Photo - wow!

All I can say is WOW.

I’ve spent a few hours this evening playing with my new “toy” . a
Nikon Coolpix 8700. After many years of struggling along with a
2nd-generation Kodak 290 (a good-enough digital camera in its day),
I finally bit the bullet and made the investment in the Nikon. My
criteria was a combination of ease-of-use (I am NOT a photographer)
combined with excellent macro capabilities, so that I can produce my
own slides for all but the most persnickety juries, my website, and
various ad and promotional campaigns. All I can say is that this
baby rocks.

After about 10 test shots, I felt increasingly comfy with the
controls and the macro capabilities. The white balance was excellent
right out of the box, and the image stabilization was good. At 8
megapixels, the resolution is truly awesome. The detail of jewelry
pieces, stones, etc. are just plain outstanding.

As someone who remains photographically challenged, I was amazed at
the truly decent quality of pictures I was getting with relatively
little effort. Definitely worth the investment. Over the weekend,
I’ll try to get some of them posted to my website so you can see what
I mean.

So for those of you thinking about taking the plunge and getting a
digital for your jewelry, consider this one. It’s the newest of the
mid-range Nikon models, with the same body as the 5700. Lenses are
improved and processor is significantly improved (5 MP in the
earlier version compared to 8 MP here - the difference between good
resolution at 8x10 vs 11x14, basically).

Karen Goeller
@Karen_Goeller
Hand-crafted artisan jewelry
http://www.nolimitations.com

Awesome, Karen!

I wanted to reply to concur with Karen on the newer digitals - last
year I bought an Olympus C-5050 Zoom and have been thoroughly
impressed with the ease, white balance, macro and super macro. Mine
is 5 megapixel and I’m thinking I read about a newer Olympus model
recently, but I, too was absolutely stunned at the possibilities.

Besides the jewelry photos that look awesome (with just a desklamp
or windowlight or both!) my eleven-year-old daughter and I have had a
blast shooting flowers and nature. I got a printer with up to 9 x
13" capability and we have been in heaven. No more waiting on/
paying for professional photos of my pieces, and I have more truly
beautiful photos in the last year than everything prior combined.

Nancy