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All posts tagged "coolpix"


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Nikon Announces Trio of Coolpixes, Including World's First Android-based Compact Camera.

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:00 AM

Quite a few cameras were announced in the past 24 hours. Let's start with the more interesting cameras: Nikon has announced a trio of Coolpixes, the first of which is probably the only Coolpix I might recommend - the Coolpix P7700. While the P7000 series started off as a Canon G-series clone, the P7700 is starting to become its own camera. The first deviation is in ditching the fairly useless optical viewfinder to accommodate a much brighter lens: An optically stabilised 7.1x 28-300mm equivalent f/2.0-4.0 lens. Pretty impressive in all. The sensor is now a 12 megapixel BSI CMOS 1/1.7" sensor, which looks pretty capable. Other features include a now-articulated 3" VGA LCD, 1080p videos at 30 FPS, lots of controls (including three dials) and RAW shooting support. My real complaint? Nikon should have used this template for the V1. Ships in September for US$500. More cameras and links after the break! Read more...


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Nikon Announces New Coolpix P-series Cameras; 42x Zoom Lens for Maximum Compensation

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:56 AM

http://www.dcresource.com/news/news...tem.php?id=4453

"For those whom 24X, 30X, and even 36X zooms aren't enough, the Coolpix P510 has a whopping *42X* optical zoom lens. And no, it doesn't come with its own tripod."

24-1000mm equivalent zoom lens. That's right. 1000mm equivalent. That is what the P510 packs. The lens is not too slow at a f/3.0-5.6 maximum aperture, and it comes with Nikon's VR optical stabilisation to help stabilise that really long focal length. I still recommend a tripod, and a bright sunny day to make use of that range! The rest of the camera is pretty much a current superzoom (or should it be ultra-mega-superzoom now?). It is equipped with a 16 megapixel backlit sensor, a tilting (as opposed to fully articulated) 3" VGA LCD, 1080p videos at 30 FPS, and includes a GPS sensor. The camera's UI means serious business: Two command dials grace the camera to accommodate the camera's manual controls, along with two zoom controllers to handle that monster zoom range. Ships in February for US$430.

Next up is the P310, an update of the P300. Like the P300, it is not quite a Canon Powershot S100 (or similar) challenger. While it offers a bright (at the wide end at least) 4x 24-100mm f/1.8-4.9 zoom lens, the 16 megapixel backlit sensor is the same 1/2.3" affair as the P510, which is almost half the area of the S100's 1/1.7" sensor. It also lacks the S100's RAW file recording capability. The rest of the camera is almost tantalising, which makes me wonder what Nikon is trying to do here. Like the P510, there is Nikon's VR optical image stabilisation, a 1080p video mode at 30 FPS, a 3" VGA LCD (but fixed here), and a number of nice touches to the UI (like a full rear command dial and a customisable function button on the front, like Nikon's DSLRs). Ships in February for US$330, which is cheaper than the Canon S100, but I really would rather have the bigger sensor and RAW capability for US$100 more. More details and photos at the read link.


Nikon Introduces Four S-series Coolpixes

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:55 AM

http://www.dcresource.com/news/news...tem.php?id=4452

After the excitement (or disappointment) of the P-series cameras, here are the more standard releases. Let us start with the S9300 travelzoom camera. It has an 18x optically stabilised 25-450mm equivalent f/3.5-5.9 zoom lens, a 16 megapixel backlit sensor, 1080p video at 30 FPS, a 3" VGA LCD, and built-in GPS. Ships in March for US$350.

Next up is the S9300's little brother, the S6300. It has the same 16 megapixel backlit sensor, but a shorter 10x optically stabilised 25-250mm equivalent f/3.2-5.8 zoom lens. The LCD is a smaller one, at 2.7" with just QVGA resolution. GPS is also not present, but at least the same 1080p 30 FPS video is still present. Ships in March for US$200.

After that are a pair of budget compacts, the S4300 and S3300. Both use a standard 16 megapixel CCD, a 6x optically stabilised 26-156mm equivalent f/3.5-6.5(!) zoom lens and 720p video. The main difference between the two is that the S4300 uses a 3" HVGA touchscreen, while the S3300 uses a 2.7" QVGA screen. The S4300 will ship in March for US$170, while the S3300 will go for US$140. More details and images at the read link.


Nikon Announces Three Budget Coolpix Cameras; One is Actually Interesting

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:53 AM

http://www.dcresource.com/news/news...tem.php?id=4451

It is not every day a US$120 camera is interesting, but I think Nikon has done it. The S30 is a camera with unremarkable, even mediocre, specifications: A tiny 1/3" 10 megapixel CCD with a 3x 29-87mm equivalent f/3.3-5.9 zoom lens, a 2.7" QVGA LCD screen, and 720p video mode. What makes it interesting is that the camera has been given a slightly rugged shell that is waterproof to 9.8 feet (3 metres), shockproof to 2.6 feet (0.8 metres) and dustproof. It also takes common AA batteries. Together with the price, I think this might be a great camera for the children, or for slightly more adventurous activities where a cheaper camera is good enough for to capture the fun. Ships in February for, as mentioned, US$120.

Next up are the L budget cameras. The L810 is a budget superzoom, packing a 26x optically stabilised 22.5-585mm equivalent f/3.1-5.9 zoom lens, a 16 megapixel CCD, 3" VGA LCD and 720p video mode. The camera uses four AA batteries to power it. The specs are pretty decent for a budget zoom. One can hope the photos match the specs. Ships in February for US$280.

Finally there is the L26. This budget shooter has 5x 26-130mm equivalent f/3.2-6.5 lens, 720p video mode, and a 3" QVGA LCD screen. The camera will ship in February for US$120. More details and photos at the link.


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

PhotographyBLOG Reviews the Nikon Coolpix AW100 Camera

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 03:00 PM

http://www.photographyblog.com/revi...ix_aw100_review

"The AW100 is Nikon’s first foray into the weather-proof camera market and is is waterproof to 10 meters, shock-proof to 1.5 meters, and freezeproof to as low as -10°C (14°F). The Coolpix AW100 also has a 16-megapixel back illuminated CMOS sensor, a 5x, 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens with lens-shift vibration reduction, 3-inch 460K-dot LCD monitor, full 1080p HD video with stereo sound, 3fps burst shooting, built-in GPS, a world map display and an electronic compass."

Once again, does anyone really like Nikon compacts? Image quality on the Coolpixes in the last seven years have ranged from average to downright terrible, and the cameras themselves are rarely a joy to use. The AW100 does not do much to shake off this reputation, but at least it as less competition since it is one of the few waterproof and shockproof compact cameras in the market (it seems only Panasonic, Olympus and Pentax have updated theirs). Still, at least it will survive a drop where most cameras will not!


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Nikon Announces Six Coolpix Cameras

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:34 AM

Nikon has announced a whole bunch of cameras, starting with the Coolpix P7100. Following up on the not-very-successful P7000, the new camera features the same 10 megapixel CCD (at a slightly larger 1/1.7" size) and optically stabilised 7.1x 28-200mm equivalent f/2.8-5.6 lens, but updates the body styling to include a countered handgrip and a front command dial and a tilting 3" VGA LCD. More importantly, Nikon promises improved performance with the camera, which really was the P7000's main problem. Other features like 720p video and a hotshoe are still present. Retails for US$500 in September. More cameras after the break!

Read more...


Friday, July 29, 2011

Digital Photography Review's Travel Zoom Roundup

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:30 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q31...lzoomgrouptest/

"The so-called 'Travel Zoom' category was effectively invented by Panasonic, with the Lumix DMC-TZ1. Released in 2006, the TZ1 was the first camera with a 10x optical zoom lens that could truly be called 'compact', and although Panasonic had the field to itself for a while, it wasn't long before other manufacturers started to move into the same space. Fast forward to 2011, and almost all of the major camera manufacturers offer compact cameras with at least 10x optical zooms, up to almost 20x in some cases."

The travel zoom area is probably the last major growth area for compacts in light of compacts getting squeezed from smartphones at the low end and cheap DSLRs and cute mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras on the high end, so it would be nice to see some more innovation in this area, instead of so-so image quality tacked to a design that has not changed much from the TZ1's launch in 2006. Still, they are still popular enough, and DPReview takes a look at some of the latest round of travel zooms, and there's a surprise winner in the round-up. Hint: The brand starts with an "N". I always thought their compacts were on the lacklustre side, and in fact, the sample images are not very inspiring in some cases; the camera gets a win mostly in the way it handles and operates. Hit the link for the roundup!


Digital Photography Review's Travel Zoom Roundup

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:30 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q31...lzoomgrouptest/

"The so-called 'Travel Zoom' category was effectively invented by Panasonic, with the Lumix DMC-TZ1. Released in 2006, the TZ1 was the first camera with a 10x optical zoom lens that could truly be called 'compact', and although Panasonic had the field to itself for a while, it wasn't long before other manufacturers started to move into the same space. Fast forward to 2011, and almost all of the major camera manufacturers offer compact cameras with at least 10x optical zooms, up to almost 20x in some cases."

The travel zoom area is probably the last major growth area for compacts in light of compacts getting squeezed from smartphones at the low end and cheap DSLRs and cute mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras on the high end, so it would be nice to see some more innovation in this area, instead of so-so image quality tacked to a design that has not changed much from the TZ1's launch in 2006. Still, they are still popular enough, and DPReview takes a look at some of the latest round of travel zooms, and there's a surprise winner in the round-up. Hint: The brand starts with an "N". I always thought their compacts were on the lacklustre side, and in fact, the sample images are not very inspiring in some cases; the camera gets a win mostly in the way it handles and operates. Hit the link for the roundup!


Digital Photography Review's Travel Zoom Roundup

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:30 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q31...lzoomgrouptest/

"The so-called 'Travel Zoom' category was effectively invented by Panasonic, with the Lumix DMC-TZ1. Released in 2006, the TZ1 was the first camera with a 10x optical zoom lens that could truly be called 'compact', and although Panasonic had the field to itself for a while, it wasn't long before other manufacturers started to move into the same space. Fast forward to 2011, and almost all of the major camera manufacturers offer compact cameras with at least 10x optical zooms, up to almost 20x in some cases."

The travel zoom area is probably the last major growth area for compacts in light of compacts getting squeezed from smartphones at the low end and cheap DSLRs and cute mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras on the high end, so it would be nice to see some more innovation in this area, instead of so-so image quality tacked to a design that has not changed much from the TZ1's launch in 2006. Still, they are still popular enough, and DPReview takes a look at some of the latest round of travel zooms, and there's a surprise winner in the round-up. Hint: The brand starts with an "N". I always thought their compacts were on the lacklustre side, and in fact, the sample images are not very inspiring in some cases; the camera gets a win mostly in the way it handles and operates. Hit the link for the roundup!


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Nikon Coolpix P300 Reviewed by Digital Photography Review

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:30 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikonp300/

"Although at first glance it looks a lot like the Canon Powershot S95 and Olympus XZ-1, the P300 is a significantly different camera in a couple of important ways. It offers higher resolution, at 12MP rather than the 10MP common in that class. It also offers Full HD video (1080p as opposed to 720p), but its true colors are betrayed by a lower price-point, a smaller sensor (1/2.3" as opposed to 1/1.6" or 1/1.7"), and the inability to record RAW files."

When the P300 was first leaked, it looked like a LX5 or S95 competitor; turns it it is closer to a glorified IXUS competitor. A compact camera with a bit more features than a compact point-and-shoot, but not as fully-featured as a premium compact. I am not sure where Nikon is going with this half-and-half strategy, because I think point-and-shoot users would want something simpler to use (or their phones, for the matter), while more advanced users will not want a P300's smaller sensor and lack of RAW. The P300's images are actually not bad, which makes me wonder what Nikon could have done with a better package surrounding the sensor.


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Nikon Coolpix S9100 Reviewed by PhotographyBLOG

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 12:00 PM

http://www.photographyblog.com/revi...x_s9100_review/

"The Coolpix S9100 is Nikon’s third travel-zoom camera, featuring an extended 18x zoom lens with a very versatile focal range of 25-450mm. Other key features of the slim S9100 include a 12 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, high resolution 921k dot 3 inch LCD screen, full 1080p high-definition movies with stereo sound, sensor-shift Vibration Reduction, a shooting mode dial and a fast auto-focus system."

Looking for a compact zoom camera? Not happy with the cameras in the last round-up we linked to? Here is another option; the Nikon Coolpix S9100. Though Nikon is not as well-known as some other companies in the compact segment, I certainly can't fault them for not trying (doing well is another thing). Surprisingly the review is a favourable one, but between a Nikon and a Panasonic, I know which one I would normally go for!


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Nikon Announces P300 and P500 to a Sea of Disappointment

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 12:42 PM

So that camera I was talking about yesterday? It is official now, and I cannot believe how Nikon manage to muck it up. First, let us talk about the specs of the two P cameras. While both utilise a 12 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor for lower noise levels, they are quite different in form and function. The P500 is a superzoom, packing a 36x 22.5-810mm equivalent f/3.4-5.7 lens, which is stabilised via sensor-shift, a 3" tilting VGA LCD with an EVF of unspecified resolution, and 1080p video at 30 FPS, with the ability to use the optical zoom during recording. It is nice to see that the lens starts at an even wider-than-usual 22.5mm, but the aperture of the lens at the extreme telephoto (f/5.7) means stabilisation or no, you better have some good support and camera technique! Ships in March for US$400.

Now, on to the camera I was looking forward to, the P300, pictured above. It is a compact camera aimed squarely at the S95, it appears, with the above 12 megapixel sensor, and an optically stabilised (the only Coolpix in this batch to do so) 4.2x 24-100mm equivalent lens starting at f/1.8... but ending at f/4.9. It has a 3" VGA LCD, and the ability to shoot 1080p videos while using the optical zoom. Both cameras have new fancy internal software, like that Sony Sweep Panorama, where panoramas are taken by just panning the camera. Ships in March for US$330.

At first glance, this is a serious looking compact. See the large fat unmarked dial behind the zoom lever/shutter release? That is a command dial, like the one on Nikon DSLRs. In fact, this can be considered a two-dial camera, as there is another dial as part of the four-way controller pad at the back. The f/1.8 aperture at the wide end of 24mm equivalent looks good as well, and there is the more expensive-to-implement optical stabilisation.

Nikon, of course, has to muck it up. Firstly the sensor is smaller than the one on the S95, LX5, and all the other premium compacts. Instead of a 1/1.7" sensor, the P300 features the 35% smaller 1/2.3" sensor, which translates to poorer light gathering ability. Oh, and it also has 2 more megapixels than its peers. The f/4.9 aperture at the tele end does not help. Yes, the S95 has the same aperture, but it also has a better sensor to compensate. There is also the issue of the slightly larger cameras like the new Olympus XZ-1 having much larger apertures (f/2.5 in the XZ-1's case) even on the telephoto end.

There is also the not-so-little thing of leaving raw image support out. Yes, the P300 only shoot JPEGs. RAW in small sensor compacts cannot be overlooked; it allows careful noise reduction techniques to be applied to the image, and bypasses the usual heavy-handed camera noise reduction manufacturers would otherwise use in the JPEG conversion process. I cannot believe Nikon would cripple a camera of this class when their competitors are fine with letting their compacts maintain RAW capability.

All-in-all, it is a bit disappointing. Like I said before, Nikon cannot seem to execute Coolpixes right. Nowadays I believe that half the Coolpix team is probably outsourced, hence the divergence in strategy from the DSLR division. Anyway, DPreview has a preview, and after the jump are images of the P500 as well as the back of the P300.

DPReview: Nikon Coolpix P300

Nikon Coolpix P500

Read more...


Nikon Coolpixes: The Rest

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 12:30 PM

So, Nikon's also spamming the retail channels with a bazillion cameras. Et tu, Nikon? Since we have a lot of cameras to cover, I am going to try with a different format in presenting them.

S9100 (pictured above) - 12 megapixel CMOS sensor - 18x 25-450mm equivalent f/3.5-5.9 lens - sensor shift stabilisation - 3" VGA LCD - 1080p 30 FPS video with optical zoom - Ships in March for US$330

S6100 - 16 megapixel (sigh) CCD sensor - 7x 28-196mm equivalent f/3.7-5.6 lens - 3" HVGA touchscreen LCD - 720p 30 FPS video - Ships in March for US$200

S4100 - 14 megapixel CCD sensor - 5x 26-130mm equivalent f/3.2-6.5 lens - 3" HVGA touchscreen LCD - 720p 30 FPS video - Ships in late February for US$180

S3100 - 14 megapixel CCD sensor - 5x 26-130mm equivalent f/3.2-6.5 lens - 2.7" QVGA touchscreen LCD - 720p 30 FPS video - Ships in late February for US$140

L120 - 14 megapixel CCD sensor - 21x 25-525mm equivalent f/3.1-5.8 lens - sensor shift stabilisation - 3" VGA LCD - 720p 30 FPS video - powered by 4 AA batteries - Ships in late February for US$280

L24 - 14 megapixel CCD sensor - 3.6x 37-134mm equivalent f/3.1-6.7 lens - 3" QVGA LCD - VGA video - powered by 2 AA batteries - Ships in late February for US$120

They are all pretty good looking cameras, even the budget L cameras, though the lenses are a bit slow (f/6.5 on the long end for the S4100 is ewwww). The S9100 also picks up the panorama feature from the P series cameras. I guess whoever is supplying the software to Sony originally is now selling them to all the camera OEMs. Despite that, I can't seem to shake a sense of disinterest. Maybe it's because I expect a lot more from Nikon, and the last few years of mediocre Coolpixes have tarnished the brand enough in my mind that these batch of Coolpixes are docked a few points off in my mind.

Photos of the rest after the break.

Nikon Coolpix S3100/S4100/S6100/S9100

Nikon Coolpix L120/L24

Read more...


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

A Whole Bunch of Nikon Cameras Leaked

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 01:58 PM

http://nikonrumors.com/2011/02/08/n...00-and-l24.aspx

Nikonrumors have brought along a bunch of leaks thanks to a site breaking embargo about the latest Coolpix compacts. Since I am sure they will be announced with the next 48 hours, I will not be going through every one of them. However, see that little camera above? It is going to be the S95 competitor. I hope Nikon executes this one better than the P7000.


Friday, February 4, 2011

Nikon Rumors Compares Nikon S8100 with Canon S95 in One-sided Fight

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 02:00 PM

http://nikonrumors.com/2011/02/02/n...act-camera.aspx

"I am very particular when it comes to small (pocketable) cameras and I wanted to find out how good (or bad) the top of the line Coolpix S8100 really is. I ignored the P7000 because it is in a different category - I wanted to see what a "real" point and shoot Nikon camera is all about. A natural choice for my comparison was the Canon S95 which is the top of the line compact camera currently offered by Canon. I know this is not fair fight since the Canon S95 can shoot RAW, has manual mode and costs $100 more."

Not fair indeed - NikonRumors.com has decided to pit a S8100 against the S95, a camera designed for more serious use (the sensor on the S95 is already better on paper). I think stating the outcome is unnecessary, but the statement on Nikon needing to put out something more serious than their recent (or last seven years) compact cameras is quite a bit more debatable. Given the squeeze between phones with cameras and mirrorless large sensor compacts, as well as the competitors (Panasonic, Canon, Samsung, Olympus), I wonder if there is still space in the market for another entrant. There is only brand-name recognition for Nikon to rely on as an advantage here, as there will be little system compatibility with the F-mount system.

Nikon also has to take some of the blame here in getting into this situation in the first place. They are now far behind in the game with Panasonic's LX series on its 4th iteration, and even when attempting to compete, the P7000's execution left quite a bit to be desired. What is frustrating is that Nikon can do it. See the D3 and D300 launch as proof that Nikon can do it at a higher level.

If you are still interested in the S8100, here's another review.


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Digital Photography Review's Premium Compact Roundup

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 04:54 PM

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q42...ndcompactgroup/

"It wasn't so long ago that DSLRs were out of financial reach for most enthusiast photographers. Back before DSLRs fell below the magic sub-$1000 mark, the only way for most people to 'go digital' was to invest in a high-quality compact, offering SLR-like control, but without the expensive extras - the large sensor and interchangeable lens mount."

Well, here is another look at a trio of compact cameras; this time the Canon S95 is present instead of the G12; I wonder where is the Samsung EX-1 though? It pretty much has the same conclusion as the last one I posted: Image quality is not an issue with modern compacts, and one should choose based on their needs and wants instead. Want something wider? Pick the LX5. Want something small? Pick the S95. Want something fast and works like a professional-grade camera? Don't pick the P7000. Hit the link for the full article.


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Premium Compact Shootout: Nikon vs Canon vs Panasonic

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 12:00 PM

http://bythom.com/compactHQ1.htm

"We're now almost two decades into the competent digital compact camera era, but many things remain the same. The big issue has been and remains the small size of the image sensor in these cameras. While there has been a strong increase in image quality over the years, the small sensor sized used just doesn't allow the high-end compact camera to produce DSLR-like results in dynamic range or high ISO shooting."

Thom Hogan has compared three premium compacts, the Nikon P7000, the Canon G12, and the Panasonic LX5. While I am certain they all are decent (Nikon surprises me somewhat), I still like the Panasonic's combination of size, focal length, and looks. It is a very charming camera, the LX5. On another note: The Nikon looks way too much like a Canon; Thom Hogan even notes that the operation is more Canon than Nikon-like. If so, what is the appeal of buying a P7000 when there is a G12? Nikon really should have worked harder on differentiating the product (plus a compact that works like a Nikon DSLR is worth extra points in my book).


Friday, November 5, 2010

Nikon Compacts Reviewed: Coolpix S1100pj and S5100

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:00 AM

After yesterday's Nikon DSLR review round-up, here's one for the Coolpixes, or, Nikon's compacts. First up is the Coolpix S1100pj, the newest in a line (of 2) cameras sporting a built-in projector. The nifty thing is that the projector can now be hooked up to a computer. Not so nifty is the 14 lumens rating, up from 10, which is more or less meaningless. You are going to need a really really dark room for this to work adequately. On the camera side of things, it gets a lukewarm reception. It's alright, but nothing special.

Nikon Coolpix S1100pj Review

The Coolpix S5100 is a cheap camera that offers the usual standard fare. I can't be enthused enough to describe it much, but the 12 megapixel 5x zoom compact garners a recommendation. At least the lens starts at 28mm equivalent, where many budget compacts still don't.

Nikon Coolpix S5100 Review


Monday, October 25, 2010

Nikon Coolpix S80 Reviewed

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 11:00 AM

http://www.photographyblog.com/revi...pix_s80_review/

"The Nikon Coolpix S80 is a new 14 megapixel touchscreen compact camera. Featuring a large 3.5 inch OLED screen with 819k-dots and a 720p HD movie mode with stereo sound and an HDMI port, the Nikon S80 allows you to focus and take a picture or video simply by touching the relevant area on the screen."

Nikon's never been one to take the compact market that seriously, having subcontracted manufacture (if not design) to other companies, and the S80 feels like such a product, with some odd design decisions, like the 5x optical zoom lens that starts at a 35mm equivalent rather than 28mm equivalent, which is what its predecessor had. The OLED screen might be a good selling point, but ultimately image quality is a bit on a so-so side. If a consumer electronics company like Panasonic can do good compacts, there is no reason for Nikon not to. I suspect its mostly a strategic decision on their part not to divert too many resources to the compact division.


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Nikon Coolpix P7000 Reviewed by PhotographyBLOG

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 03:30 PM

http://www.photographyblog.com/revi...ix_p7000_review

"The Nikon Coolpix P7000 is a the new flagship model in Nikon’s extensive range of Coolpix compact digital cameras. The Coolpix P7000 is the successor to the one-year-old P6000, but it offers a new design and extra features that make it a completely different proposition."

PhotographyBLOG has reviewed the Nikon Coolpix P7000 and has come away impressed by it. Me? I'm not so. After years of Canon bringing out a number of G cameras, Nikon's response is a near-copy that betters the Canon in a few areas (mostly in the lens' extra reach). I suppose Nikon sees that compact cameras don't have the lock-in a DSLR system has, so there is no need for a vastly more compelling camera to entice buyers. Personally the signal I get from Nikon is that they are still not that interested in this segment; contrast this with the D3 and D300 launch three years back. I certainly am not getting this camera!


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