In our in-depth Nikon Coolpix P80 review, Chris Coleman checks out the smallest 18x zoom camera available to date.
Review summary of the Nikon Coolpix P80:
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 The Nikon Coolpix P80 can take photos at 18x zoom, but, ironically, it's most competitive at more standard zoom ranges. Photos at 18x tended towards hazy colors and loss of resolution, as do all ultrazoom cameras, but photos taken at more reasonable zooms turned in much better results. The P80 is also aided by D-lighting and distortion correction, both of which can go a long way in making good photos great, and its manual mode is the best we've outside DSLRs. We're still not sold on the ultrazoom niche, but the P80 performed so well at everything else that it might be a moot point. Think of it as a solid compact that also doubles as a telescope. Release: May 2008. Price: $350.
Pros: Great interface. VR stabilization. Good noise management. Distortion correction is a great feature.
Cons: At 18x, camera has issues with sharpness, color and lighting. Overall not as sharp as non-ultrazoom 10-megapixel cameras.
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Full review of the Nikon Coolpix P80:
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Design - Very good
Nikon touts their Coolpix P80 as the smallest 18x ultrazoom camera available, and it certainly does come in a small package. When turned off, it could easily be slipped into a purse or backpack, and it's no heavier than a standard compact. Of course, when the lens is fully extended the Nikon Coolpix P80 becomes a bit more unwieldy, but that comes with the ultrazoom territory.
The deep grip on the front-right has been fitted with plush rubber, which is complemented by a nice thumb pad on the back. Accordingly, the Coolpix P80 is comfortable in use and easy to hold onto. On top is a full mode wheel and, thankfully, zoom is handled via a twist-control around the shutter. Our favorite touch is the dial wheel above the thumb grip, which makes using the camera's full-manual mode far easier than with most other compacts.
Otherwise the back is typical of a point-and-shoot, with a four-way controller, shortcut buttons and a decently sized, 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder. The built-in flash is a pop-up, which fits with the camera's overall design and is necessary to clear the P80's sizable lens. At its lowest focal length, the lens extends roughly an inch from the barrel, and at its highest focal length, it extends roughly two.
Features - Very good
For an ultrazoom camera, the Nikon Coolpix P80 aptly covers the basics: it delivers 18x magnification and features Nikon's VR optical image-stabilization, which is necessitated by such an extreme amount of zoom. In our testing, we had no problems hand-holding the camera at its peak 486mm focal length; the stabilization even helped in framing shots, as it goes into effect immediately once the shutter is half-depressed.
The P80 also features 'D-Lighting', Nikon's variation of dynamic-range boosting, which is a quick and painless way to add more detail to contrasty images. Also, because it's a post-processing technique, it can even be applied to photos that have already been taken. D-Lighting is a trickle-down feature from Nikon's DSLRs, and of the handful of manufacturers who have gotten on the dynamic-range bandwagon, Nikon's is the most effective.
Standard compact features are also accounted for, including face-detection and in-camera red-eye reduction. Noise reduction is automatically enabled on long-exposure shots (more than 1/8-second), and more impressively, Nikon has included built-in distortion correction, which reduces pincushion effects on wide-angle shots.
The Nikon Coolpix P80 has a superb manual mode, which allows independent adjustment of shutter speeds and f-stops. Even better, the aperture is fully continuous, so you have a full range of f-stops between f/2.8 and f/8.0, whereas most manual compacts only have an option for open or closed apertures. The shutter has a workable range from 8 – 1/2000 seconds, though we would have liked to have longer shutters available. Finally, the P80's flash has full EV correction, which can help dial down the brightness for up-close shots or boost it for wider spaces. This is an extremely versatile feature, and we're happy to see it making its way to more and more compacts.
Interface - Very good
The P80's interface is, for the most part, standard: shooting parameters are summoned by the function button, and system settings are accessible by the menu button. The interface's selling point is its dial wheel: it's amazing how such a small inclusion could make the camera so much easier to use. It makes the P80's manual mode almost as easy to use as on a DSLR, whereas most compact manual modes are cumbersome and, in some cases, essentially unusable. The only niggling drawback is the light-meter. It only comes up when the user is adjusting the shutter or aperture, when it really should be visible all the time. Also, the meter can be exasperatingly finicky and insensitive: a hair's difference in lighting would often cause wild swings in its readings.
The 2.7-inch viewfinder yields a bright image with little noise or jitter. It performs particularly well in low-light scenarios, which otherwise reduce LCD displays to a sparkling, noisy mess. The viewfinder also accurately reflected the effects of image-stabilization and distortion correction, though images on the LCD tended to be a tad darker than the resultant photo.
Image quality - Very good
The Nikon Coolpix P80 takes quality photographs, with accurate colors and low noise, especially in well-lit situations. Sharpness is above average, though extreme zooming suffers from haziness and a purplish tint. On the other hand, both D-Lighting and distortion correction give the camera a marked boost over most of the competition: D-Lighting in particular can take a ho-hum shot and make it far more striking. Ultimately, the P80 has the ability to take photos at 18x, though we would hesitate to qualify them as good photographs. Thankfully, at more standard zoom ranges, it's an all-around solid performer.
In good lighting conditions, noise performance is excellent, if not exemplary. ISO sensitivities range from an impressively low 64 to an odd 2000 (as well as 3200 and 6400 at 3-megapixels or less), and all are quite usable. In low-light scenes the Nikon Coolpix P80 performs with less aplomb, but noise is nevertheless well-managed until ISO-800, at which point blobs of color distortion are introduced into images.
Wide-angle test
Wide-angle test [D-lighting on]
This wide-angle test is acceptable. There's some definite fringing around edges, and the backlit sky tends to bloom heavily in the center, which leads to the conclusion that the Nikon Coolpix P80 is probably not the best choice for razor-sharp photos. The second sample demonstrates some of the tradeoffs of dynamic-range boosting. Overall detail is considerably higher, and for most intents and purposes, it simply makes for a much more appealing shot. Closer inspection reveals that fringing has been significantly worsened and that a notable amount of noise has been introduced into the recovered shadows along the buildings. Still, technical nitpicking aside, the D-lighting version is a better photograph.
Edge test
Edge test [D-lighting on]
This is a telescopic version of the previous shot, and here we can see that 18x zoom adds a depreciative amount of diffraction to photos. Basically, ultrazoom photos on the Nikon Coolpix P80 just aren't that sharp. However, it should be noted that this is an issue with all ultrazoom cameras made with present technology; after all, there's a reason a good telescopic lens costs orders of magnitude more than an entire P80. The D-lighting version is once again an improvement: the diffraction is worse, but detail is much higher, and this time without a commensurate increase in noise.
D-lighting off
D-lighting on
In some cases, though, D-lighting can look somewhat unnatural. Here, thanks to the directional quality of the light, the boosted shadows and tempered highlights in this shot make for a visually confusing photograph. The level of shadow detail is maintained throughout the entire image, but our brains can't help but intuit that, obviously, the tops of the skyscrapers should be much brighter than the bottoms.
18x zoom
This is another example of 18x zoom in action, taken from the same vantage point as the last test. It's an impressive level of magnification, though still hazy and not as sharp as the other samples.
Macro test
Macro test [D-lighting on]
The P80's macro performance is excellent. We've seen cameras that could get closer to subjects, but not often with this amount of detail. This is another case where dynamic-range boosting isn't ideal, this time because it reveals details that were best left unrevealed. For instance, the grill on the bottom left is distracting and overly noisy to boot. In befitting situations, D-lighting is a great way to pull out details, but unfortunately it's hard to tell whether it should be used. Thankfully, it can be toggled on and off in the playback menu, so it's easy to apply it only to pictures that see a benefit.
Distortion correction off [wide-angle]
Distortion correction on [wide-angle]
Distortion correction off [partial zoom]
Distortion correction on [partial zoom]
Here we can see that the Nikon Coolpix P80 suffers from some pincushioning (the lines in the floor should be straight but are instead bowed), which is a typical ailment of most lenses, including even upper-range DSLR lenses. Distortion correction does a great job at evening out the photo's geometry; most anyone would be hard-pressed to guess that this was taken at a wide-angle. We suspected it might over-correct photos taken at higher focal lengths that aren't affected by pincushioning, but the zoomed-in samples demonstrate no such problems. In fact, they're visually identical. Distortion correction is turned off by default because it disables other features like 'best shot,' but we would recommend enabling it in almost all cases.
Price and availability
The Nikon Coolpix P80 will start selling for $350 () in May 2008.
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![Wide-angle test [D-lighting on]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s01.jpg){kind=link}
![Edge test [D-lighting on]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s03.jpg){kind=link}
![Macro test [D-lighting on]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s08.jpg){kind=link}
![Distortion correction off [wide-angle]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s09.jpg){kind=link}
![Distortion correction on [wide-angle]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s010.jpg){kind=link}
![Distortion correction off [partial zoom]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s011.jpg){kind=link}
![Distortion correction on [partial zoom]](http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/nikon/nikon_coolpix_p80_s012.jpg){kind=link}
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