The Coolpix 8800 is a compact, versatile photographic tool. It's lens starts at a moderate wide angle (35 mm equivalent isn't a revelation, but not that common in digital compacts) and ends in the super-tele sphere (ZURICH, see also ZOOM RANGE gallery).
I am very fond of the long end because it makes it easier to isolate a subject from its surroundings (FUEL TAP) or to cut a piece out of something bigger (SCARRED TREE).
For close-ups the camera offers two approaches. The super-macro is no match for the Coolpix 4500, but the 8MP of the Coolpix 8800 leave ample room for cropping (VIOLETS and ANT). That it is at the wide end of the lens is less than ideal, because it makes it difficult to get an even, undisturbing background. Alternatively, I often use the still decent close-focussing distance at half or full tele (SCARRED TREE and LENTEN ROSES). I tried both approaches - wide angle super macro and close focussing at half tele - for LEAFS 1 and 2.
VR and BSS (see other gallery) help reducing the effect of camera shake when using the longer part of the zoom and - very welcome - at close range, too.
Another great feature is the tilt-and-swivel display giving me more possibilities when choosing the perspective. When I was framing for SNOWDROPS, VIOLET, YELLOW FLOWER, and BOTTLE, the camera was touching the ground. Getting my eye behind the viewfinder would have involved kinds of floor exercises I haven't done since military service. Using the large depth of field (due to the small sensor chip, see DOF gallery) and making the best of the super-macro at wideangle, it's possible to show a small subject as part of its surroundings ("COLT", BOTTLE).
Getting below your subject is vital in super macro mode, because at this close a distance the shadow of the camera tends to creep into the picture. And when the background is cluttered with unsightly things, the sky becomes an option (SNOWDROPS). Unlike the swivel design of the Coolpix 4500, the tilt-and-swivel display of the 8800 makes it much easier to frame vertical format pictures and is bright enough for use in full sunlight.
Sometimes I use the display to hold the camera high over my head. In the LAKE GREIFENSEE picture I wanted to seperate the half-submerged tree in the foreground and the lake shore in the background. Holding the camera as high above my head as I could opend a nice strip of ice between them.
As helpful as a tilt-and-swivel display with live TTL feed is, I doubt you will ever see one on a DSLR, because this would either involve a reversible mirror lock-up (complicating AF and metering), a transmissive mirror or an additional sensor chip somewhere in the viewfinder path.
--tinu--