Nikon Coolpix P100 Review

April 22, 2010 | Zoltan Arva-Toth | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Nikon Coolpix P100 produced images of good but not spectacular quality during the review. While the photos were generally sharp, this was partly down to in-camera sharpening (edge enhancement). High-frequency, low-contrast detail was often smeared by noise reduction, even at relatively slow ISO speeds.

On the plus side, the increase in the amount of noise as you went up the sensitivity ladder was perhaps a little less dramatic than with many other compacts. Those who do not plan on making big prints from their photos will likely be pleased with the results. Still, we expected better images from a 10-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor.

As regards the other aspects of image quality, colours were for the most part vibrant and pleasing, chromatic aberrations were less prominent than we would have expected from a superzoom like this, the macro capability of the camera was outstanding, and the night shot came out pretty well too. Vibration Reduction definitely worked, although we would like to point out that shooting at the long end of the zoom still requires that you pay attention to shutter speed, at least when not using a tripod.

Noise

The Nikon Coolpix P100 has a base sensitivity of ISO 160. At the other end of the scale the highest setting is ISO 3200, which is available at full resolution, unlike in the P90. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

ISO 160 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The 26-678mm equivalent focal range is massive and immensely versatile, as demonstrated by these examples.

26mm

678mm

File Quality

The Nikon Coolpix P100 does not shoot raw. The available JPEG quality settings are Fine, Normal and Basic.

10M Fine (100% Crop) 10M Normal (100% Crop)
   
10M Basic (100% Crop)  
 

Sharpening

The Coolpix P100 has pretty strong in-camera sharpening. You can of course add some more in a software like Adobe Photoshop, but as these examples show, this will not necessarily lead to more natural-looking results.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

Chromatic Aberrations

For a superzoom, the Nikon Coolpix P100 handled chromatic aberrations very well. These examples demonstrate what you can expect in the worst case in real-world situations.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Example 2 (100% Crop)

   

Example 3 (100% Crop)

 
 

Macro

The Nikon P100 has an excellent macro mode. In order to achieve maximum magnification, you will want to zoom in a little from the wide end - this shot was taken at the 85mm equivalent setting, which is what we have found to be the optimum for macro work.

Macro Shot

100% Crop

Flash

The pop-up flash has several modes of operation, including auto, auto with red-eye reduction, fill, slow sync and rear-curtain sync. These shots of a white ceiling were taken at a distance of 1.5 metres.

Forced Off - Wide Angle (26mm)

Forced On - Wide Angle (26mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Forced Off - Telephoto (678mm)

Forced On - Telephoto (678mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are a couple of portrait shots. The flash caused a bit of redeye and the redeye reduction setting appears to have had almost no effect.

On

On (100% Crop)
   

Auto/Red-eye Reduction

Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The slowest shutter speed of the Nikon Coolpix P100 is eight seconds, which is fairly good news if you are seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken at a shutter speed of 2 seconds, aperture of f/3.2 at ISO 200. We have included a 100% crop to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)

Vibration Reduction

These crops are from two photos that were taken at a shutter speed of 1/10th of a second, with and without Vibration Reduction. As you can see, VR can mean the difference between capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)

Anti Shake On (100% Crop)

1/11th sec / 33mm

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix P100 camera, which were all taken using the 10 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1920x1080 at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 26 second movie is 54Mb in size.

Product Images

Nikon Coolpix P100

Front of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Isometric View / Lens Extended

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Isometric View / Pop-up Flash

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Top of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Bottom of the Camera

 

Nikon Coolpix P100

Side of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Side of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Memory Card Slot

 
Nikon Coolpix P100

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Nikon Coolpix P100 is a feature-packed superzoom camera that is aimed at the enthusiast photographer who either does not want to buy into an SLR system or wants a lighter, more portable alternative to his or her main workhorse. The chief attraction is of course the 26-678mm equivalent zoom lens, which covers the focal range of at least 3-4 SLR lenses. But there is more to the Nikon P100 than just an insanely long zoom: it offers SLR-like handling, manual exposure and focus, an eye-level viewfinder, an articulated LCD screen and a terrific movie mode as well. It is a very well rounded package that still manages to be surprisingly compact and lightweight.

In terms of handling, there are only a few areas we criticised in this review. These include a lack of direct access to ISO speed and white balance, a missing second control wheel and the inability to attach an external flashgun. Generally speaking, however, the Nikon Coolpix P100 offers better handling and ease-of-use than some competitors out there, and would be an excellent camera if Nikon could address these few issues.

Image quality was more of a mixed bag. It's not bad for a compact camera, but somehow we have expected better results from a back-illuminated CMOS sensor, especially one that defies the megapixel race by keeping the resolution at a healthy-sounding 10 million pixels (which is actually less than the 12 million of the previous model). There is simply too much smearing of fine detail in the full-resolution images, even at base ISO, and lost detail unfortunately cannot be compensated for by applying extra sharpening. Having said that, if you - like the majority of photo enthusiasts - stick with small to mid-sized prints, you will have little to worry about.

Where the Nikon Coolpix P100 really shines is exactly where its predecessor proved disappointing. To wit, its movie mode. Where the P90 had an obsolete 640×480-pixel VGA video mode, the P100 can shoot Full HD (1920×1080-pixel) movies at 30 frames per second, with stereo sound, full-time AF and optical zoom. For the serious videographer, the Coolpix P100 won't replace a dedicated video camera, but for everyone else, its video capabilities will likely prove more than satisfactory. Add in those quirky high-speed video modes that let you produce crazy slow-motion movies, and it's hard not to be a fan.

The Nikon Coolpix P100 can be a good choice for those who yearn for the convenience of a superzoom but also require the creative control provided by a high-end camera, provided they are not overly obsessed with technical image quality or fast auto-focus. The P100 will never turn out DSLR-quality photos, but it's a lot more portable and convenient than an SLR with a bunch of lenses. It also has some excellent movie options for those who like to shoot videos as well as stills, making it an ideal travel companion.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 3.5
Value for money 4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Nikon Coolpix P100 from around the web.

reviews.cnet.com »

The Nikon Coolpix P100 is capable of doing some extraordinary things. It's chock-full of shooting options centered on a high-speed CMOS sensor married with a 26x megazoom lens. Things like high-speed photo and video shooting, fun modes and settings for near endless experimentation, and 1080p HD-quality movie recording are all here. The P100 is also well-designed with easily managed controls once you spend some quality time with the extensive manual (it's paper, too). However, for all its strengths, the camera's photos (and video for that matter) just aren't that good.
Read the full review »

photoxels.com »

The Nikon Coolpix P100 is an ultra zoom digital camera capable of capturing good shots with point-and-shoot ease. Its major attraction is its 26x optical zoom: a 26mm ultra wide-angle for large group and wide landscape shots and a 678mm tele to bring far scenes up real close. Sensor-shift image stabilization helps reduce camera shake when using long focal lengths.
Read the full review »

neocamera.com »

The Nikon Coolpix P100 joins a small number of ultra-zooms built around a CMOS sensor to provide a number of headline high-speed features. In this case, the P100 has a very wide stabilized 26X optical zoom lens, going from 26 to 678mm in 35mm-equivalent terms, and a 10 megapixels BSI sensor for improved low-light performance over traditional sensors.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Image Sensor Type
CMOS

Sensor Size
1/2.3 in.

Total Pixels
10.6 million

Effective Pixels
10.3 million

Image Area (pixels)
3648 x 2736(10M)
3264 x 2448(8M)
2592 x 1944(5M)
2048 x 1536(3M)
1600 x 1200(2M)
1280 x 960(1M)
1024 x 768(PC)
640 x 480(VGA)
3648 x 2432(3:2)
3584 x 2016(16:9)
2736 x 2736(1:1)

Vibration Reduction
Combination of image-sensor shift and electronic VR (still pictures)

LCD Monitor Size
3 in. diagonal

LCD Monitor Type
Vari-angle TFT LCD with anti-reflection coating

LCD Monitor Resolution
460,000 Dots

ISO Sensitivity
ISO 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, Auto (auto gain from ISO 160 to 800), High ISO Sensitivity auto (ISO 160 to 1600), Fixed range auto (ISO 160-200, 160-400)

Storage Media
SD
SDHC
Not compatible with Multi Media Cards (MMC).

Internal Memory
Approx. 43MB

Interface
Hi-speed USB

Lens Zoom
26x

Lens Specification
4.6-120mm (equivalent with 35mm [135] format picture angle: 26-678mm); f/2.8-5; Digital zoom: up to 4x (35mm [135] format picture angle: 2712mm)

Focus Range
50 cm (1 ft. 8 in.) to infinity (∞), Macro mode: 1 cm (0.4 in.) to infinity (∞)

Battery Type
Rechargeable

Battery / Batteries
Nikon EN-EL5 Lithium-ion Battery
(supplied)

AC Adapter
Charging AC Adapter EH-68P
EH-62A AC Adapter (optional)

Battery Charger
MH-61 Charger
(optional)

Battery Life (shots per charge)
EN-EL5: 250 shots

Based on CIPA industry standard for measuring life of camera batteries. Measured at 23°C (73°F); zoom adjusted with each shot, built-in flash fired with every other shot, image mode set to Normal.

Approx. Dimensions
Height: 3.3 in. (82.7mm)
Width: 4.5 in. (114.4mm)
Depth: 3.9 in. (98.6mm)

Excluding projections. Method of noting dimensions and weight is in accordance with CIPA DCG-005-2009 guideline.

Approx. Weight
17.0 oz. (481g)
with battery and SD memory card

Optional Accessories
AC Adapter EH-62A, Battery Charger MH-61

Supplied Accessories

  • Rechargeable
  • Charging AC Adapter EH-68P
  • USB Cable UC-E6
  • Audio Video Cable EG-CP14
  • Strap AN-CP21
  • Lens Cap LC-CP21
  • Software Suite CD-ROM

Specifications and equipment are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.

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