Hasta La Gadget!

The digital camera market has certainly grown by leaps and bounds, and consumers have plenty of choices to pick from in this day and age. Of course, there will always be the mass market compact digital camera market that should keep beginners happy, while the Micro Four Thirds category caters to a fast growing niche, and on the other end of the spectrum we have the DSLR family that offers enthusiasts as well as professionals a tool to get the job done and make a living. Well, the recently announced Nikon Coolpix P7800 would be the latest member of Nikon’s Advanced Performance Coolpix range which will offer versatile high-performance features in a portable, compact body.

Sporting automatic as well as advanced features, the P7800 will offer a high-powered and intuitive option without having to give up creative control. Jam-packed with innovative features such as a large 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, a fast maximum aperture f/2.0 lens and new electronic viewfinder, the Coolpix P7800 is able to capture images and HD video without missing a beat, even when you are faced with challenging low-light shooting situations.

With its large 1/1.7-inch 12.2-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS sensor and a versatile 7.1x zoom range (28-200mm equivalent), you are more or less capable of capturing stunning images and Full HD video under various shooting environments, regardless of whether they are portraits, capturing a landscape or documenting the family vacation. Not only that, a selection of scene and shooting modes would allow even the beginner to capture some decent looking images, and there are also full manual controls (P,S,A,M) and the ability to capture RAW files so that you are able to get a better idea when it comes to moving up the digital camera ladder later on. The Nikon Coolpix P7800 should already be in the market with an asking price of $549.95 a pop.
[ Nikon Coolpix P7800 announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Say hello to the Coolpix P7800. It’s an incremental bump, so we wouldn’t necessarily recommend ditching last year’s P7700 to upgrade, but if you’ve been holding out, there’s a bit more value here. Cosmetically, the most significant addition is a 921k-dot EVF, which Nikon reps feel justifies a jump in price, from $500 to $550. You’ll also find a 1/1.7-inch 12.2MP BSI CMOS sensor, 7.1x 28-200mm f/2-4 lens and a 3-inch 921k-dot RGBW articulating LCD, which, like on the D7100, yields better clarity and contrast. There’s 1080/30p video capture, an 8 fps continuous shooting mode (but only for six consecutive JPG frames) and an ISO range of 80-3200. Surprisingly, there’s no built-in WiFi, but you can add on the $60 WU-1a for wireless connectivity. There’s also a full-size hot shoe, for attaching an external strobe and the like.

One of this flagship point-and-shoot’s most attractive features for advanced shooters is the manual control. There’s a mode dial up top near the shutter release, with access to manual and aperture-priority modes, for example, along with a dedicated exposure-compensation dial, giving you direct access to three stops over and under the metered values. There’s also a built-in three-stop neutral-density filter, netting a bit more flexibility for video shooters. Absent this time around, however, is the quick access dial. It’s been replaced with a dedicated button and a corresponding on-screen menu, which some photographers might even find more efficient. Nikon’s planning to ship the Coolpix P7800 later this month, with an MSRP of $550.

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Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

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Nikon’s new “COOLPIX S3500″ will be released in late March. It’s a small stylish compact digital camera, available in multiple colors, with 20.05MP 7X optical zoom lens and many useful functions to help casual picture-takers get the most out of their shots.
These include:
– Lens-shift Vibration Reduction that helps minimise blur from camera shake
– Subject Tracking – locks on to moving subjects to keep focus on the target
– Scene Auto Selector – …

We don’t tend to get excited about any CCD sensor-equipped point-and-shoot nowadays, but Nikon’s Coolpix S3500 has at least one feature that we don’t often see on a camera in this price range: lens-shift optical image stabilization, or Vibration Reduction (VR). Otherwise, this point-and-shoot’s specifications are par for the course, and include a 20.1-megapixel CCD sensor, a 7x, f/3.4-6.4 optical zoom lens and a rather-weak QVGA (320 x 240-pixel) LCD. It can shoot 720p video, too, though we wouldn’t expect industry-leading IQ. At $139, the S3500 is priced right for casual photographers, and its orange, pink, purple, red and silver color schemes should appease most digicam-hungry tweens. Hop past the break for some talking points from Nikon HQ.

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

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Not ready to shell out $2,800 for Sony’s full-frame RX1 point-and-shoot? Perhaps an APS-C compact is more within your league. Nikon’s Coolpix A is the imaging giant’s answer to Sony’s fixed-lens flavor, sporting an 18.5mm (28mm equivalent) prime lens with a maximum f/2.8 aperture, “quick” autofocus performance, a manual focus ring and, at the center of it all, a 16.2-megapixel DX-format sensor. The idea here is that you’ll get DSLR (or mirrorless camera) image quality and depth-of-field in a cam you can tuck away in your pocket. It’s a concept we’ve seen manufacturers deliver on before, and now it’s Nikon’s turn.

There’s a handful of DSLR-like features, such as a full-size hot shoe with i-TTL compatibility, a dedicated mode dial, an adapter ring that accepts a lens hood or 46mm filters, and WU-1a WiFi module compatibility. There’s no optical viewfinder in the box, but no matter — you can add one on for a mere $450. You’ll shoot 12- or 14-bit RAW image files at a sensitivity ranging from ISO 100-25,600, and you’ll pay dearly for the privilege. $1,100 is the MSRP; black and silver, the color. The Coolpix A is set to to hit stores later this month.

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

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