Nikon Coolpix A APS-C

Location
Seattle
Name
Andrew
This might not be that hot of a deal, but I've noticed the Coolpix A, a competitor to the original APS-C Ricoh GR, is available new from several sellers on eBay for a lot less than the GR/GR II is going for, even used. Granted the Coolpix A doesn't have Ricoh's awesome snap focus or its JPEG looks, but it is a 16MP APS-C sensor that is pretty well regarded. A little under $420 currently new (old stock, obviously).


Anyone still use one of these? I must admit the silver model looks rather snazzy.
 
I have been looking into them, and am a quite bit intrigued. That GRIII price tag is somewhat stiff, but so far the only acting on the small, pocketable camera in "modern" form has been a second hand Canon S120, to replace a ditto S95. Different beasts entirely, but I am a sucker for small cameras.
 
I had one five-six years ago and really liked it. The lens performs well.
I also decked the silver out with an Aki-asahi black leather skin.

Here's a good read.
 
I owned and used a Nikon Coolpix A for a brief period of time and got uniformly superb results from it. One of the strikes against it, for me, was its classic Nikon menus - which, supposedly, make using the camera a breeze for those familiar or comfortable with the Nikon digital menu system; but for me it was challenging from day One. But it's a brilliant little camera. One of the cool things about the Coolpix A - which my Ricoh GRii doesn't have - is a manual focus ring on the lens that really works - which I appreciated.
 
I bought the Coolpix A about 6 years ago during one of the closeout deals for $299 CAD. Sold it a couple of years later for $400 (which was still a great deal on the used market - less than the GRs went for).

It was a great compact camera - I echo Miguel's comments on the MF controls vs the GR which are always lacking. If you shoot Nikon, it makes a perfect companion to their larger cameras. Overall though, I prefer the GR as a sleeker street type camera.

Below is one of my favourite images with the A. Taken at f16 & 1/13 second shutter, handheld.

19305554912_c53123857a_h.jpg
 
I had the original GR (same sensor I believe) and what kind of put me off was the age/generation of the sensor...

That 16MP sensor was either 'based on' or 'the same as' the Nikon D7000 sensor from 2010 and performed about the same in the high ISO department as my Olympus E-M5 from 2012...

Since I already had the Panasonic 14mm and 20mm pancakes, I couldn't justify keeping an APS-C cam that performed about the same :)

That being said - both the Nikon and the Ricoh are good cameras - if you don't have anything yet that fills that niche...
 
I bought one new and still have it. Since I have used Nikon DSLR so much the menu system is second nature to me.
Great quality and superb results. I was tempted to replace it with a Ricoh GR, but after trying one, liked the Nikon better.
All my SIJuly 2019 images were taken with the Coolpix A.

 
Great camera. I just always get tired of 28mme.
Likewise. I’ve been contemplating selling the GR2 (I still have the GRD3 if I really want 28mm) *and* my X100... I just am not using either very much. I seem to get all carried away with a new cam and then pouf, bored. Thats why no matter how tempting the Coolpix A, I will not not not buy it!! Not.!
 
I've been considering the very similar Fuji XF10 as a true 'bring everywhere' camera. I find my X100 to be too big and heavy for that role, especially in the warmer months of the year, and besides it's developing some problems.

28mm isn't my favorite focal length but with 24mp and a built in digital teleconverter that doesn't need to be an issue. Also having used mainly phone cameras since my X100 started developing issues, I probably got used to a field of view somewhere around 28mm anyway. The XF10’s AF is apparently as bad as my OG X100 and its "4K" is a joke, but beyond that, it looks very nice. No USB charging kinda rules out the Nikon A for me.
 
Back
Top