3.4 Star Reviews

So how easy is this bad boy to turn on and take decent pictures.

In other words can I quickly hit power, point and snap and have a great picture or would it be recommended to screw with settings beforehand?


OH and I heard a good lens can make the camera a great camera. Is this lens any good or should I stick to a camera with a carl zeiss. (Still looking in the point and shoot category)

outer78 wrote:So how easy is this bad boy to turn on and take decent pictures.

In other words can I quickly hit power, point and snap and have a great picture or would it be recommended to screw with settings beforehand?

Well it's a good idea to take it out of your pocket/case first...

Lets watch CNET.com "Very Good" review on this camera

I'm not so sure, its refurbished...

DPReview: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-coolpix-s9300/8

I just bought one from Costco a few months ago. It's not very fun if you know your way around exposure. That, or I still can't friggin' figure out how to friggin' use Aperture priority! Is it that friggin' hard to have that function?!
But for the quick picture at a party it's fantastic, which is what I bought it for. I can take pictures (pocket to picture) in probably 4 or 5 seconds. They turn out, mostly. It has a problem with oversharpening, but you're not likely to notice at facebook levels. Let me know if anyone else has any questions on use.

The best place for Camera Reviews is: DP Reviews - S9300

1/2 price for a refurb is fairly decent since it is a Nikon. The 18x optical zoom would work well for a travel camera too.

In for 1

Sit back and watch this review (with sample images) courtesy of that nikon guy

If I had a Benji to blow, I'd be in for one.

(That phrase sounded cool in my head, but it comes across as kind of obscene. It's staying regardless. No shame!)

buenocabra wrote:If I had a Benji to blow, I'd be in for one.

(That phrase sounded cool in my head, but it comes across as kind of obscene. It's staying regardless. No shame!)

greciandelight wrote:

That's awesome... How could you not blow a Benji on this camera. Oh, look at his sweet innocent face! Sold!

Hmmmm.... given the specs this sounds like a pretty decent deal - just like the old Woot we grew to love when this site first started. So I know it says 6.9 frames a second up to 7 frames (????) okay sounds fast enough but one thing I have discovered about cameras at this price point is just because it can knock off 6 or 7 in a second that doesn't mean there isn't a lag between pushing the shutter button and having the thing actually take the picture. Does this camera have any of that lag when you want to shoot in single frame mode? If it doesn't have any lag or not enough to be concerned about i just might be in for one assuming it doesn't sell out which it very well might given its a Nikon and all..

Have been very happy with the S6000 model I got a couple of years ago. I've had previous Nikon point-n-shoots -- film and digital -- and have found them to work well. For this price I might get it just to have a spare...

Well i got a 9300 and it was defective so I dont know if it was that great or not.i ended up going cheaper and getting the 6300 nikon. It is really really slow! It usually takes good photos, but if you meet a celeb and have to be quick, it is horrible! It only has a 10x zoom and when I take it to concerts and such it is grainy, and took it to a movie premiere and the pics were not so good, then the camera defected because, come to find out, there are very few acceptable memory cards that do not break the camera!
I just hope the 9300 is quicker! I don't think I will chance one again with only a 90 day warranty, not reassuring!

I've had a S8200 for 6 months. Similar camera, but these specs are slightly higher. Mine has instant on, and almost no shutter lag. It takes very good photos for a point and shoot. The only downside is that it is a little heavy for a pants pocket. I've gotten used to leaving it in a case held by my belt. Except for really fine work, I've all but abandoned my Nikon DSLR.
I think this is a great deal for the price.

I realize this is good small point-and-shoot that they added a nice big lens and a pop-up flash to.

But when I saw it, it looked like one of those really cheap fixed focus 35mm cameras from the 20th century. The kind you would get for signing up for something, or listening to a time share spiel.

I bought one of these to tote around on trips for when I don't want or have time to pull out the DSLR, I'm pretty happy with it and it fulfilled that role quite well. Very nice pics and a whole lot of cool features. Most used for me include panorama (which works nicely) and chroma key. It is pretty particular about how it likes to be charged though ... a real problem when I don't plan so well.

First time I try to buy something and the server freezes up on me???? Really?

I have this camera and it is great. The zoom is fantastic. We use it for sports and travel. It is noce to have a flash and there is an in camera zoom that is cool.

$99 is a fantastic price.

I logged out and back in. Got it. Thanks, Woot!

Why two days shipping is not available?
I would need it delivered by Marh 29.
How long does standard shipping takes?

theazman wrote:I'm not so sure, its refurbished...

Done by Nikon! That's a big difference.

emilshenfeld wrote:Why two days shipping is not available?
I would need it delivered by Marh 29.
How long does standard shipping takes?

It's probably coming direct from Nikon. You're taking a chance but I would going by my prior shipping. I have over 300 woot orders since 2006.

greciandelight wrote:

It figures you're Greek... same sick and twisted mind I have. Kalo post

Seriously, this looks to be a great deal (old school Woot?) when compared with list and used / refurb options out there.

Perfect graduation gift camera. In for 1!!

I was really looking at all the reviews I could find and I'm probably going to not get this. The battery life isn't good; it uses a proprietary USB cable; B&H Photo lists it as discontinued; I can find no references as to how rugged this might be.

11 glass element lens though....

I have a Pasasonic Lumix that I wooted a couple of years back (refurbished) and it's doing great. However, this camera can zoom in and out while you're shooting video, which mine can't.

Money is so tight these days, I just don't know....

outer78 wrote:So how easy is this bad boy to turn on and take decent pictures.

In other words can I quickly hit power, point and snap and have a great picture or would it be recommended to screw with settings beforehand?


OH and I heard a good lens can make the camera a great camera. Is this lens any good or should I stick to a camera with a carl zeiss. (Still looking in the point and shoot category)

You need to tell us what kind of "decent" photos you are hoping to take. I had one person in my class wanting a camera for "general photography."

When asked what that included, they said shots of eagles on the bluff, indoor sports shots, nature photos, etc." That AIN'T general photography. That requires far better gear than the sub-$100 compact camera.

Anyone know how it compares to the Panasonic DMC-ZS19 that was on here a few days back for about $20 more?

mod: obviously higher megapixel, but less zoom. I'm more asking about quality of build and best over all value.

This link helped: Comparison

gothicchic21 wrote:Well i got a 9300 and it was defective so I dont know if it was that great or not.i ended up going cheaper and getting the 6300 nikon. It is really really slow! It usually takes good photos, but if you meet a celeb and have to be quick, it is horrible! It only has a 10x zoom and when I take it to concerts and such it is grainy, and took it to a movie premiere and the pics were not so good, then the camera defected because, come to find out, there are very few acceptable memory cards that do not break the camera!
I just hope the 9300 is quicker! I don't think I will chance one again with only a 90 day warranty, not reassuring!

Seriously, I humbly suggest you bone up on how to use the digital camera you just bought. Take a class, read a book, look online.

First, your "grainy" concert shots are probably from using "digital zoom" which simply crops the image inside the camera. The lens on a cheaper camera is really not designed for "available light," although some concerts are pretty well lit.

Second, there is no such thing as cards that break the camera: there ARE cards that work faster and are required for some functions such as HD video and very fast bursts.

As far as slow start up and shutter lag, you get what you pay for. More expensive cameras work faster.

Digital cameras are not magic, they just don't use film.

Once you know the limitations of your camera and when it's not going to work, you won't be as disappointed.

nss wrote:It's not very fun if you know your way around exposure. That, or I still can't friggin' figure out how to friggin' use Aperture priority! Is it that friggin' hard to have that function?!

You may start to notice that A/S/M (aperture priority/shutter priority/manual) are going away or are very well hidden on most cameras in this class.

Reason: most "younger" people don't know anything about apertures, shutter speeds or their relationship to the ISO of the camera. They don't use those features and they don't care about them.

That's because most people have not had to adjust a camera in 30-40 years.

Some people want to be Ansel Adams and other Andy Warhol.

The fun thing is that the advanced AI on many camera in this class of camera provide astounding results with no knowledge of what the camera is doing.

I really wish these camera’s manufacturers would show how long of a recorded video they will make.

I used to think that they would keep recording a video for the length of the memory, or until the battery died, whichever came 1st. That what happens on all my older Casio’s.

Then I bought one of the Pentax Optio 18x optical camera’s from woot. Great pictures, nice movies, but even with an NTFS or FAT32 formatted SD card, it has a software limit of 2GB. So 10 minutes on high res, longer on lower res. Pentax has no plans on updating their software either (I checked).
No idea for this camera.

DerWeissFlugenWurst wrote:I really wish these camera’s manufacturers would show how long of a recorded video they will make.

I used to think that they would keep recording a video for the length of the memory, or until the battery died, whichever came 1st. That what happens on all my older Casio’s.

Then I bought one of the Pentax Optio 18x optical camera’s from woot. Great pictures, nice movies, but even with an NTFS or FAT32 formatted SD card, it has a software limit of 2GB. So 10 minutes on high res, longer on lower res. Pentax has no plans on updating their software either (I checked).
No idea for this camera.

I wonder if there are heat built-up problems in the sensors that prevent unlimited video? Just a guess.

I think how long a continous video can be has more to do with memory speed and buffering than heating effects. This would depend on the class of the SD Card, so there's that variable. Just a guess.

radi0j0hn wrote:I wonder if there are heat built-up problems in the sensors that prevent unlimited video? Just a guess.

can this camera be mounted on a tripod? No photos of bottom to see if there is a mount. thx

DerWeissFlugenWurst wrote:I really wish these camera’s manufacturers would show how long of a recorded video they will make.

I used to think that they would keep recording a video for the length of the memory, or until the battery died, whichever came 1st. That what happens on all my older Casio’s.

Then I bought one of the Pentax Optio 18x optical camera’s from woot. Great pictures, nice movies, but even with an NTFS or FAT32 formatted SD card, it has a software limit of 2GB. So 10 minutes on high res, longer on lower res. Pentax has no plans on updating their software either (I checked).
No idea for this camera.

Clip limits

One of the main disadvantages with using a stills camera to shoot movies is the short recording times available for HD video; Nikons limit a single take to 5 minutes while Canons and European Panasonics stop after 29 minutes, 59 seconds. This limitation is due to the different (European) import duty rates for still and video cameras. However, although this may seem like a handicap, in reality you would never need to shoot a sequence for longer than a couple of minutes or so (The celebrated opening take of Orson Welles' 'Touch of Evil' calls it a day after just three and a half). Look at any program or documentary on TV and notice that most shots are only held for a few seconds. Furthermore, a 4Gb card will store just 12 minutes of 1080p video from a Canon 5D Mark II, so you may never hit the 29 minute limit. The only time you would possibly need a longer recording time is in the case of shooting an entire wedding ceremony or event, in these situations a camcorder may be a better option.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/3438174465/digital-cameras-video-a-beginners-guide

fabricsnob wrote:can this camera be mounted on a tripod? No photos of bottom to see if there is a mount. thx

I am 100% confident there is a tripod socket.

fabricsnob wrote:can this camera be mounted on a tripod? No photos of bottom to see if there is a mount. thx