Putting the "cool" into the Coolpix

Coolpix 800

I was doing some organizing and cleanup at work last week, and rediscovered the ancient (1999) Nikon Coolpix 800 that has been sitting in a cabinet. It was dropped by a student out in the field around 2001, which effectively broke the camera, as the front lens assembly detached, causing it to rattle around in the camera. You can imagine that I was not happy about it at the time. Even though it's only a 2.5 MP camera, it was a pretty decent one at that time. So, it sat hidden away for almost a decade, until I took it out, put in a CF card and 4 batteries, and watched it come to life. The fact that the lens assembly is loose, made for some interesting effects. It's basically a shake & shoot camera, as you have to jostle the camera to get the lens in some position to shoot. That makes for some serendipitous effects, and if you follow my blog, you know how I like that stuff... The photo of the camera above shows the lens askew behind the clear glass front, and it often has a tilt-shift effect.

Some results:


Me, at work.


at night

tree lights


things remembered

and the coolest shot...

The cover of Mark Twain's autobiography. I love the way the letters have that zoom effect!

None of these images have been photoshopped. This is the way they came out of the camera. In a way, this is like finding lemons and making lemonade, I suppose.