Product ReviewsNikon COOLPIX 8700 8.0MP Digital Camera - Black

Complicated, versatile old camera is a good value today

Digital cameras offer no bargains in image quality compared to what one can get with an old 35mm film SLR for the same price, but--in those cases where digital is needed--the old cameras that once were high-end can be decent bargains today. In the point-and-shoot department, with a very long lens, this 12-year-old camera is adequate for fieldwork and casual photos of wildlife, when you don't want to drag a heavy outfit along with you. Originally a thousand dollar camera, it has a lot of features and can be used manually, will take RAW images, and so on but it is very fiddly and requires a lot of time to figure out how to customize it. For the experienced photographer who wants to do that, it's an even better camera, and for $50 or less is a bargain--if one can be had that was gently used and is in perfect operating condition.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: karleykirby

Nikon Coolpix 8700 8.0 Megapixel

Although this camera is steadily becoming outmoded, it is absolutely stuffed with great photography and cinematic options which are no longer attributed to the equivalent versions of today's digital cameras. This means that the old Nikon 8700 has kept its relevance for budding am-pros. It is still easy to find accessories for this device via NikonUSA.com, Craigslist, eBay or Amazon.

You do have to be careful where you buy from as some of the used 8700's are not in great shape anymore (mine has a significant lens stutter when it tries to focus or zoom). Other than that, I would highly recommend this camera for its dynamic range and affordability.Read full review...

Great Pictures and Simple to use

Very impressed with this camera even though it is probably 10 year old technology. If your goal is to have a simple to use camera that takes very good pictures, this one will work for you. You can let the camera do the thinking for you, or you can take control and use manual settings. The only complaints I have is that the lens is a part of the camera, with no ability to exchange lens. Also when using manual settings the menus are not simple to use, and the internal battery which retains the date and time is not user-replaceable. Once that battery stops holding a charge, which it will do after a few years, you have to manually set the date and time each time you change the main battery.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: clothesaddict999

Great camera for specific applications.

This camera is a dinosaur, but is perfect for use in astrophotography and other specialized applications. I had several mounts for this camera for my telescope, in addition to remote control, wide angle and 2x lenses. This is my third such unit. The first one failed (after nearly 10,000 images), and I accidentally drowned the second one in a massive thunderstorm (NOT lol at the time). If you are looking for a general purpose camera, buy something newer instead. If you want a totally flexible unit with a zillion attachments and add-ons, this is still a great camera.Read full review...

Great for its time...

I liked this camera from the start because of the look plus the zoom and the features were great. Unfortunately I think my expectations for this camera were just a tad to high since I started there and then started on a downward spiral of cons.

It's a nice camera but it stays exclusive to CF Cards which aren't as easily used and readily available as SD cards for instance. Also I don't know if it was me or the camera but I ran through battery life like it was going out of style. Camera refuses to focus in anything but sunlight. That being said I did send this camera back assuming it was defective so it may have been. Out of the hundreds of pictures I TRIED to take very few, and by very few I mean about 10-15 total, came out clearly.

Beyond that I enjoyed the many options you had to choose from on the settings front. It was very customizable. For me they were useless as I am a very casual photographer b ut for someone with a little more know-how I'm sure these settings come in quite useful.

All in all I'd say that the Nikon Coolpix 8700 is a great camera for any photo buff looking to get a reasonably priced camera as a back-up. For the rest of us... point and shoot and super zooms are the way to go :)Read full review...

Great Camera still takes better picts than current 14 mp cameras

I purchased my Nikon COOLPIX 8.0 camera as my very first digital camera. I was told when they got to 8.0MP that would be equal to 35mm boy that is a understatement! I have used this camera to blow up pictures to 16 by 20 inch and beyond. With NO blurring. One is a shot of my dog running at me full speed at the beach. The built in lenses are just amazing. Newer 14 mp cameras that are under $250 still are no where near as good as this thing. This camera was sold originally as one small step down from the SLR. I paid $1300 for a package which included a ton of stuff from mail order camera shop.

I really love its big flash as I use it all the time, my secret to professional looking pictures is fill flash. Also I used to be a photographer.

I do have some complaints. It will not take pictures rapidly, especially if you are trying to use a flash. It says .9 pics per second or 2.2 pics per second. The bad news is that the only way to get to too that 2.2 pics per second is if you don't use the flash and set the internal memory to be used. Except I won't do that because when shooting children and dogs moving your need for a flash will not wait for you to reprogram the damn camera for 5 min.

The fact that a camera this old that I have shot 2000 shots through, is still even relevant is a testament to how much care they put into the build. I think Nikon was still in the mind set of build it to last because we are Nikon the BEST.

Glad I did. Would seriously think about buying again.

Make sure you buy enough CF memory and batteries!Read full review...

good camera for the pric

good for the price.
hope you find it good too
I'm not big on words, but it will be perfect for our church activity pictures during VBS and church activities.
Thank you for reading!
God Bless
I have more characters I'm suppose to type and i don't know what else to type. So. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i hope this gets me to the 100 characters I've never seen any company require you to type this much. I feel like i'm back in school! WOW i still haven't gotten enough typed, how much do i have to type. i'm running out of things to type. OK, now i'm beginning to really not like this camera!Read full review...

Nice price great value.

This Camera is light weight easy to use I added it to my collection of Nikon Cameras i have. I like the fact i can use either the eye piece or the screen when taking pictures. I now have 5 Nikon cameras in my collection. The 8700 will be good for my street photography when added to my Nikon D 7000. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: jasotwed_0

Parts camera supplied ALL needed parts for my camera!

I Bought this non-working camera for parts to fix my Nikon E8700 camera. It had a good LED screen, correct Lens Cap, and a better carry strap than the one on my camera. Upon receipt, the camera could not turn on. The battery was not only dead, it was no good. With the battery from my camera, it did turn on, but any photo attempt showed the camera had been dropped and the lens placement inside was knocked out of position. Since this was a PARTS camera, It served MY purposes quite well! I now have a FULLY operational NIKON E8700 camera, with the proper lens cap, WORKING LED screen, and the ORIGINAL NIKON carry strap!! ALL the parts I needed were from the parts camera! Great Deal for me, because it was not possible to purchase these items from ANY camera repair source! My favorite camera is noe 100% operational!! Thank you!Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Sold by: ronnie965c

The Coolpix Line Up

This Coolpix 8700 is a upgrade from the Coolpix 5700, which is well done,
It's accompanied by a lot of accessoiries, seldom seen and mostly expensive
These are solid camera's and well made with a lot of features
Many are still in service and do well
Down side is the rather small LCD screen, but once you are used to it, its OK
I prefer the Coolpix 8800 over the 8700, which I own as wellRead full review...