Nikon Coolpix P7100

A welcome refinement to the P7000 and a pleasure to use, but the sensor isn't up to current standards at this price

The Nikon Coolpix P7100 ($499.95) is one of those cameras that will send the average consumer running for the hills because this badass has more controls, dials, bells and whistles than R2-D2. On the other hand, the Nikon Coolpix P7100 will turn an advanced photographer into a bottle rocket of excitement, thanks to its arsenal of external and internal features. The Nikon Coolpix P7100...

The P7100 addresses its predecessor’s speed issues and, as a result, is an excellent high-spec compact. Expect great picture quality and bags of

If you’re dithering between a mirrorless and a DSLR camera for serious, down-to-earth photography, this one from Nikon fits exactly that role. Sure, the lens is fixed but it is a Nikkor that equates to 28-200mm as a 35 SLR equivalent: a 7.1x enlargement in fact. Very cleverly, Nikon has also installed an optical viewfinder:

The Nikon P7100 is the latest prosumer compact in the Coolpix lineup.  When I reviewed the Nikon P7000 earlier this year, my biggest complaint was the speed of the camera in terms of shot-to-shot r…

When one thinks of owning a professional camera, most likely the first things that will come to their mind are DSLR cameras ...

The Nikon Coolpix P7100 is a new compact camera for the aspiring photographer, offering most of the functionality of a DSLR without the associated bulk. A more responsive and more intuitive version of last year's model, the P7100 is an even more serious rival to the market-leading Canon Powershot G12. Read our in-depth Nikon P7100 review to find out if this really is a serious challenger.

The Nikon CoolPix P7100 straddles the line between simplicity and complexity, giving ambitious photographers all the tools they need to snap great shots.

Nikon P7100 review, find out how the P7100 stacks up against the competition in our real-world review with in-depth image quality comparisons.

When Nikon released the CoolPix P7000 in 2010, several commentators, including ourselves, remarked on its uncanny resemblance to the Canon Powershot G-series. Clearly intended to compete with Canon's G-series in the high-end compact camera market, the raw-enabled P7000 offered very similar ergonomics, as well as near-identical top-level specifications to the Powershot G12. Sadly, although it was capable of producing excellent image quality, the P7000 was plagued with poor operational speed and frustratingly glitchy on-screen menus. The overall impression was of a camera which was almost, but not quite finished for public release. It was a camera that we wanted to love, but just couldn't. The P7100 isn't hugely different to the P7000 in terms of specification - it utilizes the same 10MP CCD as its predecessor (and is thus limited to the same 720p video specification) and the same lens. The LCD screen might be articulated, but it is the same excellent 3in, 921k-dot display as before. The P7100's form factor is almost exactly the same as the P7000, and is partly defined by the same optical viewfinder. Meaningful changes have been made though to both its ergonomics and operational speed compared to the P7000. The most obvious physical additions are a command dial on the front of the camera, and of course that flip-out LCD screen on the rear. Operationally, Nikon claims to have greatly increased the P7100's responsiveness compared to the P7000, in everything from image processing time to menu activation/dismissal - areas in which the P7000 badly lagged behind its competitors. Not all of the cameras in its class are quite so large though. In fact, the P7100, like its predecessor and like the Canon Powershot G12, are remarkable amongst their peers for their bulk. Direct competitors like Panasonic's Lumix DMC-LX5, and Samsung's TL500 / EX1 (which shares the same 10MP CCD sensor), are relatively small cameras but the P7100, by comparison, is something of a beast, thanks mostly to its height. Certainly not small enough to fit in a shirt or trouser pocket, the P7100 isn't much smaller than some interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras. What the P7100 has which these cameras do not though is a versatile built-in lens, covering a range of 28-200mm (equivalent).

Has Canon's PowerShot G-series finally met its match?

While it's too large to fit inside a pocket, the P7100 provides all of the functionality and quality that you could need. It's a shame that its performance is not class beating, otherwise it would easily make a great companion to an SLR or ILC.

Nikon Coolpix P7100 Review: Features, Suitability and Capability

The Nikon CoolPix P7100 straddles the line between simplicity and complexity, giving ambitious photographers all the tools they need to snap great shots.