Nikon Coolpix P7800 Review

October 10, 2013 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 is the new premium model in Nikon's extensive range of Coolpix compact digital cameras. The Coolpix P7800 is the successor to the one-year-old P7700, the main addition being a 921K-dot electronic viewfinder with 100% scene coverage and a new LCD screen with an RGBW design. The addition of white pixels makes the screen brighter in sunlight, and also reduces battery drain.. In virtually all other respects the P7800 is the same as the P7700, featuring a back-illuminated 12-megapixel, 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, 3-inch vari-angle LCD screen, full 1080 video recording, 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 and wi-fi support, and a 3-inch, 920,000-dot LCD screen. The Nikon Coolpix P7800 is available in black for £499.99 / $549.95 / €599.00.

Ease of Use

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 is a relatively thick and heavy compact camera, measuring 118.5 x 77.5 x 50.4 mm and weighing 399g including the battery and memory card (ever so slightly bigger and heavier than the P7700), and 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 P7800 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 P7800 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 P7800 features the aforementioned 7.1x 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 P7800 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 the same as on the P7700 and perfectly 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 P7800 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 P7800 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 be used to wirelessly trigger a group of Nikon Speedlight flashguns, further expanding the P7800's versatility. Completing the front of the P7800 is the hand-grip, which has a tactile rubberised coating and enough room for three fingers.

Nikon Coolpix P7800 Nikon Coolpix P7800
Front Rear

Moving to the top of the P7800, we find the new electronic viewfinder located on the left when viewed from the rear. This replaces the lack of any viewfinder on the P7700, and the rather small and murky optical viewfinder on the older P7100. The viewfinder offers 100% scene coverage, a decent resolution of 921K dots, and built-in diopter adjustment. We found it pleasurable to use, with the ability to see key shooting information a welcome feature, although we'd also have liked an eye-sensor for easier switching between the EVF and the LCD screen. Instead you have to manually switch between the two by pressing the Display button alongside the EVF. When compared to the viewfinder-less P7700 or the Canon PowerShot G16, which uses an optical viewfinder, we prefer the Coolpix P7800's EVF solution.

The new EVF occupies the place where the Function Dial was located on the P7700. Instead the 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 - are now accessed via a button on the rear of the camera. To the right of the EVF is a hot shoe for an optional Nikon Speedlight flashgun, expanding the P7800'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 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 P7800 shoots 1080p movies (1920x1080 pixels) at a rate of 30fps or 25fps, plus 720p and VGA modes. The Movie Custom mode allows you to shoot in either Aperture-priority or full Manual mode and 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 P7800 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 P7800 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 P7800'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 P7800 Nikon Coolpix P7800
Front Tilting LCD Screen

The P7800 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 P7800 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 P7800 is a snappy performer if you only shoot JPEGS, but isn't so quick if you want to capture RAW files too, taking around 3 seconds until a RAW+ Fine JPEG file is written to memory when using a UHS-I SD card. Note that the camera gets even slower if you use a cheaper, slower card - for example, taking over 10 seconds to a RAW+ Fine JPEG file onto a Class 4 card. The P7800 is capable of capturing 8 frames per second in the Continuous H mode, albeit only for 6 frames. 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 P7800 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 P7800's extensive range of burst shooting modes.

Nikon Coolpix P7800 Nikon Coolpix P7800
Front Top

The rear of the P7800 has a switch for popping up the built-in flash and the buttons for switching between the LCD and the EVF and for the Function menu. 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 falls readily under your right thumb and makes it easy to lock either the exposure or the focus point (or both at once).

The 3-inch LCD screen has 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. It now uses an RGBW design, with addition of white pixels making it easier to see in bright sunlight and draining the battery slightly less than a conventinal RGB screen. You can also turn on the Virtual Horizon feature to help ensure that your horizons are perfectly level. The P7800's screen is side-hinged, very useful when holding the camera over your head or down at waist level. 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 P7800 Nikon Coolpix P7800
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

The familiar Menu button underneath the navigation pad accesses the Nikon P7800'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 P7800.

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 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 P7800 is powered by a 7.4v lithium ion battery, good for around 350 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 P7800's image quality is excellent for a compact camera with a relatively small image sensor. The Nikon Coolpix P7800 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 P7800 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 P7800'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 P7800 has 8 sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 6400 at full resolution.

JPEG RAW

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

iso80.jpg iso80raw.jpg
   

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg

Focal Range

The Nikon Coolpix P7800's 7.1x zoom lens provides a focal length of 28-200mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

28mm

200mm

focal_range1.jpg focal_range2.jpg

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)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

File Quality

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

Fine (4.32Mb) (100% Crop)

Normal (2.49Mb) (100% Crop)

quality_fine.jpg quality_normal.jpg
   

RAW (25.8Mb) (100% Crop)

 
quality_raw.jpg  

Chromatic Aberrations

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 shows little purple fringing, with very limited effects in areas of high contrast as shown in the example below.

Chromatic Aberrations (100% Crop)

chromatic1.jpg

Macro

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 allows you to get as close as 2cms to your subject, in this case a Compact Flash card.

Macro

Macro (100% Crop)

macro1.jpg macro1a.jpg

Flash

The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix P7800 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)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red Eye Reduction

Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Nikon Coolpix P7800'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)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Vibration Reduction

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 has an vibration reduction mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, we 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.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)

Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/5th sec / 28mm antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
1/2 sec / 200mm antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

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

dlighting_1.jpg dlighting_2.jpg
   

Normal

High

dlighting_3.jpg dlighting_4.jpg

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

backlighting_1.jpg backlighting_2.jpg
   

Level 2

Level 3

backlighting_3.jpg backlighting_4.jpg

Picture Controls

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 has four preset Picture Controls and a Custom option, which allow you to tweak the look and feel of your images.

Standard

Neutral

picture_control_1.jpg picture_control_2.jpg
   

Vivid

Monochrome

picture_control_3.jpg picture_control_4.jpg

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

effects_01.jpg effects_02.jpg
   

Painting

Zoom Exposure

effects_03.jpg effects_04.jpg
   

Defocus During Exposure

Cross Process

effects_05.jpg effects_06.jpg
   

Soft

Nostalgic Sepia

effects_07.jpg effects_08.jpg
   

High Key

Low Key

effects_09.jpg effects_10.jpg
   

Selective Color (Red)

 
effects_11.jpg  

Panoramas

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 can capture panoramic images by simply "sweeping" the camera, with two widths on offer, Standard (180 degrees) and Wide (360 degrees).

Standard
panorama1.jpg
 
Wide
panorama2.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix P7800 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 P7800 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 25 frames per second. Please note that this 26 second movie is 50.3Mb in size.

Product Images

Nikon Coolpix P7800

Front of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Front of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Turned On

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Front of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Flash Raised

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Side of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Side of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Side of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Side of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 

Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Image Displayed

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Turned On

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Shooting Menu

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Set Up Menu

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Rear of the Nikon Coolpix P7800 / Special Effects Menu

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Tilting LCD Screen

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Top of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Bottom of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Side of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Side of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Front of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Front of the Nikon Coolpix P7800

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Memory Card Slot

 
Nikon Coolpix P7800

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Nikon Coolpix P7800 is a very minor update of the previous P7700 model, principally adding a useful electronic viewfinder, which thankfully has enough resolution and scene coverage to make its inclusion worthwhile, although we would have liked an eye-sensor too. Other than a slight reconfiguration of the control layout to accommodate the EVF and a new 25fps video mode, the P7800 is virtually indistinguishable from the camera that it replaces. Unfortunately this includes the sluggish performance when shooting RAW files - if you use a really fast card, you almost won't notice, but be prepared for a long wait while the RAW image is written to a cheaper, slower card.

The P7800's control layout and handling are very similar to the P7700, offering a winning combination of dials and wheels, with the two Function buttons and the front and rear command dials in particular boosting the P7800's intuitiveness. There are so many ways of customising the camera to your own way of working that make the P7800 a photographer's dream from a handling point of view, and the replacement of the Function dial with a button on the rear doesn't detract from the overall handling experience.

The P7800 has an excellent LCD screen that's hinged on the side, making it much more versatile for image composition than either a fixed screen or a top-mounted screen. Other key features include the versatile 28-200mm zoom with fast f/2 aperture, 1080p movies at 30 or 25fps with stereo sound plus a port for an external mic, a built-in neutral density filter, zoom step feature, virtual horizon and GPS support via an optional accessory.

As with its predecessor, the P7800 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 P7800's main rivals.

In summary the Nikon Coolpix P7800 is essentially the same camera as last year's P7700, with the welcome addition of an electronic viewfinder that's good enough for regular image composition. We'd have liked to see Nikon address the performance issues when shooting RAW files, though. Unless you exclusively shoot JPEGs or are prepared to pay for the fastest SD cards, you'll have to literally wait a while for the P7800, limiting its use to more sedate shooting, which is a shame given that the rest of the camera is so well though-out. Still Highly Recommended then, just make sure that you budget for some good memory cards...

4.5 stars

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

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Nikon Coolpix P7800.

Canon PowerShot G15

The Canon PowerShot G15 is a serious camera aimed at the advanced amateur or pro looking for a carry-everywhere compact. Building on the success of previous G-series models, for 2012 the G15 principally adds a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor, faster 5x zoom lens, bigger and higher-resolution LCD screen, 10fps burst shooting and full 1080p HD video. £549 / €649 / $499.99 is an awful lot of money for a compact with a small image sensor - read our in-depth Canon PowerShot G15 review to find out if it's worth it.

Fujifilm X20

The Fujifilm X20 is a brand new premium compact camera with a large 2/3-type 12 megapixel sensor and a fast 4x optical zoom lens. Boasting impeccable build-quality, intuitive handling and a long-list of photographer-friendly features, is the Fujifilm X20 the ultimate pocket camera for the avid photographer? Read our Fujifilm X20 review, complete with full-size sample JPEG and raw images, videos and more to find out...

Olympus XZ-2

The new Olympus XZ-2 is a serious compact that's aimed at the enthusiast and professional user looking for a small yet capable camera. A 12 megapixel 1/1.7 inch CMOS sensor, fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, high-res 3-inch tilting touch-screen LCD, and a full range of manual shooting modes should be enough to grab your attention. Read our expert Olympus XZ-2 review, complete with full-size JPEG, RAW and movie samples.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 is the latest premium compact camera hoping to find a place in a professional photographer's pocket. With the fastest lens of any compact to date, the LX7 also offers an improved 10 megapixel sensor, full 1080p HD movies and an even better control system than the previous LX5 model. Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 review with sample JPEG, RAW and video files now.

Pentax MX-1

The Pentax MX-1 joins the growing list of premium compact cameras aimed at advanced users. Offering a large 1/1.7" 12 megapixel sensor, fast f/1.8 4x zoom lens, tilting 3-inch LCD screen and an appealingly retro design, does the Pentax MX1 offer enough to compete in this increasingly competitive market? Read our detailed Pentax MX-1 review to find out...

Samsung EX2F

The Samsung EX2F is a new pocket camera for serious photographers, sporting a super-bright f/1.4, 3.3x zoom lens, sensible 12 megapixel sensor and a swivelling 3 inch AMOLED screen. 1080p video, RAW shooting, ISO 80-12800, 10fps burst shooting, image stabilisation and full manual controls complete the EX2F's star attractions. Read our Samsung EX2F review to find out if this is the advanced compact camera for you...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Last year's RX100 premium compact camera proved to be a runaway success for Sony - can the new Mark II version improve on the original? Read our expert Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II review to find out...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is an exciting new premium compact camera. A large "1.0-type" 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, 3.6x 28-100mm lens with a fast maximum aperture of F1.8, full 1080p high-definition video with stereo sound, high-resolution 3-inch screen, manual shooting modes, 10fps continuous shooting, ISO range of 100-12800, Raw support and fast auto-focusing are all present and correct. Read our in-depth Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 review to find out if it's the best pocket camera ever...

Specifications

Product name COOLPIX P7800
Type Compact digital camera
Number of effective pixels 12.2 million
Image sensor 1/1.7-in. type CMOS; approx. 12.76 million total pixels
Lens NIKKOR lens with 7.1x optical zoom
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
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
Viewfinder Electronic viewfinder, 0.5 cm (0.2-in.) approx. 921k-dot LCD with the diopter adjustment function (-3 - +1 m-1)
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)
Monitor 7.5 cm (3-in.), approx. 921k-dot (RGBW), wide viewing angle TFT LCD with anti-reflection coating and 6-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)
Storage - Media Internal memory (approx. 86 MB), SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
File system DCF, Exif 2.3 and DPOF compliant
File formats Still pictures: JPEG, RAW (NRW) (Nikon's own format). 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), Special effects, P, S, A, M, User Settings (U1, U2, U3), Movie, Movie custom setting
Continuous Shooting Single (default setting), Continuous H (The frame rate for continuous shooting is about 8 fps and the maximum number of continuous shots is about 6), Continuous M (The frame rate for continuous shooting is about 4 fps and the maximum number of continuous shots is about 6), Continuous L (The frame rate for continuous shooting is about 1 fps and the maximum number of continuous shots is about 30), BSS (Best Shot Selector), Multi-shot 16, Continuous H:120 fps (The frame rate for continuous shooting is about 120 fps and the maximum number of continuous shots is 60), Continuous H:60 fps (The frame rate for continuous shooting is about 60 fps and the maximum number of continuous shots is 60), Intvl timer shooting
Movie 1080(fine)/30p (default setting): 1920 x 1080 (High)/16:9/approx. 30 fps, 1080(fine)/25p (default setting): 1920 x 1080 (High)/16:9/approx. 25 fps, 1080/30p: 1920 x 1080/16:9/approx. 30 fps, 1080/25p: 1920 x 1080/16:9/approx. 25 fps, 720/30p: 1280 x 720/16:9/approx. 30 fps, 720/25p: 1280 x 720/16:9/approx. 25 fps, 480/30p: 640 x 480/4:3/approx. 30 fps, 480/25p: 640 x 480/4:3/approx. 25 fps, HS 480/4x: 640 x 480/4:3 (1/4-speed slow motion movies), HS 720/2x: 1280 x 720/16:9 (1/2-speed slow motion movies), HS 1080/0.5x: 1920 x 1080/16:9 (2x speed fast motion movies)
ISO sensitivity (Standard output sensitivity) ISO 80 - 1600; ISO 3200, Hi 1 (equivalent to ISO 6400) (available when using P, S, A or M mode)
Exposure - Metering mode Matrix, center-weighted, or spot. Also when AF area mode is set to Manual, the AF area can be coupled to the metering 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 * - 1 s. 1/4000 * - 60 s (when ISO sensitivity is set to 80 - 400 in M mode). *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)
Aperture Electronically-controlled 7-blade iris diaphragm
Range 13 steps of 1/3 EV (W) (A, M mode)
Self-timer Can be selected from 10 s, 2 s and 1 s
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 preflashes; manual flash control available
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, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Marathi, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (European and Brazilian), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, 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 life¹ - Still pictures Approx. 350 shots when using EN-EL14
Movie recording (actual battery life for recording)² Approx. 1 h 15 min when recording in NTSC mode using EN-EL14. Approx. 1 h 20 min when recording in PAL mode using EN-EL14
Tripod socket 1/4 in. (ISO 1222)
Dimensions (W x H x D) Approx. 118.5 x 77.5 x 50.4 mm (4.7 x 3.1 x 2.0 in.) (excluding projections)
Weight Approx. 399 g (14.1 oz) (including battery and SD memory card)
Operating environment - Temperature 0°C - 40°C (32°F - 104°F)
Humidity 85% or less (no condensation)
Supplied accessories Camera Strap, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, Lens Cap LC-CP26, Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL14 (with terminal cover), Battery Charger MH-24, USB Cable UC-E16, ViewNX 2 CD, Reference Manual CD
Optional accessories AC Adapter EH-5b, Power Connector EP-5A, Audio Video Cable EG-CP16, SB-910, SB-900, SB-800, SB-700, SB-600, SB-400, SB-R200, SU-800, Lens Hood HN-CP17, Stereo Microphone ME-1, Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1a, Remote Control ML-L3, Remote Cord MC-DC2, Wireless Remote Controller WR-R10, Wireless Remote Controller WR-T10, GPS Unit GP-1, Hand Strap AH-CP1

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