A Fabulous SMALL Camera To Take EVERYWHERE!

The ability to capture a moment and have a token to recreate it has always seemed priceless to me.  While I like my Canon SLR, I found that I often left it behind as it was just too inconvenient to carry around due its size and weight.  For the past two years, I have been relying on my iPhone to take pictures, but the quality is not great.   Since our daughter needed a camera for her stay in London last summer, I decided to give her my Nikon Coolpix L3, a small point and shoot camera that I was never very fond of. So guess what that left me with?  A good excuse to go out and buy myself a new camera!  Well, that is what I thought anyway.

So, I shopped around and decided to try the Nikon Coolpix P300.  Like most of my photography purchases, I ordered my camera from BH Photo & Video in New York as they provide good service and offer competitive prices.  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=nikon+P300&N=0&InitialSearch=yes


After having this camera for four months, it has now become a staple in my purse as I bring it with me everywhere.  I always found the size of my SLR has deterred me from carrying it around.  However, this camera can easily fit in my small purse or I can wear it around my neck.  I always thought that a small camera could not take pictures that compare to an SLR; however, I have found that this Nikon takes fabulous photos including wide angle and low light conditions.  The camera also offers many features including a manual control and a tripod socket.  In addition, you can shoot HD movies with full stereo sound. There are so many wonderful features, but, for me, it's best characteristic is its small size and quality photos.    The Coolpix P300 weighs only 6.7 oz. and it is 2.3" H x 4.1"W x 1.3" D.  Here are just a few of the photos I have taken over the past few months.

Our baby, Riley on the lookout for seagulls, at the beach this summer.

I shot this picture from my car window while driving around the cape this summer.  The cape is so beautiful - it is so nice to have a camera handy.

This is a Cotswold Cottage at Dearborn Village in Dearborn, Michigan.

I love the colors and textures of fresh vegetables.  

Here is our daughter, Nicole, at the Saturday local flower/vegetable market carrying my sunflowers.

Best of all, this camera is handy so when I see a fabulous antique that I am contemplating, I can just take some photos and think about it.  detroitgardenworks.com

You probably guessed where this photo was taken.  I loved this fabulous shelf in Anthropologie.

Since this camera is so small, I sometimes take it with me when I go on walks.   Did you notice what is hanging on the wall to the left of the front door?

Here is a closer look!

I finally got to Brimfield in September, and I loved all the wonderful homespun and antique fabrics.

Lately, I have seen people pushing baby buggies with their dogs.  He looks pretty content - don't you think?  While I know our golden retriever would like to be out with me at all times, I doubt she would sit still enough to ride in a buggy.

Since it had rained for three days straight, the Brimfield grounds were pretty muddy.  These two women created clever shoe covers with plastic bags.

I really admired these homespun headboards.  It is so nice to be able to take a photo of something you admire as my memory doesn't work like it used to.   I'm not sure if it's my age or always multi-tasking.  For example,  our daughter, Nicole, and I  had taken a bike ride to Woods Hold this summer and had lunch at "Pie in the Sky", a wonderful small cafe. Since we were inside, I wore my sunglasses on the top of my head when we were eating. We got back on our bikes and resumed our ride on the Shining Sea Bike Path. When I reached for my sunglasses on the top of my head, they were not there.   I yell to Nicole, who is about 150' ahead of me, of course, "We need to go back to the restaurant - I think I forgot my sunglasses there!"  Nicole yelled back to me "MOM, YOU ARE WEARING THEM!"  Then she said "The problem with you Mom is that we are not going to know when you have Alzheimer's!"   Oh, the joys of having kids.  Do you have these moments?

Another photo from Brimfield.  

Honestly, until I got this camera this summer, I forgot how awesome it is to have the ability to capture any moment - even if it is just our dog taking a nap on the couch after a hard day of work.  During the holidays, I have always considered a camera as a must have.  Well, if you are like me and wished you could have a small camera that takes quality photos and that you could carry all the time, definitely consider the Nikon P300.


So what do you do?  Use your phone, bring along an SLR, or have you found another small point and shoot camera you like?