Nikon coolpix P500

I recently got myself a better camera, I've been thinking about getting one since the middle of last year, but have not really been in a financial position to do so (thank you 13th check/my bosses!) I had become more and more aware of the shortfalls of my little canon ixus 70, and was unsatisfied with its performance in low light conditions, macro etc. I also wanted to try out some video recording - movie making! The expansion of creativity!

I've had some experience with DSLR cameras at work, and have an old film SLR nikon at home, but I didn't want a camera that's too bulky or expensive that I would be too scared to take anywhere for fear of it being stolen, drunkenly dropped or have alcohol spilled on it... (come to think of it, none of this has happened to my lil canon, so maybe I'm being melodramatic). Any ways, after looking through hundreds of reviews and comparisons (there are way too many cameras out there) my head exploded and I merely walked into a decent camera shop and told them my budget and was recommended the Nikon coolpix P500.

The Nikon P500 doesn't get the best reviews online, but after playing around with it a bit, I'm pretty happy with it. It looks great, is compact and has a very far reaching zoom. It takes great macro and night time shots. Its got manual settings to allow me to have full fiddling control and also an impressive array of presets which allow for quick and easy photo taking (I do play the trigger happy tourist now and again). The auto function makes it easy for my friends and family to use too. Once I got over the mentality of comparing this camera to a DSLR (you really can't, its just not in the same class) I really started having fun with this camera.

So here are some test shots (they haven't been edited in any way):

Frist, a nondescript fur blob in lamp light

 

We have mielies in our veggie garden!

My garden, it looks like it's got some fish eye distortion, but it might just be the angle. 

I'm very impressed with these macro shots - do you know how small these plants are? The flower fits on the tip of my finger!

The food preset is quite awesome (hehe trust me to find the food preset)

The super zoom allows me to take sneaky close up of the guineas from a distance (here I was like 5m away). You see the whites in Poe's eye? She knew I was looking at her...I love how close you can get!