some interesting features such as in-camera HDR and one-shot panoramas I've yet to try. All in all, I'm looking forward to taking this with me when I'm going places where I don't want to take my considerably heavier and bulkier DSLR.
UPDATE: After reading the manual, now I know why I've been less than happy with some of my shots in Auto mode: Auto mode focuses on the center of your frame. If you don't always stick your subject dead center -- and most experienced photographers don't much of the time -- don't use Auto mode. If you have a P300 and are unhappy with its focus and metering, try using the program mode or auto scene selector instead, when you want to "point and shoot" instead of using the manual controls.
UPDATE 2: A few more tests and I'm a bit less happy with the camera. If I could drop this down to 3.5 stars, I would. I really like the ergonomics, the menus, the LCD. Using it is still fun. I've shot a number of comparisons with my old 8 MP Canon SD 850 and the results are mixed. Macros are way better, but that's not what I bought the camera for. I didn't bother comparing video since the P300 HD I'm sure will blow away the SD 850's SD. In other situations it was mixed, with the P300 not always better.
Like all point-and-shoots, this is a compromise and there is going to be a sacrifice in return for weight, size and affordability.
FINAL UPDATE: I took the P300 out for some serious shooting last weekend, including several hours with my friend and her new Canon S95. We tried shooting several of the same scenes (although P300 zooms out a bit wider and S95 has a bit more of a telephoto, so it often wasn't exact). I was happy with the vast majority of the P300 photos. There were some where the S95 versions were better, especially when it came to detail in the photos. But without comparing, I was pleased with the majority of photos I shot with the P300. The difference didn't seem all that massive except for a couple, and that might have been because I didn't select the best mode.
On the other hand, the P300 video was quite a bit better than the S95 video, if that matters to you. It does to me. I shot a video at an indoor party last night and was very happy with the way it came out. I didn't hear any motor noise when zooming in and out in what was a pretty loud room.
Ergonomics: I enjoyed using (and carrying) the P300 more than the S95. It's slightly lighter. I like the Nikon dials and menu setup more than Canon's -- that's just personal preference, but I've never particularly cared for the menu setup on my old Canon P&S either. I also found the mode selector dial somewhat hard to turn on the S95 compared with the P300.
Bottom line: I'm using this to post photos on the Web and occasionally make 4x6 prints, and also to shoot video from time to time. If I was looking for a primary camera to shoot serious still photos -- that is, if I didn't also have my DSLR -- I'd likely pay more and go with the S95. But as a casual supplement to a DSLR, I recommend the P300. - Nikon Coolpix'
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