I recently purchased Nikon Coolpix P80 in exchange of my old Canon Powershot A540(6 mega pixel, 4x optical Zoom) camera. When I purchased it the price was a little on the higher side as it had just entered the market. But I felt it was a fair deal as you are getting a lot of manual features and a way to capture images as per your requirements. Now, the Approx. Price would be around 19ks.
It has a decent competitors like Panasonic FZ18 and Panasonic FZ28, Sony DSC H50. But I am a bit brand conscious. I mostly prefer Canon or Nikon.
Some Details:
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Nikon’s latest model in the P-series is the P80. The range is aimed at the enthusiast looking for an alternative to a DSLR so comes equipped with a host of manual and digital features for image control, while maintaining a traditional handling experience.
Nikon Coolpix P80 has a quite good grip with Good strong Rubber grip and a mixture of fiber. You also get the lens cap that holds on to the edge of the lens firmly.
This model offers 10.1 million effective pixels on a 1/2.33-inch CCD, with a total population of 10.7 million pixels.
The camera’s most significant feature though is its 18x optical zoom, covering a range of 27-486mm in 35mm terms. The camera also has built in Vibration Reduction(VR) to avoid camera shake, especially useful at the long end of the zoom. Unlike Nikon’s optical VR used in some of its SLR lenses, the P80 uses sensor-shift VR, so the CCD is moved to counteract any camera shake.
Metering options include matrix metering as default, with centre weighted and spot metering also available.There’s also an option to link the spot metering to the AF area. The autofocus system includes face recognition, almost a prerequisite these days, as well as the default auto mode. There’s a manual AF-point selection mode that allows you to select the AF point from a choice of 99 positions. Nikon has also thrown in a manual focusing mode and macro shooting down to 1cm, for good measure.
Processing is courtesy of NikonExpeed, the same as that in it’s DSLR range and also includes post processing options, notably D-Lighting, which lightens shadows and mid-tones in backlit or high contrast scenes. When applied, the camera produces a new image leaving the original untouched. Disappointingly the P80 only shoots in JPEG format, with no RAW option.
The built-in flash offers coverage over 8.8m in auto ISO mode, and includes flash compensation. There’s also automatic red eye removal, which along with D-Lighting and face recognition. *
Along with a decent 2.7 inch LCD, the camera also has an Electronic View Finder(EVF), both of which offer 230k resolution. The EVF is reasonably good, though small, but images are clear and colourful. The information displayed on the screen is also very easy to read, with all relevant settings superimposed around the edges of the scene.
The Menu System is easy to understand and also had Context Help while pressing the Zoom RIng which is placed covering the Shutter Release button.
Noise lets the camera down, especially in the higher ISO ranges. Up to ISO 400 everything is fine, but by ISO 800 you can often see the noise reduction system working, softening the images somewhat. As the gain is raised the amount of noise is noticeable despite the noise reduction and the automatic nature seems to be inconsistent, sometimes kicking in, sometimes not.
But this it true with most of the super zoom digi-cams in the market be it Sony, Canon, Panasonic or Fujifilm.
In case of achieving a precise ISO level, one can go for DSLR like NIKON D80, Nikon D300 or Canon EOS450, Canon EOS40. But these are on the higher side of the price ranging between 45Ks - 70Ks.
Final Verdict:
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As super-zoom bridge cameras go, the Nikon Coolpix P80 is Good, but there are reservations. While the handling is generally good and instinctual, it feels a bit of a lightweight and it’s not the most responsive in the world. Image quality is above average too, with good exposure and colour, but it’s let down by fringing and noise.
These Super-Zoom cameras are always a compromise though, to achieve the focal range and high ISO, especially on such a small sensor, something has to give.
The loss of pure quality is the price that has to be paid for the convenience. But for the Professionals, Go for Nikon or Canon DSLRs. I would recommend Coolpix P80 for the enthusiastic newbie who wish to get manual control and likes to experiment. Later they could switch over to DSLRs.
My Ratings:
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Build Quality: 8 / 10
Features: 8 /10
Image Quality: 7.5 / 10
Value for Money: 8 / 10
Overall: 7.8 / 10 [ Round it to 8 / 10:-) ]