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Nikon Coolpix 2500

by Patrick Hudepohl and June 2002

The Nikon Coolpix 2500 is a 2.0 megapixel, digital point-and-shoot camera. It is targeted at the consumer who now uses a camera like the Olympus Epic Zoom or the Canon Elph / Ixus, but who wants to go digital. The camera is small, offers a high degree of automation, and is easy to operate. In June 2002, the Coolpix 2500 costs approximately $350.

The main features of this camera are:

  • 2.0 megapixel (1600 x 1200 pixels) CCD
  • 3x optical zoom: 37 - 111 mm (35 mm film equivalent), f/2.7 - 4.8
  • 15 seconds movie mode (without sound)
  • Compact Flash type I storage (16 MB starter card included)
  • USB interface

Storage

Orange bicycle, Wijk aan Zee Images created with this camera, in JPEG Fine mode at maximum resolution, are roughly 700 kB each. A 64 MB Compact Flash card can hold approximately 90 images, which is most likely enough for one day shooting. For fairly typical tourist-style photography, 256 MB memory should be enough for a week-long trip (assuming a few review sessions at night).

The camera can also store images in lower resolutions, down to 640 x 480 pixels, but I think these should not be considered given current memory prices. There is no RAW mode available, but I think the average Coolpix 2500 user is not going to miss that.

Power

People on steps from dunes to beach, Wijk aan Zee The Coolpix 2500 is powered by a single, small, rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery (type EN-EL2). Nikon provides an MH-60 recharger for this battery with the camera. It can recharge the battery in two hours. The charger requires you to remove the battery from the camera and insert it into the charger (i.e., you cannot plug the charger into the camera).

I found that the EN-EL2 is capable of powering the camera for one day shooting (filling a 64 MB card), with very moderate reviewing and no use of flash. Obviously, power consumption depends on your shooting style, so it may be safer to bring a spare battery. Fortunately, these batteries are small enough to carry in your wallet or pocket.

Lens, autofocus and exposure

Sunset over Dutch highway The 5.6 - 16.8 mm built-in zoom lens performs fairly well. There is some noticable barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom. At the telephoto end, the resulting photos were not always as crispy as I would have liked. A tiny bit of motion blur, caused by the slow ISO 100 sensor speed and a maximum f/4.8 aperture, may be the main cause of this.

The 2 megapixel resolution of this camera is somewhat disappointing: while great for viewing on a computer, it is not enough for really capturing small details. Furthermore, 1600 by 1200 pixels do not leave a lot of room for small adjustments as rotating and cropping. Please consider carefully if this is good enough for you.

Autofocus with this camera is fairly indeterministic. If you are used to manual focussing, or the autofocus of a modern SLR, this Coolpix is going to disappoint you. All you can do is aim the camera at your subject and press the shutter release. Nikon states the Coolpix 2500 has an "Auto 5-Area AF" system, but you cannot manually select an area. You can, however, lock focus by pressing and holding the shutter release halfway. I should add that while the focussing system appears extremely limited, I never encountered any real problems with it.

True to Nikon tradition, the Coolpix 2500 has an excellent exposure system. In most situations, the camera will choose the right White balance as well as the proper exposure. Contrary to the AF system, manual overrides (i.e., exposure compensation and manual white balance selection) are available.

Handling

Stairs of a (temporary) view tower, Broekpolder building site The first thing I noticed when I started using this camera is that the clever tilting lens design really is not so practical. It seems unavoidable to get your finger prints on the front lens (which really looks to be just a protective filter). Obviously, I may just be a clumsy hack, but most of my friends seem to agree: turning the lens from the 'safe' position to the shooting position without getting finger prints on it, is tricky at best. During a few weeks of testing, I have wiped prints from Rajeev, Ruud, Marijke, my father and myself from the front lens.

All interaction with the Coolpix is done via the LCD screen on the back. Nearly all functions (flash, self timer, programmed exposure mode etc.) use the screen. Some of the options, notably the flash options, disappear rather quickly from screen.

There is no optical viewfinder and you are forced to use the LCD screen. Although I find a viewfinder (with proper eye cup) more comfortable to use, this LCD screen works very adequately. Only in bright sunlight was working with slightly problematic.

Manufacturers of digital cameras do not read photo.net reviews. If they did, the Coolpix 2500 would surely have included an orientation sensor. Instead, the user is forced to use ACDSee, or a similar program, to rotate all images shot vertically.

The Coolpix 2500 has 12 programmed modes, including portrait, landscape and close-up. When using the camera, I hardly ever used these specific modes and almost always used the general program mode. The notable exceptions are illustrated below:

Crypt of La Catedral, Barcelona Close-up of a tea spoon Montjuic Fountain at night, Barcelona
Museum mode
no flash, braced against gate		 Close-up mode
no flash, hand-held		 General program mode
manual exposure compensation

Speed of Operation

Wooden construction, Broekpolder building site As with all digital compact cameras, the Coolpix 2500 is a fairly slow camera. It takes just under 6 seconds from switching the camera on to actually taking a picture. If it has gone into power safe mode, this takes approximately 4 seconds. The tilting lens design is not much of a hindrance here, because you can turn the lens while the camera is getting ready.

In continuous mode, the Coolpix keeps taking pictures until it buffer is full. Depending on the amount of compression it can apply, this may be limited to 3 photos. Note that the camera does not refocus or re-evaluate exposure in a continuous shoot (unless you release and press the shutter).

As a result, the Coolpix 2500 is unsuitable for action and decisive moment photography.

During a week-long trip, I found that the camera became progressively slower as the CF card filled up. In the end, simply trying to delete one or two images would require thirty seconds. Next time I would certainly bring some extra memory just to avoid this annoyance.

Flash photography

Portrait of Mrs. Rozemeyer A small built-in flash, located right next to the lens is your only option for flash photography. Nikon does not provide a guide number, but it turns out the flash is pretty weak and very prone to red-eye. The red-eye reduction feature works by emitting a series of pre-flashes before taking the actual picture. In practice, most subjects tend to move after the pre-flashes because they think the picture has already been taken. A lost photo is the result.

The Coolpix 2500 also has a special "Party/Indoor mode" in which it uses a long shutter speed combined with flash. Invariably, whenever I tried this, my shots were lost due to motion blur.

I suggest you do not rely too much on the built-in flash.

Of course, my friend Ruud proves me wrong by creating a lovely image of his mother, shown above. Red-eye reduction, low ambient light.

Connectivity and Software

Detail of hydraulic installation on a shovel The Coolpix 2500 uses a USB connection to a PC or Apple computer. The "One Touch Upload" feature works as promised, but my Athlon 500 / Windows 98SE computer crashed whenever I did not strictly follow the procedure specified in the manual. I expected the combination of hardware and software to be more fool-proof.

Nikon includes the following software with this camera:

  • Arcsoft PhotoImpression;
  • VideoImpression;
  • Panorama Maker;
  • Nikon View 5.

Except for Nikon View, I did not use the bundled software and kept using Photoshop. Nikon View version 5 now also supports files on hard drives, making it much more useful than version 4 which was bundled with the D1H camera. I like the fact that it immediately shows exposure data of the selected image, but the program appears to be slower and less intuitive than ACDSee.

Competition

Thermal isolation material, Broekpolder building site The market for ultra-compact digital cameras is constantly evolving, and you will have do some shopping yourself as well. My main complaint about these cameras is handling: they can be too small to use comfortably, so make sure you actually try a few models in a photo shop before you decide.

Here is a list of competitors for the Coolpix 2500. None of these cameras has the tilting lens design of the 2500, and all have very comparable specifications (2 megapixel, 3x optical zoom and a very compact and lightweight design).

Conclusion

The Coolpix 2500 is a nice, small camera. It is quite affordable and easy to use. The tilting lens mechanism is a nice touch, making shooting from different angles than eye-level easier. If you can live with its limitations (2 megapixel, slow operation and no optical viewfinder are the most important ones), I think this is a good choice.

More information

About the photos: as usual, the thumbnail images in this article link to larger, HTML-wrapped versions. These may have undergone some Photoshop editing to achieve a good web-quality image. In all cases, a link is included to the original file as produced by the camera.

Except for a possible lossless rotation with ACDSee, no other manipulation was performed on these files.

Patrick Hudepohl ( email)

Readers' Comments


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Orlando Andico , June 28, 2002; 03:56 A.M.

In the same price segment, I think the Canon Powershot A40 is a better choice, for two simple reasons:

1. Optical viewfinder 2. Full manual mode

Bryan Nuri , July 05, 2002; 01:01 P.M.

As digital cameras go, this is a pretty nice one at the price range/feature range. But there is somethng to consider: people looking into pruchasing this camera are not looking for manual exposure modes or a lot of individually selectable options. They want a camera that is simpler than the one their friends complain about. I like the CoolPix 2500, but I wouldn't buy it because when it comes to digital, I need more than it delivers.

David Kennedy , July 10, 2002; 01:22 A.M.

I'm inclined to disagree regarding battery consumption and the lack of an optical viewfinder. I've owned this camera for a little over a month now, and I've found that for average shooting (WITH flash, surprisingly) with about 20-30 pictures a day, it will last two days before you have to recharge the battery. If that's not incredible, I don't know what is.

The other thing I've heard several people complain about is the lack of an optical viewfinder. From what I've seen on other small digital cameras (such as the Canon Digial Elph) is that the optical viewfinders barely represent what the shot will look like on the monitor. Usually there is far more "sky" in the final picture than you can see in the viewfinder anyways. So long as you are holding this camera in front of your face (close to your head, not far out with arms extended as some people think you may have to with this camera) you maintain stability.

For snapshots this is a great little camera. It slips into your pocket very easily, yet it maintains a nice optical zoom, as opposed to some of the funkier "digital zoom" cameras. And if all you want are 4x6 or 5x7 inch prints, this is the camera to go with.

Stephen Bay , July 24, 2002; 12:46 A.M.

I purchased this camera and had two major problems with it. First, all my snapshots had horrendous redeye, even with the redeye reduction feature turned on. Second, after a couple of days the camera locked up with a "System Error" making it useless.

I checked on deja and it turns out that a fair number of people experienced system errors that locked up their coolpixes. Several people suggested removing the batteries so that the internal battery would drain allowing the software to reset. This did not work so I returned the camera.

jason milliron , August 02, 2002; 12:03 P.M.

I have no problems at all opening this camera. You just need to rotate the lens enough to expose the pad, in back. You then use the pad to rotate it the rest of the way.

I have been happy with the camera. It works for what I do, I just toss it in my pocket or bag when I travel and take pictures. Though I must admit, I take photos more for remembrance sake, not so much for artistic value.

Oh yeah, and no complaints about the battery here. It lasts me about two days (about 60 shots and a good bit of reviewing). With that said, I plan on getting a second if I keep this camera for a while.

Yaron Kidron , August 05, 2002; 12:13 P.M.

Terribly slow LCD update (I know I may be an optical freak, but this is unbearably slow, maybe 5-10fps), and an unacceptable shutter lag. I tried using it in conjunction with my EOS/3 on a one day trip: 2 rolls of provia (72exp.) had ~60 acceptable exposures, 120 shots on the Coolpix 2500 have turned out to be nearly worthless.

James Gary , August 05, 2002; 06:05 P.M.

I think this is a nice little camera. Incredibly handy, and the battery life is quite good. The special "scene" modes are nice to use, and produce good results. The "copy" option in the scene modes produces nice black & white photos, w/ good contrast. I've also got a Coolpix 995, which is certainly more robust and flexible. But I often find myself not utilizing the viewfinder - so the lack of one on the 2500 doesn't strike me as that much of a handicap (for this type of camera).

Chris Hayden , August 21, 2002; 08:42 P.M.

One feature which has been overlooked in some of these comments is that the Nikon Coolpix has a superb close up funtion - something which is severely lacking in the Canon equivalent. The 2500 is also a very compact camera which fits easily into a jacket pocket and never ceases to cause favorable comments for its elegant styling and color. Sure, like most DC's it is slow to operate, but I use a "real" camera for these situations.

Todd Peach , September 24, 2002; 01:14 P.M.

I'll second the opinion on 'superb closeup function'. This is the main reason I bought the camera, to do 'record shots' of garden flora:
http://www.electricacres.com/
Go into the 'dahlias' or 'roses' section and all the photos are made with the 2500. BTW, I quickly determined that it was easier to just shoot everything 'native' in the smallest sized 'fine' mode when I'm shooting for the web; saves me conversion steps later.

I also think the battery performance is one of this cameras strongest features. I have a spare battery, but I rarely need it. Red eye is abysmal, but I pretty much expected that in a package this small.

Handling does take a little getting used to. The small size ensures I take this camera everywhere. Bad experience: opened up the camera one day and found that the LCD was shattered; no idea how it happened, probably bumped it in my pocket. This was a $181 repair bill (ouch!)

I shoot in the garden a lot in fading light (sun behind trees at sunrise / sunset) because the 'overcast' light does well for flowers. I find I'm often on the hairy edge of camera shake due to the slow lens and low light. Learning to hold a camera in front of me (instead of mashed into my face) is tricky as well.

Bottom line, if mine broke (again), I'd replace it with another 2500.

Gary Morrison , September 27, 2002; 07:03 P.M.

I've just bought a 2500 and am pretty impressed all round. My main motivation for buying the thing was for use on snow for snowboarding shots which is a little unrealistic for any digi I suppose, but the 16 x shot continuous mode impressed me - if exposure is reduced (as is required for snow shots) the refresh and shoot times are pretty quick. My only gripe is the lack of optical view finder, but to be honest this only really figures in battery life stakes. The cam was cheap, another battery is only £30 in the UK and mem cards cost next to nothing these days.

I've just signed up for photo.net so if you have a portfolio posting page, I'll upload this season's results when I can.

Cheers

Gary BTW - My cam is covered by my house insurance and my annual travel insurance, so damaging it especially the LCD shouldn't be a worry....

Mike Kovacs , December 02, 2002; 03:46 P.M.

A non-photographer friend of mine bought this camera so I have had a chance to use it a little bit.

Do you agree that the hinges on the door used to access the memory card and battery seem very cheap? I worry that this door will break sooner or later.

The lack of an optical viewfinder makes composition and sharp handheld photos difficult. One is forced to hold the camera without bracing it against one's face. Locking your elbows in against your side helps somewhat.

A second battery back is highly recommended. This little camera has quite an appetite for batteries. (this coming from a film user)

glenn weinreb , December 12, 2002; 07:25 A.M.

I liked the 2500 review, and liked the photos here. I am a Coolpix fan. I had a Coolpix 775 for 1yr, and recently upgraded to a Coolpix 4300, which I like very much as well. I think it would be interesting to show some comparison shots with the various Coolpix and Cannon elf cameras where the camera is in Auto mode, and the shots are typical cases that are not selected for being easy shots (e.g. sun behind subject, etc).

Jerry Rusko , April 18, 2003; 02:31 P.M.

I bought the Coolpix 2500 a year ago for wildflower photography. Even though it has only 2 megapixels, I have produced some outstanding 8x10's on an Epson printer.

As has been stated, the macro function of the 2500 is outstanding. Like all but the high end digital cameras there is a problem of depth of field, but the trick is to use it to your advantage and blur any distracting background.

Feeling the need for more megapixels I bought the Coolpix 4300. Although a great general purpose camera, the 4300 cannot do macros as well as the 2500. Also, the swivel lens on the 2500 saves a lot of back aches if you photograph wildflowers or small children.

One warning: if you like to carry your 2500 in your pocket or purse, place it in a sealable plastic bag first. I scratched my LCD screen before I learned that trick. The plastic bag also protects the 2500 from water damage.

Sarah Pasha , December 07, 2005; 09:16 A.M.

Thank you Patrick for such a detail camera review. I must admit I did not know much of the stuff you mentioned in your review.


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