Nikon Coolpix P7700 Review

October 15, 2012 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 is the new professional model in Nikon's extensive range of Coolpix compact digital cameras. The Coolpix P7700 is the successor to the one-year-old P7100, the main additions being a back-illuminated 12-megapixel, 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, faster lens, vari-angle LCD screen and full 1080 video recording. The Nikon P7700 features a mechanically-stabilized 7.1x optical zoom with a focal range of 28-200mm and maximum apertures of f/2.0-4.0, built-in neutral density filter, sensitivity range of ISO 80 to 6400, RAW file support, 8fps burst shooting, external flash hotshoe, PASM shooting modes, 1080p HD video recording with stereo sound and a microphone jack, GPS support and a 3-inch, 920,000-dot LCD screen. Designed to appeal to the keen enthusiast photographer, the Nikon Coolpix P7700 is available in black for £499.99 / $499.95.

Ease of Use

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 is a relatively thick and heavy compact camera, measuring 118.5 x 72.5 x 50.4 mm and weighing 392g including the battery and memory card, closely resembling the popular Canon Powershot G-series in terms of both dimensions and weight. It doesn't fit in either your palm or a trouser pocket, instead being much more at home stored in a spacious coat pocket or small shoulder bag. The P7700 has a 7.1x zoom lens with a focal range of 28-200mm, making it a realistic alternative to lugging around either a 'super zoom' bridge camera or actual DSLR without having to compromise too much on features or handling. As with its predecessor, the P7700 feels at once solidly constructed yet at the same time reasonably lightweight, with a magnesium alloy chassis and similarly high levels of build quality that you find on the company's DSLR range.

The front of the Nikon Coolpix P7700 features the aforementioned 7x zoom lens surrounded by a metal ring that can be unscrewed to allow for supplementary Nikon attachments such as wide angle or telephoto converters. The 200mm maximum telephoto setting is a key difference between the P7700 and its main rivals, bringing candid and detail shots within reach, while the 28mm wide-angle setting makes it easy to shoot subjects like buildings in narrow streets or a group of your friends in a confined space. The maximum apertures of f/2.0 at 28mm and f/4.0 at 200mm are a big improvement on the f/2.8-f/5.6 apertures of the P7100 and more in keeping with the serious nature of the camera.

Bottom left of the lens is the Fn1 button, just one of the ways in which the P7700 can be customised to suit your shooting style. One of six different settings can be mapped to this button - RAW, ISO, White Balance, Picture Control, D-Lighting and Metering - which therefore provides one-touch access to some of the more commonly used functions. Either side of the lens are two single bulbs, one that doubles as a self timer plus AF assist lamp, and another that acts as an infra red receiver for use with the optional ML-L3 remote control.

Also on the front of the P7700 is the rotary multi selector, now more logically positioned at the top of the handgrip and predominantly used for changing the aperture in the advanced shooting modes. In conjunction with the rear thumb dial, it makes it quick and easy to shoot in the fully Manual mode, although its functionality is otherwise very limited. Top-right of the lens is the small built-in flash, which pops-up above the lens and therefore provides more clearance and less chance of unwanted red-eye in your photos. The pop-up flash can now the be used to wirelessly trigger a group of Nikon Speedlight flashguns, further expanding the P7700's versatility. Completing the front of the P7700 is the hand-grip, which bigger and nicer to use than the P7100's, with a tactile rubberised coating and enough room for three fingers.

Nikon Coolpix P7700 Nikon Coolpix P7700
Front Rear

Moving to the top of the P7700, Nikon's design team has implemented an initially complex but quickly second-nature system of not one, not two, but three circular dials. Starting on the left when viewed from behind, the first dial provides quick access to six commonly used functions - Quality, ISO, White Balance, Bracketing (including exposure, ISO sensitivity, and white balance), My Menu (which effectively allows you to register your favourite menu options and then quickly access them) and Picture Controls. Simply set the dial to your desired option and press the small button in the middle to change it. To the right of this dial is a hot shoe for an optional Nikon Speedlight flashgun, expanding the P7700's flash capabilities. We found that the built-in flash unit was fine for a bit of fill-in, with respectably quick recycle times and adequate range.

The large shooting mode dial is again similar to what you'd find on a consumer-level DSLR. Ranged around this we find the usual suspects of Auto, Program Auto, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Manual, plus Movie and Movie Custom modes, and an array of Scene modes. The Effects mode offers a variety of 10 creative options, including a mechanically controlled Zoom exposure, Defocus during exposure and Cross processing. Completing the mode dial are three User settings which essentially allow you to configure the camera in different ways and then access those key settings with a simple turn of the dial. The action of the wheel itself is slightly stiff, meaning that you reach each chosen setting with a definite click and avoid accidentally shooting past the one that you wanted.

The P7700 shoots 1080p movies (1920x1080 pixels) at a rate of 30fps, plus 720p and VGA modes. The new Movie Custom mode allows you to shoot in either Aperture-priority or full Manual mode and or apply one of seven Special Effects, as well as apply a Custom Picture Mode, use the built-in ND filter, choose the auto-focus mode and enable wind noise reduction. You can employ the full range of the 7.1x zoom lens during recording and also autofocus on your subject. Before recording, you can set the white balance, and during recording the AE Lock button sets the exposure at any point. A gain-up function is included to adjust the optional external microphone. There are also three High Speed movie settings - 120 fps at 640x480 pixels, 60 fps at 1280x720 pixels, and 15 fps 1920x1080 pixels.

The P7700 has a springy shutter button with a definite halfway point, with the camera taking a very brief moment to determine focus and exposure but with no discernible shutter delay thereafter. This is surrounded by a pleasingly tactile zoom lever. The zoom is pretty quick to respond, sound-tracked by a mechanical gnat-like buzz. Just behind the shutter release button is a small but clearly marked on/off button which is encircled by a green LED which briefly lights up to signify the power is indeed on. Give it a press and the P7700 powers up in around 0.5 second, the lens barrel extending to maximum wide-angle setting and the rear LCD blinking into life. There's also a tiny but bright green adjacent lamp which provides a visual indication when the camera is busy processing files. The Fn2 button allows an even greater degree of customisation, and next to this and completing the P7700's top-plate is another clever feature, a dedicated dial for setting the exposure compensation - if only it was this easy to change on all cameras.

Nikon Coolpix P7700 Nikon Coolpix P7700
Front Tilting LCD Screen

The P7700 has a couple of innovative optical features. It's equipped with a built-in neutral density (ND) filter which provides a three-stop decrease in the shutter speed, enabling you to use a slower shutter speed in bright surroundings and achieve exactly the creative effect that you want. The P7700 also offers a number of set focal lengths - 28, 35, 50, 85, 105, 135 and 200mm - with the Zoom Memory function quickly switching to one of them, mimicking having a bag full of prime lenses.

Nikon have also included their VR (Vibration Reduction) image stabilisation system to help prevent camera-shake, an increasingly de-facto feature on a lot of high-end compact cameras. Annoyingly there isn't a dedicated button to turn it on and off (it's somewhat buried in the Setup menu). In practice we found that the VR system makes a noticeable difference to the sharpness of the images, as shown in the examples on the Image Quality page. You don't notice that the camera is actually doing anything different when anti-shake is turned on, just that you can use slower shutter speeds than normal and still take sharp photos. It didn't seem to adversely affect the battery life either, so we'd advise you to turn it on and then forget about it.

The P7700 is a snappy performer, only taking around a second until a RAW+ Fine JPEG file is written to memory, quicker than the previous P7100 model. Continuous shooting has been similarly improved, with the P7700 now capable of capturing 8 frames per second in the Continuous H mode, albeit only for 6 frames. Even better, this rates applies to both JPEG and RAW file formats, although the camera completely locks-up while it takes around 15 seconds to write them to the memory card. The P7700 can also shoot 6 JPEG or RAW images at 4fps, or 30 images at 1fps. Other modes worthy of mention include Continuous H: 120 fps which takes 60 frames at a speed of about 1/125 seconds, and Continuous H: 60 fps which takes 60 frames at a speed of about 1/60 seconds. BSS (Best Shot Selector), Multi-shot 16 and an Interval Timer complete the P7700's extensive range of burst shooting modes.

Nikon Coolpix P7700 Nikon Coolpix P7700
Front Top

The rear of the P7700 has a switch for popping up the built-in flash and the button for controlling the screen display – either displaying all settings, providing a 'clean' screen or switching it off entirely, but irritatingly still no live histogram (although this button does call one up in playback mode). Alongside is an unmarked control dial. Immediately lending the camera a proper 'grown up' feel, this falls readily under the thumb, and allows you to quickly set the shutter speed or browse through a sequence of images in playback, amongst other functions. In conjunction with the front rotary control wheel, this dial provides a neat solution that is great to use, especially if you are a regular DSLR user. Another DSLR-like feature is the AE-L / AF-L button which now falls readily under your right thumb and makes it easy to lock either the exposure or the focus point (or both at once).

Below is a 3-inch LCD screen with an impressively high 921,000-dot resolution, providing more than enough detail for you to be able to determine whether you have a sufficiently crisp image. You can also turn on the Virtual Horizon feature to help ensure that your horizons are perfectly level. The P7700's screen is now side-hinged, very useful when holding the camera over your head or down at waist level and more versatile than the P7100's top-mounted screen. It also folds away against the back of the camera body to protect the screen when not in use.

To the right of the screen is a self-explanatory playback button. Next is the familiar four-way navigation pad, which allows you to set the flash, focusing, macro and self-timer options, in addition to moving through menus and selecting options, with an 'OK' button at its centre being the means via which changes can be implemented. Surrounding this is a circular wheel, which performs the more mundane tasks of moving through menus and selecting options.

Nikon Coolpix P7700 Nikon Coolpix P7700
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

The familiar Menu button underneath the navigation pad accesses the Nikon P7700's menu system, which is clear and easy to navigate. Press this when in Auto capture mode and there's just two menus, Playback and Settings. Turn the dial to Program or one of the advanced shooting modes and press again and you also get the Shooting menu, which offers 15 different additional settings.

The Picture Control option allows you to tweak the look and feel of your images, with 4 presets and a Custom option on offer. The contrast, saturation and sharpening level of each preset can be individually adjusted too, so you should be able to find a setting that suits you. Distortion control automatically corrects barrel distortion, useful for all those 28mm shots of close-up architecture with converging verticals, but it does have to be turned on before you take a picture. D-Lighting is a long-standing Nikon technology that brightens the shadow areas of an image, with three different strengths available.

In playback mode, pressing the same menu button affords access to rudimentary image editing, including Nikon's exposure adjusting D-Lighting function, Skin Softening and a range of Filter Effects, image slide shows, plus the ability process a RAW file in-camera if required. The Tone Level function displays a brightness histogram in an unusual vertical orientation, to the right of which is a tone scale. you can move up and down the nine levels and as you do so, the current tone range is displayed as a flashing area in the main image, allowing for more precise verification of the exposure. A button to the right features the familiar trashcan icon for deleting images on the fly and completes the rear of the P7700.

On the right flank of the camera – if still viewing it from the rear – there's an eyelet for attaching the supplied shoulder strap and a plastic cover protecting the A/V out / USB and HDMI ports. On the left hand flank is an identical means of threading on the strap, plus the MIC port which accepts an optional external microphone, the new GPS port which accepts the optional GP-1 GPS Unit accessory, and the built-in speaker. On the bottom of the camera is a centrally positioned, metal tripod mount. The P7700 is powered by a 7.4v lithium ion battery, good for around 330 shots, that slots into the base alongside the SD / SDHC / SDXC card compartment.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4.5Mb.

The Nikon Coolpix P7700's image quality is excellent for a compact camera with a relatively small image sensor. The Nikon Coolpix P7700 dealt very well with noise, which doesn't really become obvious until ISO 800. The noise, colour desaturation and loss of detail gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 800 to ISO 1600 and 3200 and finally the unusable 6400 setting.

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 handled chromatic aberrations excellently with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 12 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and either require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should increase the in-camera sharpening level.

The Nikon Coolpix P7700's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds, which is excellent news for night photography enthusiasts, and the quality of the after-dark images is very good. Macro performance is one of the stand-out highlights, allowing you to focus as close as 2cms away from the subject, although there is a lot of lens distortion and shadowing at such a close distance.

Vibration reduction is a very useful feature that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The Active D-Lighting and Backlighting modes extract more detail from the shadow and highlight areas, while the various Picture Controls and Special Effects allow you to customise the look of your images in-camera.

Noise

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 has 8 sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 6400 at full resolution.

JPEG RAW

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Nikon Coolpix P7700's 7.1x zoom lens provides a focal length of 28-200mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

28mm

200mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops - the right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are slightly soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can alternatively change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

File Quality

At full resolution, there are two JPEG quality settings available and also support for the RAW format

Fine (4.53Mb) (100% Crop)

Normal (2.52Mb) (100% Crop)

   

RAW (15.6Mb) (100% Crop)

 
 

Chromatic Aberrations

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 shows little purple fringing, with very limited effects in areas of high contrast as shown in the example below.

Chromatic Aberrations (100% Crop)

Macro

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 allows you to get as close as 2cms to your subject, in this case a Compact Flash card.

Macro

Macro (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix P7700 are Auto, Auto with Red-eye reduction, Fill Flash, Manual (Full, 1/2, 1/4 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64), Slow Sync, Rear-curtain Sync and Flash Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m. Some vignetting and barrel distortion is apparent at the 28mm wide-angle setting, irrespective of whether you use the flash or not.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (200mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (200mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Fill Flash or the Auto with Red-eye reduction options caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
   

Red Eye Reduction

Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Nikon Coolpix P7700's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in the Manual mode, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 80.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

Vibration Reduction

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 has an vibration reduction mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the lens set to the same focal length and ISO speed. The first shot was taken with vibration reduction turned off, the second with it turned on. As you can see, with vibration reduction turned on, the images are definitely sharper than with vibration reduction turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)

Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/8th sec / 28mm
     
1/4th sec / 200mm

Active D-Lighting

Active D-Lighting improves the detail in both the highlight and shadow areas. There are three strengths available - Low, Normal and High - the effects of which can be seen below.

Off

Low

   

Normal

High

Backlighting

The Backlighting scene mode captures multiple frames at different exposures and and combines them into one image with greater dynamic range.

Off

Level 1

   

Level 2

Level 3

Picture Controls

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 has four preset Picture Controls and a Custom option, which allow you to tweak the look and feel of your images.

Standard

Neutral

   

Vivid

Monochrome

Special Effects

The Effects shooting mode offers a variety of 10 creative options, including a mechanically controlled Zoom exposure, Defocus during exposure and Cross processing.

Off

Creative Monochrome

   

Painting

Zoom Exposure

   

Deficus During Exposure

Cross Process

   

Soft

Nostalgic Sepia

   

High Key

Low Key

   

Selective Color (Red)

 
 

Panoramas

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 can capture panoramic images by simply "sweeping" the camera, with two widths on offer, Standard (180 degrees) and Wide (360 degrees).

Standard
 
Wide

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix P7700 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Nikon RAW (NRW) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 46.3Mb in size.

Product Images

Nikon Coolpix P7700

Front of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Front of the Camera / Turned On

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Front of the Camera / Flash Raised

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera

 

Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera / Shooting Menu

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera / Set Up Menu

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Rear of the Camera / Special Effects Menu

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Top of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Bottom of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Side of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Side of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Front of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Front of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Memory Card Slot

 
Nikon Coolpix P7700

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The new Coolpix P7700 is the best prosumer Nikon compact camera to date, now offering a more flexible vari-angle LCD screen, Full HD movies and a faster lens, not to mention a new 12 megapixel image sensor, quicker 8fps burst shooting, remote flash control and and GPS support. The removal of the P7100's optical viewfinder may put some prospective buyers off, but the other improvements undoubtedly make the P7700 a real contender to its main rivals.

Despite the jump in megapixels from 10 to 12, the P7700 offers excellent image quality, thanks largely to the adoption of a 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor that's physically larger than the one inside most compact cameras. There's no unwanted noise at ISO 100-400, with a little appearing at 800 and 1600 still being perfectly usable, which is a great performance and certainly on a par with most of the P7700's main rivals.

The P7700's control layout and handling is very similar to its predecessor, offering a winning combination of dials and wheels, with the two Function buttons and the front and rear command dials in particular boosting the P7700's intuitiveness. There are so many ways of customising the camera to your own way of working that make the P7700 a photographer's dream from a handling point of view.

The P7700 has an excellent new LCD screen that's hinged on the side, making it much more versatile for image composition than either a fixed screen or the previous P7100's top-mounted screen. Other key features include the versatile 28-200mm zoom, 1080p movies with stereo sound plus a port for an external mic, a neutral density filter, zoom step feature, virtual horizon and GPS support via an optional accessory.

Still commanding the same hefty price-tag as its predecessor with an RRP of £499.99 / $499.95, the Nikon Coolpix P7700 finds itself priced alongside key rivals such as the Canon PowerShot G15, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, Samsung EX2F and Sony Cyber-shot RX100, as well as several entry-level DSLRs and the new wave of Compact System Cameras. We feel that there's still a place for a well-specified, fixed-lens compact for prosumers, and in that regard the new Nikon Coolpix P7700 certainly doesn't disappoint. Highly Recommended.

4.5 stars

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

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Nikon Coolpix P7700 from around the web.

techradar.com »

Nikon's P series of compact cameras are the company's answer to the ever popular Canon G series, such as the G12 and new Canon G15. The latest in the lineup is the Nikon P7700. It features a large 1/1.7-inch 12 million pixel CMOS sensor, a 7.1x optical zoom lens and a fully articulating screen.
Read the full review »

pocket-lint.com »

With the abundance of high-end compact cameras flooding the market of late, making a decision on which to buy is all the harder. Nikon’s Coolpix P7700, which updates the good but ultimately outclassed Coolpix P7100, is an overhaul of the company’s high-end series.
Read the full review »

neocamera.com »

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 is a compact digital camera filled with features to satisfy advanced users. It is built around a 12 megapixels CMOS sensor behind a 7X wide-angle optical zoom lens with built-in image stabilization and F/2 - F/4 maximum aperture.
Read the full review »

Specifications

*¹ Not compatible with Multi Media Card (MMC).

*² When the aperture value is set to f/4.5 - f/8 (wide-angle position) or the value is set to f/7.1 - f/8 (telephoto zoom position)

*³ Based on Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) standards for measuring battery life.

*? The maximum size for a single movie is 4 GB, and the maximum recording time for a single movie is 29 minutes, even when there is sufficient free space on the memory card. If the camera becomes hot, movie recording may stop before these limits are reached.

*? Based on CIPA Guidelines, DCG-005-2009.

Number of effective pixels 12.2 million
Image sensor 1/1.7-in. type CMOS; approx. 12.76 million total pixels
Lens 7.1x optical zoom, NIKKOR lens
Focal length 6.0-42.8 mm (angle of view equivalent to that of 28-200 mm lens in 35mm [135] format)
f/-number f/2-4
Lens construction 13 elements in 10 groups (2 ED lens elements)
Digital zoom magnification Still pictures: Up to 4x (angle of view equivalent to that of approx. 800 mm lens in 35mm [135] format), Movies: Up to 2x (angle of view equivalent to that of approx. 400 mm lens in 35mm [135] format)
Vibration reduction Lens shift
Autofocus (AF) Contrast-detect AF
Focus range [W]: Approx. 50 cm (1 ft 8 in.) to infinity, [T]: Approx. 80 cm (2 ft 8 in.) to infinity, Macro close-up mode: Approx. 2 cm (0.8 in.) (at a wide-angle zoom position) to infinity (All distances measured from center of front surface of lens)
Focus-area selection Face priority, auto (9-area automatic selection), center (wide, normal), manual with 99 focus areas, subject tracking, target finding AF
Monitor 7.5 cm (3-in.), approx. 921k-dot, wide viewing angle TFT LCD with anti-reflection coating and 5-level brightness adjustment, Vari-angle TFT LCD
Frame coverage (shooting mode) Approx. 100% horizontal and 100% vertical (compared to actual picture)
Frame coverage (playback mode) Approx. 100% horizontal and 100% vertical (compared to actual picture)
Media Internal memory (approx. 86 MB), SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card *¹
File system DCF, Exif 2.3, DPOF, and MPF compliant
File formats Still pictures: JPEG, NRW (RAW) (Nikon's own format), 3D images: MPO, Sound files (voice memo): WAV, Movies: MOV (Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, Audio: AAC stereo)
Image size (pixels) 12M [4000 x 3000], 8M [3264 x 2448], 4M [2272 x 1704], 2M [1600 x 1200], VGA [640 x 480], 3:2 [3984 x 2656], 16:9 9M [3968 x 2232], 1:1 [3000 x 3000]
Shooting Modes Auto, Scene (Scene auto selector, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night portrait, Party/indoor, Beach, Snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Night landscape, Close-up, Food, Museum, Fireworks show, Black and white copy, Backlighting, Panorama, Pet portrait, 3D photography), Special effects, P, S, A, M, User settings
Continuous Shooting Single (default setting), Continuous H (up to about 6 pictures are continuously shot at a rate of about 8 fps), Continuous M (up to about 6 pictures are continuously shot at a rate of about 4 fps), Continuous L (up to about 30 pictures are continuously shot at a rate of about 1 fps), BSS (Best Shot Selector), Multi-shot 16, Continuous H: 120 fps (60 frames are captured at a speed of about 1/125 seconds or faster), Continuous H: 60 fps (60 frames are captured at a speed of about 1/60 seconds or faster), Intvl timer shooting
Movie HD 1080p(fine) (default setting): 1920 x 1080/approx. 30 fps, HD 1080p: 1920 x 1080/approx. 30 fps, HD 720p: 1280 x 720/approx. 30 fps, VGA: 640 x 480/approx. 30 fps, HS 120 fps: 640 x 480, HS 60 fps: 1280 x 720, HS 15 fps: 1920 x 1080
ISO sensitivity (Standard output sensitivity) ISO 80 - 1600; ISO 3200, Hi 1 (equivalent to 6400) (available when using P, S, A or M mode)
Metering mode Matrix (224-segment matrix), center-weighted, or spot. Also when AF area mode is set to Manual, the AF area can be coupled to the metering range using Focus-coupled metering.
Exposure control Programmed auto exposure with flexible program, shutter priority auto, aperture-priority auto, manual, exposure bracketing (Tv, Av, Sv) enabled, exposure compensation (in steps of 1/3 EV in the range of +/-3.0 EV for still pictures and +/-2.0 EV for movies) enabled
Shutter Mechanical and CMOS electronic shutter
Shutter speed 1/4000*² - 1 s, 1/4000*² - 60 s (when ISO sensitivity is set to 80 - 400 in M mode)
Aperture Electronically-controlled 7-blade iris diaphragm
Aperture range 13 steps of 1/3 EV (W) (A, M mode)
Self-timer Durations of 1, 2 or 10 seconds can be selected
Built-in flash range (approx.) (ISO sensitivity: Auto) [W]: 0.5 - 10 m (1 ft 8 in. - 32 ft), [T]: 0.5 - 5.5 m (1 ft 8 in. - 18 ft)
Flash control TTL auto flash with monitor pre-flashes and manual flash enabled
Flash exposure compensation In steps of 1/3 EV in the range between -2 and +2 EV
Accessory shoe ISO 518 hot-shoe with sync and data contacts and safety lock
Nikon Creative Lighting System i-TTL flash control support in combination with Nikon Creative Lighting System-compatible Speedlights (only Standard i-TTL flash control is supported during spot metering mode). Flash Color Information Communication is supported. Advanced Wireless Lighting is supported by setting SB-910, SB-900, SB-800 or SB-700 to master flash or by setting SU-800 to the Commander mode (the remote flash setting is only applicable to Group A). Advanced Wireless Lighting is supported by setting the built-in flash to the Commander mode (only applicable to Group A and fixed at 3 CH).
Interface Hi-Speed USB
Data Transfer Protocol MTP, PTP
Video output Can be selected from NTSC and PAL
HDMI output Can be selected from Auto, 480p, 720p, and 1080i
I/O terminal Audio/video output; digital I/O (USB), HDMI Mini Connector (Type C) (HDMI output), External microphone connector (stereo mini-pin jack (3.5 mm diameter), plug-in power type), Accessory terminal
Supported languages Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (European and Brazilian), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Power sources One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL14 (included), AC Adapter EH-5b (used in combination with the Power Connector EP-5A) (available separately)
Battery life *³ Still pictures: Approx. 330 shots when using EN-EL14, Movie recording (actual battery life for recording) *?: Approx. 1 h 10 min when using EN-EL14
Tripod socket 1/4 (ISO 1222)
Dimensions (W x H x D) *? Approx. 118.5 x 72.5 x 50.4 mm (4.7 x 2.9 x 2.0 in.) (excluding projections)
Weight Approx. 392 g (13.9 oz) (including battery and SD memory card)
Temperature 0°C - 40°C (32°F - 104°F)
Humidity 85% or less (no condensation)
Supplied accessories Camera Strap, Lens Cap LC-CP26 (attached to the camera body), Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL14 (with terminal cover), Battery Charger MH-24, USB Cable UC-E17, Audio Video Cable EG-CP16, ViewNX 2 CD, Reference Manual CD
Optional accessories 40.5mm screw-on filter 40.5 NC, Lens Hood HN-CP17, Power Connector EP-5A, AC Adapter EH-5b, Hand Strap AH-CP1, Stereo Microphone ME-1, Remote Control ML-L3, Remote Cord MC-DC2, GPS Unit GP-1, SB-910, SB-700, SB-400

Your Comments

Loading comments…