The Nikon Coolpix P7000 could be a Canon PowerShot and Panasonic Lumix killer. Read the full story on the Nikon Coolpix P7000 here.
If you thought the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 and Canon PowerShot G11 were supreme advanced compacts, hold onto your hats and strap on your boots tightly. The Nikon Coolpix P7000 has ridden into town and is kicking ass and taking names. We were blown away by our P7000 demonstration last month, and we really feel that Nikon has decimated the competition with the company's latest advanced compact. Remember the ill-fated Nikon Coolpix P6000? The camera that the Canon PowerShot G10 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 trampled all over? Well, it's back in all its transmogrified glory, this time blasting out a slew of advanced features, some of which are borrowed from Nikon's DSLR lineup.
"The COOLPIX P7000 represents the best of both worlds. It is an exciting compact camera offering from Nikon, as it not only provides expanded creative control found in digital SLR cameras, but also provides photo enthusiasts with the portability and simplicity of COOLPIX digital cameras," said Bo Kajiwara, director of marketing, Nikon Inc. "The P7000 is the perfect complement to an advanced photographer's D-SLR, and it inspires the entry-level consumer to explore the boundaries of their photographic capabilities and fulfill their creative vision."
    
What's Outside?
One look at the Nikon Coolpix P7000 will reveal that this camera means business. On top of the P7000 sits a team of tangible camera controls and dials. We've got the standard Mode dial with Auto, Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Video, Scene, and Low Light mode. There's also a wrap-around shutter button zoom toggle and On/Off switch.
But the Nikon Coolpix P7000 has a few members on its special teams unit that reache out the advanced hobbyist and pro looking for a compact camera to throw in their Kata bag. First, there's the Exposure Compensation dial, which allows shooters to adjust Exposure Compensation in thirds on the fly. Then, there's a Shutter Priority/Aperture Priority toggle button for swapping between the two modes. And last but not least, the Nikon Coolpix P7000 has a specialized dial that hosts ISO, White Balance, Bracketing, Image Quality, My Settings, and Intelligent Exposure. We know the Canon PowerShot G11 has a dedicated ISO dial, which is quite handy on the fly. But now Nikon is enabling shooters to choose from a cluster of important manual controls within fractions of seconds.
The Nikon Coolpix P7000 has a rotating control dial next to the LCD for menu selection, and a supplemental control dial in the top right corner for fast action. Add in an optical viewfinder, hot shoe, and pop-up flash, and it's obvious that Nikon means business. But did we mention that the Nikon Coolpix P7000 has a 3.0-inch 921,000-pixel Clear Color Display LCD screen? The quality and viewing angle are both excellent, as we experienced with the Coolpix P7000 hands-on demonstration.
What's Inside?
For glass, the Nikon Coolpix P7000 features a 7.1x wide-angle optical zoom Nikkor ED glass lens (28-200mm f/2.8-5.6). This lens is capable of an impressive 0.8-inch Macro distance. Inside, the camera competes with the Canon PowerShot G11, featuring a 10-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor coupled with Nikon's latest EXPEED C2 processing, which Nikon claims will produce high-quality pictures with stunning colors and sharpness. Images can be captures in NRW RAW files, which will get along with both Windows and Mac machines. For video, the Nikon Coolpix P7000 records 720p 24fps, offering a Mic jack, HDMI, optical zoom, auto focus, and stereo sound. ISO ranges from 100 to 6400, and can be expanded to 12,800 in Low Noise Night Mode. The P7000 will have a Noise Reduction Filter and feature a 5-Way VR Image Stabilization System, including the use of optical lens shift.
A feature that migrated over from Nikon's award-winning DSLRs is the Electronic Virtual Horizon Indicator, which informs the shooter via visual confirmation that the camera is on a level horizon. There's in-camera editing, featuring exposure compensation, COOLPIX Picture Control, noise reduction filter, Quick Retouch, D-Lighting and Active D-Lighting. In order to stay on top of exposure, the Nikon Coolpix P700 offers a detailed histogram, Scene Auto Selector, Smart Portrait System, and Subject Tracking.
Pricing and Release Date
One of the best parts about the wildly exciting Nikon Coolpix P7000 is that it's priced at $500, which is right in line with the newly-announced Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 and Canon PowerShot G11. The P7000 is set to ship in late September.
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