Wright,
I agree that we should not judge a camera by its MP. More pixels could translate to just more noise ! I have photos taken with 1.3MP Sony DSC S30 which are very sharp and clean, much cleaner than some of the current generation of 5MP consumer cameras.
I'll trade a 8MP consumer digicam CCD for the Canon 3MP CMOS sensor anytime !
The quality of a digital image is affected by many factors - the lens, the CCD, the software in the camera, lighting condition and of course the technique and person taking the photo.
I never had problem with purple fringing because I seldom take backlit subjects. Also, unless you plan to print anything bigger than 5R, purple fringing is usually not an issue. The other problem is sometimes we tend to over scrutinise the details when viewing photo on computer. In reality, people usually focus more on the composition and subject than details and sharpness when viewing prints.
The CoolPix series has very good close focusing capability but the flash is useless. I took lots of closeup picture of butterfly egg, caterpillar and butterfly with this camera before I bought a DSLR.
Shutter lag is always an issue with all consumer digicams, not just the CoolPix. However, once you get used to it, you learn to adapt to it and it is not a big deal. Practice shooting butterfly and you will have no problem shooting fish or children
As for Sony, I find the SXX and FXXX series to be very good, much better than the P, W and U series. The F717 is my favorite all purpose camera for shooting nature subjects as well as travel photos.
Bookmarks