Rating:

The size of the camera is great and picture quality seems good and the price is good. The touch screen is also great and it’s easy to use.

Unfortunately the image review issue is a deal breaker so I’m looking into a Canon.

Rating:

Positives:

Compact, easy to use, great picture quality, hi-def video capture.

Negatives:

No HDMI port.

Details:

Hi-def video:

720p, 24 frames per second. Does not include an HDMI port, so movies have to be downloaded into a computer to be seen.

Picture sharing:

You get 2GB free online storage to share pictures on the web.

Hardware:

Touch screen: this is the camera’s main control mechanism, and it delivers. Bright screen that can easily be seen in bright light. Large virtual buttons that make navigating the options quite easy. Ok responsiveness, not the fastest, but certainly adequate.

Flash: It is tiny. Adequate only for filling in shadows, but in a dimly lit, indoor setting you get some noise on the pictures (as the camera automatically adjusts the ISO). Indoor images tended to be well focused despite the small flash.

Battery: I took 425 pictures (no flash) without needing to recharge.

Ease of use: Once you get used to the idea that there are no buttons readily available (all buttons and commands go through the touch screen on the back) it is quite easy to use. There are some settings (such as BBS) which require a quick review of the manual to know what they are for.

Burst mode: Contrary to other cameras in this group (i.e. Canon A3100) this one includes a burst mode which allows to take up to 16 images in rapid succession.

Pre-set scene mode: Gives you the common ones (portrait, landscape, children running, etc.) and some new ones, such as fireworks and dawn. There are 16 different scenes to choose from there are as many options as higher end models.

Rating:

There is an issue with charging the battery. This has been mentioned in at least one other review, don’t remember the color of that camera (doesn’t matter). Recharging is not done as described in the quick start guide. Put the USB connector in the wall plug-in part, and plug it into your outlet, THEN attach the other end to the camera. This is the only way that the camera will be triggered to turn on and recharge. Wall first, camera second.

The guide says charging a fully discharged battery can take up to two hours and 10 minutes, or thereabouts. After three and a half hours, though the light was still blinking, I unplugged mine during its first charge. The battery icon did not show up in the display, meaning it was charged.

The default should not be for digital zoom to be turned on. Make your first menu adjustment turning that off!

Another reviewer got the best results with a setting of 3m for the images. I set mine at 8 and they seem fine; unless you are going to print very large posters, you also may want to cut back from the 12m.

Flash settings aren’t sticky, so if you turned it off and then turned the camera off, the flash will be back on auto when you turn it back on.

I found the color to be good, white balance to be fairly accurate, exposure to be so-so, all in auto scene mode. The touch screen works well but it does pick up fingerprints–scrolling and selecting worked better for me using my fingernail; they provide a stylus that can be attached to the strap and would also help reduce greasiness on the screen.

The red version looks just plain cool. It’s very small, even for a compact, and very lightweight. It’s a camera for snapshots, and with that limitation in mind, I think it does very well. (Don’t over-expect.) I noticed that it sometimes found more than one focus spot in a scene, and that worked well. Mine came with a carrying case included in the box. It comes with the full manual on a CD. The card readers built into both my laptop and desktop computers (both Windows 7, a Dell and an HP) were able to read the card with no problem, so I did not install any of the software that came with it.

Rating:

Charging the battery:

First, is how to charge the battery. You must plug the a/c charger into a electrical outlet…..THEN…..plug the adapter into the charge port of the camera. If you try it any other way, it won’t charge. The quick start, manual on CD and the downloadable manual from Nikon…………spell it out the wrong way.

Firmware update:

My camera came with version 1.0. If you go to [...] you will find a new version is waiting for you to download. They also have an illustrated file to download to help you do the update. The SD card is formatted by the camera……….. …….a PC will not read the card. My XP pro did not read the card. Therefore, you cannot copy the firmware to the SD disk. My Windows 7 machine did read it, copied it and I made an update to my camera. So your XP machine might not be able to do the update.

Another issue is how to power the camera during the update. The instructions were not clear to me and a call to Nikon approves of this approach. Use a fully charged battery as the only power source and you will be able to complete the update.

The update will change the HD video from 24 to 30fps.

If you buy a SD card…check with the 200 page manual to see what cards are approved. Write times vary with manufacture. The Sand Disk, I felt, had a rapid write time.

I am pleased with the camera. It is packed with features that Amazon points out during camera description. It should be noted that in AUTO, the camera picks out what it likes to make your shot. AUTO is a place to START making your perfect photo. The camera has many features to fine tune that shot into a family treasure. Spend some time and try ALL the features and see what happens to the same photo shot. Its part of the fun of digital cameras. I don’t mind saying, I resisted digital and stayed with film for many years. This camera will allow you to be creative in a much faster pace. Is it going to replace a 650$ SLR. No way. It will allow you to carry a very cool pocket camera to get those “grab me shots” or just really get into digital photography.

Nikon can be reached at 1 800 645 6689 7days a week from 8am to 2am Eastern time. They were very patient and helpful to me during my two calls to them. Also try their web site for answers on consumer questions on this camera. There was an answer on XP problems during transfer from camera to pc. I need to look that one over next

Rating:

It does not have the same image quality as a DSLR, but considering that I wouldn’t have dared to take a DSLR out of its bag on a day like that, the TX5 allowed me to get dozens of shots I would not otherwise have managed. If you’re looking for something small, lightweight and (so far, at least) able to handle whatever nature throws at you, I highly recommend this camera.

Rating:

I was expecting an upgrade but instead I got a major downgrade in quality and features.

This camera only has two timer modes Single shot 10s and single shot 2s where my Canon cameras have 4 including custom preset timers with Multiple shots in one setting.

Macro mode is more than useless and doesn’t perform well at all.

Video on this camera is ok but the video is really choppy, laggy and doesn’t look very high def at all.

The images taken with this camera are not very clear and are very grainy at best. I only see this camera useful if you want to spend hours with photoshop to touch up each photo before you can even share it with your friends and family.

I am sending this camera back for a refund and going to buy a Canon DSLR instead.