Nikon Coolpix A in transition?

jacko

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Location
Miami, FL
Name
Jack Osterholt
I purchased a new Coolpix A as a birthday gift from my local camera shop for $399.00. I was told that the price was a 70% discount from retail. I smiled and signed the retreat. I assume that Nikon is replacing the camera with a new model. I was thrilled with the deal since I have always heard that it is a good camera. Since I shoot the other brand, I don't keep up with the latest news about Nikon.

Did I make a good purchase, or just bought an out of date piece of equipment?

Thanks in advance for the advice

Jack.
 
You made a good purchase on a camera that's not out of date at the moment. Whether it will be replaced by a new model or just discontinued is anyone's guess at this point. There have been rumors of a replacement, but no real leaks of reliable information. The rumors indicate that if there is, it might have a 24mp sensor, maybe a built-in finder of some type, maybe a flip up rear screen? I don't think any of those things would cause me to upgrade - I love the current version and feel I've gotten my money's worth even though I paid full price for it two years ago. To me, 24mp isn't an improvement over 16 for how I use this camera. My guess is a 24mp sensor would probably have better DR at base ISO but would be no better if as good in lower light - I shoot in lower light a lot...

In any case, you got a great deal on a great camera, so enjoy it. It's future is totally unknown though...

-Ray
 
Jack, the $399 price on the Coolpix A made a bit of news on this site when it initially happened. Your camera originally was close to $1200. So, yes, you got a great deal and the camera works just fine. As a matter of fact, it will continue to work just fine even if a replacement is introduced. You done good. ;)
 
I bought the A for a similar price. Great camera. The biggest fix I could see on a new model is faster AF. If you can work with the current, AF, you're probably good to go.
 
Ray

I have followed your comments for a while now, and to tell you the truth, your comments got me into the camera shop to begin with. Even if i shoot them white lenses, i may buy one just for fun.

Again thanks for the response.

Jack
 
Even if i shoot them white lenses, i may buy one just for fun.

oh you shoot Pentax? ;)

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no, not now....but my first slr was a Spotmatic. Damn, i loved that thing....next came a Nikon F with a slide off back....what a pain. Damn, i miss TriX!!!
 
I too bought the A at introduction price. I wanted the OVF but remained stiff-necked and refused the pay the $400 for the thing. Recently, when B&H made the offer of selling me the $400 dollar OVF, and throw in a free Coolpix A, I could not resist. Now I have a spare A.
 
I too bought the A at introduction price. I wanted the OVF but remained stiff-necked and refused the pay the $400 for the thing. Recently, when B&H made the offer of selling me the $400 dollar OVF, and throw in a free Coolpix A, I could not resist. Now I have a spare A.
I suspect I'll have a second one at some point. If they come out with an updated version, I figure the odds are slightly higher that it won't be compelling enough for me to buy than that it is - I'm guessing a 24mp sensor which I wouldn't care about and a couple of changes to the framing (ie, viewfinder, flip up screen) that wouldn't be a big deal to me either. There are a few firmware tweaks that I might like enough if they add them, but the odds are I probably don't buy a new one. In which case the remaining first generation A's will still be available, even slightly cheaper, and I'll get a backup. Or, perhaps as likely, the model is allowed to die with no replacement, in which case I'll definitely want a second one, maybe a third to be safe, although my original has proven to be tough as nails thus far, and shows no signs of giving up the ghost. I have a little Sigma 28mm framed OVF that I can use with the A, but never do, so the Nikon OVF was never on my radar...

I saw the original priced about right, a couple hundred dollars less than the X100 models at intro, and at least as good except for the viewfinder. But then Ricoh underpriced it pretty seriously with the GR, which made the A appear overpriced in comparison. I've spent a good deal more than $1100 for cameras I've got a LOT less use out of and a WHOLE LOT less pleasure out of than the A, though, so I've never had even half a regret about paying the full price.

-Ray
 
They are tough. A week after I bought mine, I had it sitting in my lap at a Red's game, when action on the field caused me to jump to my feet. This action resulted the A being catapulted to a height of about four feet, and a distance of four or five feet to my right. I watched, in horror- this was my first instance of true camera ubuse- as the A slid across the concrete, like a hockey puck, lens side down, for a distance of another four or five feet. No parts fell off, and aside from some abrasions around the lens housing, the thing continued to work like a champ.....I still have the photos I took later of Chapman striking out the side to win the game. Recently, the lens mechanism started making some funny noises and, if it sits in the sun and heats up a bit, the lens sometimes needs external physical stimulation to fully retract when the camera is turned off. I figure it would probably cost about as much as a new A to get it fixed. The price drop came at a good time for me. Maybe the original A will make a good tackle box camera.

As a side note, I have handled the Ricoh GR; and although I am sure it is a great camera. I am confident the GR would have suffered much more damage if subjected to my Coolpix A hockey puck test.
 
They are tough. A week after I bought mine, I had it sitting in my lap at a Red's game, when action on the field caused me to jump to my feet. This action resulted the A being catapulted to a height of about four feet, and a distance of four or five feet to my right. I watched, in horror- this was my first instance of true camera ubuse- as the A slid across the concrete, like a hockey puck, lens side down, for a distance of another four or five feet. No parts fell off, and aside from some abrasions around the lens housing, the thing continued to work like a champ.....

I think you were lucky. I recently slipped on a piece of ice as I was taking pictures and the Coolpix A's lens hit a rock. After this the battery door doesn't close and the lens won't retract or focus. I figure it would cost way more than it's worth now to have this fixed.
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I just replaced it with a Sony RX100II. No where near the same IQ but the auto focus is so much better on the Sony. That was the worst part of the Coolpix A IMO. I mostly ended up using it with center spot and the focusing assigned to Fn1 button on the front.

-Thomas
 
I'm actually having a bit of crisis here. There's little point to keeping the A and the X100s, but i'm debating selling the Fuji. The A works fine and since I don't really do MF the clip on OVF I have is fine. I find the IQ similar. The real advantage of the A is that it's smaller and I'm more likely to take it with me.
 
I'm actually having a bit of crisis here. There's little point to keeping the A and the X100s, but i'm debating selling the Fuji. The A works fine and since I don't really do MF the clip on OVF I have is fine. I find the IQ similar. The real advantage of the A is that it's smaller and I'm more likely to take it with me.
A crisis? Sounds like a first-world non-problem to me... :cool:

I find 35mm and 28mm different enough that I'd possibly keep both if I used both enough. I personally don't like 35 near as much as 28, so I replaced my X100 and later my RX1 with a good 35mm lens for my Df. But if you really don't see much difference between them and only want to keep one, I guess it comes down to Fuji's very cool hybrid viewfinder vs the Coolpix A's smaller size. There are a couple of other operational details that I much prefer on the Nikon, but they're probably limited to me. If you like them equally in use, it's pretty much down to size vs viewfinder... Both great cameras!

-Ray
 
A crisis? Sounds like a first-world non-problem to me... :cool:

I find 35mm and 28mm different enough that I'd possibly keep both if I used both enough. I personally don't like 35 near as much as 28, so I replaced my X100 and later my RX1 with a good 35mm lens for my Df. But if you really don't see much difference between them and only want to keep one, I guess it comes down to Fuji's very cool hybrid viewfinder vs the Coolpix A's smaller size. There are a couple of other operational details that I much prefer on the Nikon, but they're probably limited to me. If you like them equally in use, it's pretty much down to size vs viewfinder... Both great cameras!

-Ray

Hey, it's a first world crisis. :rolleyes: Really, It's a reasonable amount of my camera resources so I'm trying to decide whether or not to sell the Fuji. I think the size of the A might trump the VF of the Fuji,especially since the OLy VF1 works just fine.
 
I'm actually having a bit of crisis here. There's little point to keeping the A and the X100s, but i'm debating selling the Fuji. The A works fine and since I don't really do MF the clip on OVF I have is fine. I find the IQ similar. The real advantage of the A is that it's smaller and I'm more likely to take it with me.
Ray mentioned the difference between 28 and 35mm, for me it's worse and the other way around - I LOVE 35mm, my most used FL ever but can't handle 28mm, lol. If you're OK with either FL, well, you've got two nice cameras there and maybe time will have to judge - if there's no need to rush your decision. I also still have my NEX-7, even though I don't use it that often anymore and wanted to sell it long ago. It's just that it has some features I wish my X-Pro1 had (no pre-RAW noise cancellation, flip screen, better focus peaking, ...) which I'd surely miss in certain situations. So it's still here and I'm glad it is, but only you can know what you really need or just want.
 
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