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May 07, 2008
[REVIEW—NIKON COOLPIX P60]
Price: $370
Modest camera, modest price
The low-down: This is an 8 megapixel camera with sensor shift image stabilisation and a 5x zoom lens (36–180mm film equivalent). The body is well made and looks like a camera, not a fashion accessory. The bulge on the right hand end holds two AA batteries and serves as a grip. There is an electronic viewfinder to supplement the LCD. Controls are well laid out and logical. Full manual control of aperture and shutter speed is provided, a rarity in compacts.
Like: The quality of images is satisfactory. Colour reproduction is generally accurate. The vibration reduction slightly increases the opportunities for hand holding in low light.
Dislike: The electronic viewfinder has no dioptre adjustment, so everything looks out of focus to spectacle wearers. Presumably an EVF is cheaper to make than an optical viewfinder. At wideangle the lens exhibits extreme barrel distortion. Dynamic range is restricted with highlights tending to blow out – a problem with most high pixel count compacts.
Verdict: Assessing compact cameras is difficult. Measured against the standards set by the best digital SLRs they are all inadequate. Images are noisy. The cheap lenses distort. One eminent reviewer says of a similar compact: "The question this camera raises is: if the extra megapixels added are too mushed-up by noise reduction to allow for large prints or cropping-in on images, then what are they good for?" There is a destructive numbers race on. The P60 boasts that it has 8.1 megapixels, a 5X zoom and useable ISO up to 2000. Nikon is not alone in numbers madness, so we should compare like with like. The Canon Ixus 80is is the same price and also has 8 megapixels. It has a 3x zoom with less distortion. Noise reduction is applied in-camera for both and the result is loss of fine detail. Set at ISO100 both cameras can produce snappy pictures suitable for the Internet or postcard size prints. The choice may come down to size -- the Canon fits easily in any pocket. The Nikon doesn't. But the Nikon has more user control and uses AA batteries, which is a good thing in compacts.
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Posted by terry at May 7, 2008 11:37 PM
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Comments
After reading this review, especially testing like for like. What do you think is the 3 best compact cameras, particularly for their intended purposes, on the market today?
Also will you be testing the Nikon P80, if so can you show images that demonstrate image stabilisation and image ISO limits?
Thanks Andrew E
Posted by: Andrew E at May 13, 2008 07:47 AM
Andrew:
Compact cameras are all so similar these days that there is not much reason to prefer one over another. They all have too many pixels. Only Canon, Nikon and Sony have optical viewfinders in some of their models. Perhaps the best guide is price. The Canon G9 and the Nikon, Sony and Panasonic equivalents [in price] are all much of a muchness. TL
Posted by: Terry at May 29, 2008 12:45 AM