Great in most areas, but some shocking limitations even at the price.

To be honest, in most respects I am very pleased with this camera. In bright outdoor light, the colour neutrality, accuracy and sharpness of the images has exceeded every expectation I had. Sadly however, it is next to useless indoors. The autofocus is appalling and frequently simply refuses to lock on to anything. The flash recharge time is seemingly measured in weeks, and even with a fast SD card, the time between shots can be infuriatingly slow.
In true Japanese electronics tradition, plumbing the depths of the menu system unearths more clever features than you will ever use, and a good few that you probably will. For example in Portrait mode, the camera can help you frame your subject by overlaying a silhouette onto the screen. It's a nice feature, even if the useless autofocus will ensure you have a fuzzy blob, albeit a beautifully framed and composed one.
Despite all these criticisms, I have had some truly stunning shots out of this camera. One, out of the window of a Boeing 777 at 41,000 ft over the Atlantic captured the vivid, deep blue of the high altitude sky and the lighting of the clouds as near to perfectly as makes no difference. Landscape shots also tend to be breathtaking. However, as a film SLR user, I bought this for snaps and quick pics, usually inside (parties etc) and at that it disappoints massively.
I would happily sacrifice some of the image quality for a focusing system that worked, a better flash, and a faster frame rate. It seems to me that in chasing a headline 7.1 megapixel spec, Nikon overlooked some of the basics. Worth a 2 star really, but I give it 3 just because of the handful of staggeringly good shots it has produced.