I had the opportunity to play with the new Nikon Coolpix P5000....very nice.
It can focus at 1.6 inches in macro mode, has Nikon's VR and has fully
manual controls. The picture clarity is amazing...the VR really makes a
difference in close ups. The MSRP is 399. The Samsung NV7 is also
surprisingly great. They have bought glass from Schneider (a great German
Lens Company). It has image stabilization and fully manual controls. The
picture quality is great but in my professional opinion, the Nikon beats it
out by far (almost SLR quality on the Nikon) The Samsung is listed between
300 and 350. Finally, for the person who wants great results but doesn't
want to spend alot and doesn't really intend to so any major jewelry
photography, the Panasonic TZ1 is great. It uses a Leica Lens (another
amazing German lens company), sports a 10X optical zoom in a very compact
form, has optical image stabilization and can focus in at 2.5 inches in
macro mode. It goes for about 250 and the results are great. The downfall is
that it does not have any manual controls so it makes it slightly difficult
to photograph on black.
When I get an opportunity, I will take pictures with each one as a
comparison.
there are more reviews to come.
Jess