I was looking for a decent walkaround camera for the days I didn’t want to pack all the gear and head out for a few hours just shooting photos.  I looked at a number of point and shoots but none offered the control and raw shooting that I enjoy.  The Nikon P7100 is an update revision to the P7000 that looked interesting.  I could still use my Nikon flashes and processing software so, the camera was really the only investment.  I got it from B&H which is also where I got this picture.

Once it arrived, I spent a little time getting used to it and trying to figure out the controls without going to the computer to read the users manual. It doesn’t come in paper. As a point and shoot, it has a lot of scene modes with tiny icons and has a lot of effects that can be used in camera if desired.  So far, other than the tulip macro icon, I haven’t used them.  The tulip did work well for a hibiscus at the Punta Gorda History Park though.
I was pretty happy with the result, and this will make my Hibiscus project a little easier.

Later, we went to Trabue, a local restaurant named after the founder of Punta Gorda (although, he did name it Trabue after himself). The lighting around the bar is dramatic and colorful. Since I had the P7100 with me, I decided to try a few low light, long exposure shots. ISO was 200, I set the aperture to f2.8 (wide open) and shot two 5 second exposures of the bar.  I just set the camera flat on the table for these.

The pyramidal chandelier on the right side of the second picture caught my eye and I decided to extend the lens into the telephoto range to catch it. That pushed the aperture to f4 and the shutter to 8 seconds.  The trouble is that I needed to point the camera upward at an angle while still managing to hold it very still for 8 seconds (VR will only get you so far).   Well, I figure out a little trick using the articulated screen.  If you just pull it out a little bit, you can actually get a very stable base for a shot and changing the angle of the screen will allow it to point upward.  So, here is the result.  Not wonderful but surprisingly good as an example.

Just click any picture for a larger view.  So, in just a few days, I’ve decided that this one is a keeper and will be a very useful addition to my gear.