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  subpar for Nikon

PROS: Excellent image quality , when all the stars and planets align.

CONS: Slow start up; the SHUTTER LAG and speed of operation are DISMAL; autofocus is agonizing; You cannot do action shots or anything where instant shutter trip makes the shot ( like fleeting facial expressions or gestures). The puny optical Viewfinder reminded me of a toy plastic camera and is nowhere near accurate ( read: almost worthless); LCD needs clear plastic cover plates e.g. D-80 etc; no Adobe RGB color profile option; is minimum aperture REALLY only f/7.3...where's f/16-22 for depth of field???aaarrggh ; but the biggest pain to me was downloading pix--having to use crummy Nikon software to get pix into Macintosh ( my D80 opens on Desktop by default and works as a little USB drive...the P5100 is slaved to external software. Then I find that Nikon was so stupid to NOT Auto-Rotate the vertical images!!!---that obvious oversight is unconscionable. Nikon really is lagging behind in the Prosumer lines. I would NOT recommend this camera for any serious photographer or a Pro who wants a capable point and shoot...you simply will MISS TOO MANY SHOTS with it ! For Nikon , this camera is truely an embarassment . ( I wished I hadn't bought it , based on somebody else's reviews...)

OVERALL SCORE:5/10

PROS: Stunning pictures, easy to carry, easy to use.

CONS: None that I have found.

PROS: P5100 Coolpix has many options that one can use to inhance pototgraphy.

CONS: The zoom lever after prolonged use sticks.

PROS: 1. Easy to grip. 2. Optional external flash and lens. 3. Bigger monitor 4. D-Lighting feature for photo taken with dark lightings.

CONS: The anti shake and High ISO pictures are grainy. Nikon transfer software does not have option to enhance picture.

PROS: Compact, Manual functions, Panorama, lotta pixels

CONS: High ISO is very grainy, Proper white balance takes some getting used to

PROS: lightweight, ease of use, 12 + megapixel

CONS: 2.5" LCD screen instead of 3"

  After one week I am still thrilled with p5100.

PROS: Good feel and good results. Looked at many compacts and sub-c models before choosing this. Image much better than I thought from what i heard of p5000 like the viewfinder and display. read about d lighting if you get this. ergonomics great. others seem to fall thru hands or palm. p5100 is smasll but comfortable. Canons either too small or too big. G7/G9 a bit too bulky for me. Hear G7 good, but I didn't like its viewfinder. p5100 is fun and easy to use. Thankfully it has no corny icons. M/A/S/P modes good. \hot shoe and ability to use some filters, wide angle and 3x tele-converters, speedlights and other accessories. The menu screens are very good,but take getting used to. Better than earlier models and other brands. A selling point. Much more to explore in manual, like video capture and audio notes. Very solid feel, like an old Nikon.

CONS: not a con, just too early to tell. low lighting not fully tested yet. Some people didn't like it on p5000, but so far so good on p5100, but i haven' t completely tested it out. (Printed one Super B sized print of a night scene. Great! But only one print so far.) No RAW if you want it. i didn't buy this for raw. I use a dslr for that. Capture not included. Haven't tried all the color modes yet. Nikon usually defaults more "portrait" than "vivid." Not a con for me, but might be for someone else. Need to play more before seeing if I'll use "normal" or "vivid." Doubt I'd exchange this for anything on market. Have about three more weeks to decide. Any others out there using this? Would like to know how your are doing.

OVERALL SCORE:9/10