Just bought one of these over weekend and tried it out extensively. Compact, solid design that feels good in your hand. At this price the feature list is superb: Electronic View Finder (EVF), 5x opitcal zoom, 8 megapixel, Auto/Program AND Manual controls. Movie mode that allows zooming while you shoot. Exceptional image quality. Vibration reduction image stabilization works great, too. I also was pleasantly surprised to see that it uses AA batteries--no expensive special purpose lithium batteries. These were all important features for me.

The EVF is very cool and unusual in a camera at this price and, it seems more and more, a viewfinder of ANY kind in a point & shoot camera is becoming unusual. So many of the newer models are eliminating this feature, requiring you to use the large LCD screen. The EVF is better than a traditional optical viewfinder, since it mimics the large preview LCD: it shows any menu options, too. In bright sunlight this makes the camera very easy to use. Without the EVF, I don't know how I would have shot so many of my test photos over this past weekend in the bright sun.

The P60 is fun to use. Its various shooting modes offer real differences in image composition and creation. Lots to experiment with here, but at the same time it is an easy-to-use point and shoot camera for taking snapshots.

If you're in the market for a small digital camera, seriously consider this one.

Over the past 2 years, I have gone through a lot of Nikon Point and Shoot Cameras. I started with the L1, S200, s51, 7900, even a P5000 and briefly had a Canon SD 700IS. I have to say, the P60 is the best out of all of them! Almost absent is Nikon's annoying shutter lag they had in previous models and now it is a fast, responsive little camera. I don't think it will win the award for quickest compared to the Canon's Elphs, but it is a sure improvement. The camera is quiet when zooming and very fast. Image quality from what I can see so far is excellent. Best of all, it takes Double AA batteries back to the days when I had a Nikon 950. It is very light and not heavy. Also it isn't a sub compact camera, so don't expect it to fit in a little girl's pocket. The electronic viewfinder is also very nice to have on a camera this small. It isn't the sharpest when u look through it, but it is a nice option to have. The only drawback is that the P60 does not have the wide angle lens that the P50 had, it makes up for it though in the 5X Zoom. This camera also has less shutter lag than the flagship P5100, which I have used (I had the previous P5000 model). All in all, I think Nikon fixed a lot of flaws on this model. Hopefully, they keep up the good work!

My purchase was based on the following criteria:

1. Price - Under $200.
2. Features - 8MP, 5X optical zoom with stabilizer, EVF, AA batteries.
3. Design - Compact, easy to read buttons, flex grip handle.

Nikon is a well known brand in the photography field. The Coolpix P60 keeps the brand competitive by offering quality features and design at a low price. Most compact point-and-shoot cameras in this category are well above $200. Uploading pictures on the included software is easy. The black matte color gives the camera a professional and distinctive look. Overall, 4 stars. Five stars if the weight was a bit lighter.

Please view my images in the image gallery here under customer images. This camera is AMAZING. I have never experienced a better point and shoot camera in my life. For the money, it is a no brainer on purchasing it.

First huge pro, I can take pictures so quick! There is almost no lag time between shots no matter what my image size or quality is set on. The only time there is real lag is in really really low light conditions when special flash and lighting is required. But it is not that bad even then.

Second huge pro, this little bundle is STURDY and very easy to grip onto. To be on the safe side, it does come with a little wrist wrap to hang onto your hand incase of an accidental drop.

The zoom on this thing is AMAZING! I was able to take pictures from a fifth floor building down onto a baseball field and capture actual detail of the players like you would NOT believe. And it is clear! It doesn't look like it will be clear when you first take it - but on playback, it will shock you how it turned out!

The electric viewfinder. No more squinting and shielding the screen out of the sunlight to see your subject(s). One click of a button on the back of the camera and you have a viewfinder which helps IMMENSELY - I can't even tell you how many times I used it in even one day. It is wonderful to have that feature. No more surprise mis-shots or cropped out images because you were guessing at the image being in the picture due to not being able to see that little screen!

More control over shutter speeds and aperture and lighting. This gives you so many more customizable options than I have ever experienced. I feel like the camera is more "mine." I can make the pictures look the way I want them too, not the way some company thought they should look. :) Playing with shadows and light can be much more exciting with the manual customizations you can make on this camera.

I have ALWAYS loved the image quality of Nikon and this is no exception. The pictures are BREATHTAKING. I keep getting "ooohs and ahhhs" with all of my images. The detail is so crisp. And there are so many options - that this camera has literally endless possibilities.

Nikon is a wonderful company that (in my opinion) has ALWAYS lived up to their good name. And this is a price you can not beat. The SRP is I believe somewhere in the 230 range. (In my opinion, it's worth way more.) And Amazon is selling it for a steal. GRAB IT. Check out those pictures I uploaded here and see for yourself, keeping in mind those are pictures taken within the first 24 hours of my owning the camera. When I learn all the tricks of this little beauty, I imagine those images will get even better. And I can't wait to see that! :)

P.S. The Vibration feature is BRILLIANT btw. It's not 100 percent proof - still hold the camera still, but it sure helps out like you wouldn't believe!! :)

After reading reviews for various basic point and shoot digital cameras for my Girlfriend I was drawn to the Nikon. I'm very well aware of the quality of Nikon and the excellent lenses they make also drew me to this model. Well, I just got it and I've been messing around with it and my Girlfriend loves it. It's easy to use and it takes great pictures. I have to give it five stars!! It's just simply the best camera at that price range, IMO. I now can't wait for my Nikon to come in.. I got the D40.

Jeff...........

I recently bought the coolpix camera and I'm really happy. It's wonderful and it takes really good pictures. For the price this camera is super cool. I recommended it to everyone, it's a great product.

This is a very nice little camera. The wide viewer makes composing the shot easier. The optical zoom is great for close-up, but it really works because of the Vibration Reduction feature. Nice quality pics and easy to down/up load. Accessing menu and features can be frustrating; there are a lot of controls to get familiar with and it is not as intuitive as it could be.

I cannot get a good picture of my 9 month old, because once you use the flash to take one picture, it takes FOREVER for the flash to charge to take another picture. I push the button when she is smiling and the little blinking red light is all I see! The book says to wait a few seconds for it to charge and try again, so I keep tring and trying - it is awful! By the time it is ready, the moment has passed!

I think the time is takes to turn the camera on and take a picture is fast, and if you aren't using flash, it doesn't take long to take the next picture. The pictures can be a little blurry at times, but I am trying to fix that with focus options. It is hard to focus on a moving baby with any camera, though!

All in all, I might send it back.

I love this camera! It's SO easy to use. The first weekend I owned it, I took 200 photos using the pair of batteries included. The photo quality is terrific. I would definitely recommend this camera to others.

The Nikon Coolpix P60 is very good for a small digital point-and-shoot. It makes very clear pictures at the 5MP setting, which is what I usually use. I especially like the Hi ISO setting. This allows me to take very good picutes in low light settings. The movie capability is good and allows zoom during the filming which some cameras don't. The use of AA batteries makes it convenient for travel. The only negative I can think of is that it is somewhat slow to be ready for taking that first shot when the camera is turned on.

Having been a fan of Nikon cameras for years. I wanted a small camera to take on our upcoming trip to Disney World.

I also own a Nikon D300 but it would be way too difficult to lug around this camera and the many lenses I have for it. Don't get me wrong, my D300 is THE greatest camera I've ever shot with but just not practical on a family vacation like this.

After reading several reviews of the Coolpix P60, I decided to purchase it and am very happy I did. After just a few days with this nice little camera, Nikon really has a winner on their hands for the compact market.

Some of the benefits that are important to me include...

A digital viewfinder - As I normaly use a dSLR camera, I'm just used to composing photos through the lens (viewfinder). It's also great for bright conditions when there may be too much glare on the screen.

The advanced shutter & aperture controls give me more function when needed rather than just letting the camera choose the settings. I never use the AUTO settings on any camera.

Great low light (high ISO) settings which actually produce usable pictures.

A very good image stabilization feature.

I highly recommend this camera.

I'm an active saltwater angler and shoot outside in bright sun a lot so I wanted a point and shoot that let me compose shots in a viewfinder and allowed me to see my subjects clearly even in the brightest conditions. The P60's electronic viewfinder works very well in these conditions and delivers sharp well-composed pictures. Telephoto is also impressive and overall controls are fairly intuitive. My other camera is a high end Nikon SLR and while the P60 is clearly a step down in capability, it is an amazing little camera and I am very happy with it.

I liked everything about the Nikon P60, except for 1 thing. Nikon has not fixed the "lag" time between indoor flash shots. It's much to slow for any kind of spontaneity. such as children shots. The quality of the photos are very, very good, which isn't new to Nikon, but there is still that lingering problem with "recharge lag" for the next shot. Of course, this isn't a problem outside where the color and sharpness are outstanding.

I am a novice photographer, so this camera is everything I knew to ask for. I like the layout of the controls, the ease of use, the weight/size, and the quality of the pictures. All for a wonderful price. It is simple to use, but capable of more complex applications. I really am happy with this camera.

Great little camera! If you don't want to lug your DSLR around, get this one. Excellent product.

The monitor had a such a glare when taking pictures outdoors that I could not see the image.

I bought the Nikon P60 to replace my aging Nikon CoolPix 3700. The 3700 just wasn't getting the job done anymore, so I wanted to upgrade to something better. I briefly considered a low end DLSR, but decided instead I wanted something that was compact yet still adjustable in its settings.

The P60 was the cheapest camera I considered, and the first one that I decided to try out. I was extremely impressed out how well all my pictures turned out, and how customizable all the settings were. It also feels great in the hand, and it is not too heavy.

I have only one complaint, and that is the way the P60 absolutely chews through batteries like none other. I am going to have to get some rechargeable batteries for it, and I would recommend anyone buying one to just automatically buy some rechargeable batteries to go with it.

What a disappointment. This is nothing more than one of the L-series cameras with an electronic viewfinder. There are really only two f-stops, and the choice of shutter speeds only goes to 1/1250. There is no aperture or shutter priority. The lens is neither really fast or slow. It will handle what it was purchased for, to make snaps straight out of a purse, but nothing more. It really does not belong with the P5100 in the same series.

I am very happy with this camera. Pros: Price, manual options, light weight, easy to hold, good zoom, anti shake, and most of all it takes great photos. Cons: The flash is not very quick to recharge, and the zoom takes a few seconds too long to focus. If these things are important to you spend more money and get another camera, but for the price this is a great little camera, and I highly recommend it.

Less than a month after I got this camera, the aperture developed a problem. I have the upper right corner of every frame where the aperture leaves a rounded, blacked out area in the picture. I was on vacation when this was discovered. When I went back and looked at all the other pictures I had taken, it was faintly visible in almost ALL of the pictures from when this camera was first used. Hopefully, Nikon will back their product better than Canon did! Which is the reason I switched to Nikon in the first place!

I own a Nikon DSLR, but wanted an additional smaller camera to carry with me in my purse for spur of the moment opportunities. I chose this particular camera based on my criteria of size, price, quality, and PRESENCE OF A VIEWFINDER (difficult to find on a camera this size). I have used it for two weeks and find it to do what I want it to. I prefer my SLR, but overall, this is a good investment. The AA batteries are inexpensive and I expect the quality of my photos will improve over time. The image stabilization is a welcome feature.

I wanted a point and shoot for easy shots. My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 950, and it was a rock solid camera that still works 8 years later. My second digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 995, and it was a rock-solid camera that still works 6 years later.

My Nikon P60 worked for a week. I didn't even carry it around with me; it rode in the passenger seat of my car. The lens mechanism failed and wouldn't move in and out.

Nikon needs to go back to making good point and shoots. The 950 used to be the digital camera that all other digital cameras were compared against.

Nikon's P60 is a great point and shoot digital camera with a very important feature, a view finder. The P60 is the 5th Nikon I've purchased starting with the Coolpix 775 (which I gave to my 5 year old), all of them are still in service. I use these cameras primarily for work and as careful as I try to be, they are used hard. While my 5600 was out for repair I purchased an L14 which for a variety of reasons I do not like, including lack of a view finder. I knew this when I purchased but thought I'd give it a try. Decided to try the P60 and have not been disappointed.

One thing I feel purchasers must understand is what they are buying and then learn how to use it. If you want a camera that does it all, you need a different camera, don't buy a Brownie and expect a Hasselblad. I buy buy these cameras to take thousands of reference shots while skiing. They are small, fit in my breast pocket and can be operated with one hand. For snap shots they are great, but when I need the money shot I get out the SLR. A lot of complaints I see in reviews are a result of not learning how to use the camera and work within its limitations.

The P60 has some draw backs, it can be a bit slow especially the flash refresh. I didn't give it 5 stars mainly because of the placement of the memory card. Having to work around the batteries is a design flaw that surprises me from Nikon. You also have to push the monitor button very hard or a few times before it activates.

The optics and zoom are great, I have been pleasantly surprised with the digital end of the zoom. I just took pics of the Waterfalls installation in NYC, zooming into the digital zone from Manhattan over to Governors Island about a half a mile, with excellent results. Falling water is a challenge without zoom and camera shake, the pictures are clear and the water frozen (no tripod).

Other reviews have addressed various technical aspects and again, while important, I think may overshadow the utilitarian nature of a point and shoot.

I would recommend the Nikon P60 to anyone.

Outstanding combination of features, performance, and price. Sharp details from closeups to miles away (see nine-mile coastline view). Electronic viewfinder option is great for composing pictures in sunlight. No worries about battery running down -- just pop in two fresh AA batteries and keep shooting. Movies are great, so buy large memory chip to have plenty of room. I love it!!

The Nikon P60 has really nice features for the price: it has a handy (electronic) view-finder (that isn't painful to use because you don't need to squint like mad), useful 5x zoom and helpful optical image stabilization (VR). However, to me, the deal breaker was the fact that it uses the ubiquitous AA cell instead of an expensive proprietary battery. This is great for traveling - if your batteries die, you can get replacement AA's just about anywhere.

Having said these, the biggest issue I have with the camera is its quality or lack there of. I had the P60 for less than a month and it doesn't work anymore. It has never been dropped, always in a padded case when not in use, and since it is the wife's camera, it is normally in a nice, big purse. It complains about a `lens error' and I can't take pictures with it; I can, however, view some of the pictures though - yea, big woof. Someone at Nikon seriously botched the Quality Assurance (QA) on this thing.

I had another Nikon years ago, the Coolpix 4300, and its quality was abysmal as well; should have learned my lesson, or Nikon should have replaced its useless QA personnel(s) so that the P60 would be a bit more reliable.

On the other hand, just before owning the P60, I had the Casio EX-Z120 compact camera. It was as tough as a brick - the case is completely made of metal. It was used all over Asia, dropped numerous times (even on cement), and missing a couple of screws, but for almost 2 years it never let me down until it was lost/stolen.

I greatly lament buying Nikon compact cameras; should have bought Canon, or another EX-Z120. I can only take solace on the fact that Nikon may honour their 2 year warranty.

Nikon's P60 is a great point and shoot digital camera with a very important feature, a view finder. The P60 is the 5th Nikon I've purchased starting with the Coolpix 775 (which I gave to my 5 year old), all of them are still in service. I use these cameras primarily for work and as careful as I try to be, they are used hard. While my 5600 was out for repair I purchased an L14 which for a variety of reasons I do not like, including lack of a view finder. I knew this when I purchased but thought I'd give it a try. Decided to try the P60 and have not been disappointed.

One thing I feel purchasers must understand is what they are buying and then learn how to use it. If you want a camera that does it all, you need a different camera, don't buy a Brownie and expect a Hasselblad. I buy these cameras to take thousands of reference shots while skiing. They are small, fit in my breast pocket and can be operated with one hand. For snap shots they are great, but when I need the money shot I get out the SLR. A lot of complaints I see in reviews are a result of not learning how to use the camera and work within its limitations.

The P60 has some draw backs, it can be a bit slow especially the flash refresh. I didn't give it 5 stars mainly because of the placement of the memory card. Having to work around the batteries is a design flaw that surprises me from Nikon. You also have to push the monitor button very hard or a few times before it activates.

The optics and zoom are great, I have been pleasantly surprised with the digital end of the zoom. I just took pics of the Waterfalls installation in NYC, zooming into the digital zone from Manhattan over to Governors Island about a half a mile, with excellent results. Falling water is a challenge without zoom and camera shake, the pictures are clear and the water frozen (no tripod).

Other reviews have addressed various technical aspects and again, while important, I think may overshadow the utilitarian nature of a point and shoot.

I would recommend the Nikon P60 to anyone.

UPDATING THIS REVIEW POST VACATION:

Just returned from vacation and another good test of the P60. The P60 performed great and after 600+ photos (both 3M & 5M size) I'm still on the same set of batteries. No flash shots were taken but to those who complain about "eating batteries" .. I would recommend buying better batteries or getting high quality rechargeables. I spring for Lithium
and keep some rechargeables as extras.

As mentioned before, I have several Coolpix and have never experienced any quality (product) issues. I have had two repaired but again after the way they are used, I don't hold that against the camera.