Nikon Coolpix P3 8.1MP Digital Camera

[PAGETITLE=Introduction] Nikon is known not only for their great cameras, but also their wide selection. This will be the third Nikon review here at Techgage, and it certainly will not be the last. In the past, I took the Coolpix L1 for a spin, but I was not impressed by the overall package. It took good quality pictures for a camera in it's price-range, but it lacked in a few areas. Just a few weeks ago, I published our Coolpix S4 review, which I enjoyed far more than the L1 due to it's nice zoom capabilities and macro functions. Today I will be taking a thorough look at the P3, which is designated as a Performance model. In terms of their basic digital camera selection, the P series are the cream of the crop. L is for lifestyle, which are strictly for the casual user who wants a great point and shoot style camera. S is style, and as we seen in our S4 review, it's easy to tell why they set that as a special category. So, without a doubt the P3 should prove to be the top Nikon camera we've taken a look at, as it should be for a camera in the ~$400 range. While the P3 looks like a rather generic camera, there's a lot behind it's tiny frame. It's capable of 8.1 megapixels, which results in huge 3624*2448 images. It also includes a rather sharp 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor lens (36mm - 126mm) with a max aperture of f/2.7-5.2. While it doesn't have a large zoom, especially compared to the S4, the P3 promises to deliver high quality snapshots at equally high resolutions. Here are some of the official features: 8.1 Megapixels with 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor Glass Lens for stunning prints as large as 20 x 30 inches. Incredible, Bright 2.5 inch LCD for easy composing and sharing of pictures Built-in WiFi-Enabled for wireless transfer and printing 10-step Aperture Priority Mode for creative control over depth of field. Vibration Reduction minimizes the effects of camera shake, offering equivalent shutter speeds of up to 3 stops faster for more flexibility with handheld shooting. Nikon Exclusive Feature System: In-Camera Red-Eye Fix automatically removes most instances of red-eye in the camera; Face-Priority AF, Nikon's face-finding technology that automatically focuses on faces; D-Lighting lightens dark pictures in-camera for great prints right out of the camera. Includes a Rechargeable EN-EL5 Battery and Battery Charger; take up to 200 pictures on a single charge. USB and PictBridge Compatible. MSRP: $449.95. Now for the in-depth specifications: Effective pixels: 8.1 million. CCD: 1/1.8-inch type (8.31 million total pixels) Image modes: 8M (3264), 5M (2592), 3M (2048), PC (1024), TV (640), 3:2 (3264) Lens: 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor; 7.5-26.3mm (35mm [135] format equivalent to 36-126mm); f/2.7-5.2; 7 elements in 6 groups; Digital zoom: up to 4x Focus range: 12.0 in. (30cm) to infinity, 1.6 in. (4cm) to infinity in Macro Mode LCD monitor: 2.5-inch type, 150,000-dot TFT LCD monitor with brightness adjustment. Storage media: Internal memory (approx. 23MB), SD memory card Shooting modes: Auto, Programmed Auto, Aperture Priority Auto Mode, 9 Advanced Scene Modes (Portrait [Face AF], Portrait, Night Portrait, Landscape, Night landscape, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Fireworks show, Close up), 7 Scene Modes (Party/Indoor, Panorama assist, Beach/Snow, Back light, Museum, Copy, Sports), BSS (Best Shot Selector), Date imprint, Self-timer (3, 10 sec.) Movie: With sound: TV movie (640) at 30fps, Small size (320) at 30fps, Smaller size (160) at 30fps; Without sound: Time-lapse movie at 30fps, lens shift VR (Vibration Reduction) Normal available Capture modes: 1) Single, 2) Continuous H (approx. 1.8fps), 3) Multi-shot 16 (approx 1.7fps, only available at image size 8M), 4) Ultra HS (up to 100 pictures at up to 30fps), 5) 5 Shot Buffer (approx 1.8fps), 6) Interval timer shooting. Number of frames (with internal memory): : 8M: Fine: approx. 6, Normal: approx. 12, Basic: approx. 23. Built-in flash: Range: 1' 4" to 13'/0.4-4.0m (W), 1' 4" to 6'7"/0.4-2.0m (T); Flash modes: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction (In-Camera Red-Eye Fix), FlashCancel, Anytime Flash, Slow Sync Interface: IEEE 802.11b/g, USB, Audio Video output. Wireless capability: IEEE802.11b/g, wireless range up to 30m (depending on environment) Supported languages: German/ English/ Spanish/ French/ Italian/ Dutch/ Russian/ Swedish/ Japanese/ Simplified Chinese/ Traditional Chinese/ Korean/ Thai/ Portuguese/ Polish/ Indonesian/ Finnish/ Danish/ Norwegian/ Czech selectable in menu display Power Requirements: EN-EL5 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5 (supplied), EH-62A AC Adapter (optional) Battery Life: Approx 200 shots with EN-EL5 Rechargeable Battery (based on CIPA standard*) Dimensions (WxHxD): Approx. 3.6 x 2.4 x 1.2 in. (92 x 61 x 31mm) Weight: Approx. 5.9 oz. (170g) (without battery and SD memory card) Supplied Accessories: EN-EL5 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, MH-61 Battery Charger, USB Cable UC-E6, EG-CP14 Audio Video Cable, Strap, PictureProject CD-ROM. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Features] One thing you will notice is that this camera supports b/g WiFi, which is used to send photos to your PictBridge enabled printer. I do not have such a printer, so I am unable to delve deeper into this. You must separately purchase the PD-10 wireless adapter, which connects to the available USB port on the back of the printer. You then need to run the included software on your PC to get things rolling. In all, it actually appears to be a rather lengthy process, so it may be for the more experienced users out there. The WiFi is not what I am interested in though, since I do not have the supported printer. Right off the bat, I was wondering if I would enjoy this camera as much as the S4, because it appears to be a 'wimpier' looking model, for the lack of a better word. I have to say though, I was immediately impressed with all this camera has to offer, especially the image quality. We will get to that shortly though. One beef that I have with all of the Nikon cameras I have tested so far, is that they take a good long time to start up. You need to hold down on the power for a second before anything happens, and then after that it still takes three seconds before you can get to taking pictures. This doesn't seem long, but it is when you are trying to snap a quick shot. By comparison, my Casio Exilim starts up in around 1.5 seconds and is ready to go at that point. That's the kind of speed I like to see. WiFi Adapter not included At any rate, one thing I did enjoy right off the bat is the dial at the top of the unit. It functions differently than the other models, but for the better. Depending on what selection you are on, pushing the "Menu" button will have a different effect. In fact, some of the icons here -are- the options. The options on the dial itself are Snapshot, A [Auto], P [Programmed Auto], Scene, Movie, Set Up, ISO, White Balance and WiFi. All in all, there are many, many options at your disposal. More than the two previously mentioned cameras by far. They call it Performance for a reason! What this camera also offers is Vibration Reduction, which is rather self-explanitory. What is essentially helps to do is cut down on blur, which can occur when you are walking and taking a picture for instance. Though most people will not walk and take pictures at the same time, I did find that it helped to a degree. If you are running and snapping, then obviously it's not going to be able to handle that. [PAGEBREAK] [PAGETITLE=Video, Scene Modes] The P4 offers a variety of different video options, but the only one I toyed with was the 640*480 simply because it was the best offered. You have two options regarding macro in this setting, infinite or auto. I found with the Infinite setting, the video did not turn out that well at all, because it was rather blurry. With the auto, it was far better. However, if you move the camera around a lot during the video, you can noticeably see the camera trying to focus and re-focus. If you are taking a movie of an insect walking on the ground or a bee in the flower, you will probably notice this less since you are aimed at a somewhat static [or slow] object. During a quick walk through the park, I found some ducks swimming across the lake. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to test out the video quality, especially because the water is constantly moving. Right-click the image, save link as to download. Coming out of a digital camera, that's some great quality. However, you will notice it does appear a little grainy in some areas, but that's not evident in -all- videos. I am unsure why exactly. One thing to also note is the fact that it averages near 1.4MB per second of video. So, a one minute video would hog up about 84MB on your memory card. You better bring extra cards if you plan to use the video feature, that's for sure. Unless of course you want to use a lower quality setting, but where is the fun in that? Ok... the battery. This is one thing that rubbed me the wrong way immediately, but once again I came to actually prefer it in the end. The camera includes an EN-EL5 rechargeable Li-ion battery, which is rectangular in shape. I am assuming Nikon preferred this method instead of AA batteries because of the amount of power the camera would require. I didn't do specific tests, but I was incredibly impressed by how long the battery lasted. From the moment I first received the camera, I took pictures right away. I got up to about 140 full resolution 8MP pictures and a few videos before I had to recharge. I didn't consider this too bad at all, considering each one of these pictures weighs in at around 2.7MB and the videos themselves use a lot of power. This also includes the scrolling through menus and setting up for the perfect shot. I assume that on a perfect day, the camera should last up to 150 - 160 full resolution images before a recharge. The downside still, is that you will want to buy a spare battery in case you are going on a trip, long walk or what have you. Scene Modes I won't...

Nikon Coolpix P3 8.1MP Digital Camera

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Rob Williams