I'm about to upgrade my anemic Kodac digital camera (2.1 MP).
I own a Nikon SLR 35mm film camera that I absolutely love.
I bought the Kodac DC3400 2.1MP point&shoot as an entry to the digital world and have decided that this is the way to go!
As a person who likes to shoot good photos, I have refined my digital camera search down to two models - the Cannon G5, or the Nikon Coolpix 5400 both are 5MP cameras.
I guess I'm looking for any input from you guys who own either of these...
Thanks

AZ,

I have the Coolpix 5700 but don't think you could go wrong with either camera. They're both well regarded cams.

See this website for just about anything you would ever want to know about digital cameras, including reviews of just about every digital cam made. I researched both of my digital cams there before making a purchase.

jim

I have the CoolPix 5000 and love every bit of it.

Macman37 -
I'm also looking at the 5700 model but was concerned about a couple of issues with both models:

(1) I love the thought of the 5700 8x optical zoom but I think it would be over kill for a hand-held and would require a tripod to be usefull, personally I like the 28mm wide option better.

(2) The 5700 EVF has me worried, I've never used one, always had an optical viewfinder.  I'm a bit concerned about low light sighting situations...

(3) From what I've read in reviews, the lack of an AF assist light for low light focusing seems to be an issue - do you find it a problem??

(4) What size would you suggest as a minimum CF card?

I am still leaning heavily toward the Nikon 5400 vs the Cannon!

many claim the EVF is a Godsend.
you can see what the photo will look like during bright day light as well as during low light situations.

8x zoom is not really that shaky, i have the ability to go to 7.2x on my little canon with an addon lens, shakes are not an issue at all.

I am a canon man myself, but nikon makes some good stuff... and i guarantee you will be happy with the 5400, it is chocked full of features!

oh, and at 5mp you can do photographic 8x10's on the photo kiosks(kodak and fuji) at walmart, as well as larger.

AF assist light helps, but only out so far.. if you dont have one, a laser pointer will work.

and for a 5mp camera, if your gonna take max res @best quality i suggest minimum card size of 256, or mulitple 128's

my 6.3mp cam in large/fine takes 3.5meg jpgs, in RAW it takes 7meg images
my 3.2mp cam takes 1.5meg photos

www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp5400
www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/C5400/C54A.HTM

Quoted: Macman37 - I'm also looking at the 5700 model but was concerned about a couple of issues with both models: (1) I love the thought of the 5700 8x optical zoom but I think it would be over kill for a hand-held and would require a tripod to be usefull, personally I like the 28mm wide option better. (2) The 5700 EVF has me worried, I've never used one, always had an optical viewfinder.  I'm a bit concerned about low light sighting situations... (3) From what I've read in reviews, the lack of an AF assist light for low light focusing seems to be an issue - do you find it a problem?? (4) What size would you suggest as a minimum CF card? I am still leaning heavily toward the Nikon 5400 vs the Cannon!

Let's see here... in order...

1: I'll admit, you only use the full 8x rarely. But let me tell you, on vacation in Alaska, I got some great shots of whales at full zoom... in my mind, it validated my purchase right there!

2: The EVF rocks. I love it, compared to my Coolpix 950 (the first digital cam). I only used the monitor on the back with the 950. Now in bright daylight situations I can see everything I need to.

3: The low light thing is what gets everyone. It made me pause before purchasing too. But there's a great workaround for that. You open the aperture as far as possible to increase depth of field and then you focus on "infinity".  I have had good results with that method. I DO realize low light focusing might be the dealbreaker vs. the Canon if the Canon has an AF assist light. But as I said, there is a workaround and it's easy to do.

Other points I like about the 5700: Ergonomics, it fits my largish hands quite well. Picture quality: Fantastic, and VERY retouchable if you want to add some mood to a shot. Good selection of accessories (I have the remote release and the battery pack option which really helps the grab-ability of the camera... Size doesn't bother me)...

I don't have experience with the Canon. I do know however that Canons are always highly regarded in the reviews I read. Honestly I don't think you could go wrong with either cam.

jim

Well, bells and whistles aside, I've found that the CoolPix models are about as durable as you could ask a gadget like that to be.  I work for a school system, and we lend out about 8 Coolpix models to middle and high schoolers. They have the remarkable ability to thresh out design flaws that might lead to early mechanical failure in a matter of seconds (ie: they treat them like crap).  Canons are nice, but I've seen a Coolpix take a ride down a flight of stairs without even grunting ;)

I'm a Nikon fan from my 35mm SLR days, but I just ordered an Olympus C750 Ultrazoom digital.

It's a 4M pixel camera with a 10x optical zoom.

I realize I'll need a tripod to make the most of the full zoom but I want to do some nature photography.

I guess anyone can get a lemon, but I don't trust the nikon brand anymore. after just under 2 years, my cool pix 995 died. The CCD doesn't read light anymore. It is only a 3 megapixle camera, and it isn't worth the 230 bucks they want to fix it.
I know it isn't under warranty, but it pisses me off that the company wants me to pay shipping both ways. So I don't plan on dealing with them anymore.