Selling for less than $240, the Nikon Coolpix P2 features 5.1-Megapixel resolution, a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, WiFi connectivity and a host of other attractive features. I bought mine for $235. Let's see how it performs.
Pictures
The pictures of the Nikon Coolpix P2 as well as sample photos I took using it are available at the address below:
What Is Nikon Coolpix P2?
The Nikon Coolpix P2 is a 5.1-Megapixel digital camera with a 3.5x optical zoom (36-126 mm equivalent), a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, WiFi wireless connectivity, powered by a proprietary rechargeable battery pack. The battery and the charger are included.
The camera also has a USB port, can record video at up to 640x480 (VGA) resolution at up to 30 fps. The lens has an aperture range of f/2.7-7.6 at wide angle, f/5.2-7.3 at telephoto. The shutter speed range is 8-1/2,000 sec. The camera has an ISO range of up to 400. It stores images on its built-in 16 MB of memory or on SD memory cards.
Getting Started
The camera arrived with its battery pack still having some charge. After I inserted the battery and my own 512-Megabyte SD memory card, I was ready to shoot.
The battery compartment has a sturdy lid and the little lever that holds the battery in place when the lid is open, which is useful since the same lid also covers the SD card slot. The battery is as small as a cell phone battery and can be charged using a supplied charger. The charger is a kind that uses a detachable power cord, which I like less than a kind that uses foldable prongs built into the charger itself.
The camera has an on/off button on the top deck, which powers it on or off when depressed and held. Overall, the camera seems to be very well-built and well-designed. I was immediately impressed by its speed of operation and the amazing fluidity of its LCD screen.
In Operation
The camera is very easy and pleasant to use. The mode dial on the top deck has positions for setting up specific parameters, in addition to the usual shooting modes. You can rotate it to ISO to set ISO, for example.
The screen is so large that pushing the Menu button makes the large number of icons to appear. You can see all the parameters you can adjust, including things like saturation, contrast, sharpness, ISO, white balance, resolution, etc. The menus are easy to use.
The buttons and controls are well-placed and have a good tactile feel. The camera lets you adjust the aperture or shutter speed (depending on the currently-selected mode) by using the left-right buttons. While you are doing this, you can see the live histogram. The aperture and shutter speed are well-visible in the lower portion of the LCD.
LCD
The camera has a large 2.5-inch LCD screen that is very fluid, even in dark environments. I have not seen a screen that is more fluid - it is almost like looking at the picture through a piece of glass. The visibility is good, even in the dark environments.
Flash
The built-in flash has a modest power/range but uniform coverage. You might need to use positive exposure compensation when shooting using the built-in flash.
Performance
The camera powers on or off quickly (about 2 seconds). It zooms extremely fast (under two seconds from full wide angle to telephoto or back), yet the zoom is responsive. The focusing is fast in good light (under a second). In dim light, the focus-assist light helps the camera focus in about a second.
The shutter lag, when pre-focused, is almost non-existent. The camera can take pictures at about 2-second intervals without flash or about 6 seconds with flash. There is also a burst mode, in which you can take 5 photos is a row in about 2 seconds (obviously with no flash).
The screen is very fluid and really demonstrates the advantages of the VGA-resolution 30 fps video over the slower-frame rate video modes.
Image Quality
The camera produces very good pictures. The images are sharp from corner to corner with nice colors and sharpness. I could not see much chromatic aberration/purple fringing. The images, by default, are not oversharpened or oversaturated the way images from some cheaper cameras are. The color are truer-to-life on the P2.
There are three JPEG quality settings and I could not notice much improvement in the highest setting over the medium setting. The sensitivity/ISO has the effect of softening the image, but the higher-ISO images look surprisingly good.
There is no visible noise at ISO up to 100, a little noise at ISO 200 and more noise with slight loss of detail at ISO 400. Still, the ISO 400 is not as bad as is the case with many other cameras. For 5x7 or 6x4 prints, the ISO 400 is an excellent choice (when conditions require it). The higher-ISO images are good up to 11x14.
Battery
The battery lasts about 150-200 shots, which is not great, but not bad either, especially considering the size of the battery.
Unfortunately, the camera does not have an optical viewfinder, which would let you conserve the battery power when needed by switching the LCD off.
WiFi
I have not tried the WiFi capability, but the camera supports USB transfer as well or you can remove the SD card and use a memory card reader (which I did). The camera also has an A/V out.
Pros
I like the fluid LCD, fast zooming, 3.5x optical zoom, fast focusing, ease of use, corner sharpness, use of SD cards, relatively low noise, the fact that the battery and charger are included, nice movie mode and the build quality.
Cons
I wish the battery lasted longer (they could have used a physically-larger battery), the flash could be more powerful.
Competition
If you do not need WiFi, check out the Canon PowerShot SD450. It looks nice and also has a 2.5-inch screen. It also has an optical viewfinder, but costs more and does not give you any control over the exposure and shutter speed. The optics of the P2 seem better overall.
Also, you might want to check out the Fuji F10 (no WiFi). It has very low noise levels at high ISO.
Bottom Line
I really like the Nikon Coolpix P2. It works well, has nice features, fluid LCD, good optics and WiFi. If you do not need a powerful flash, I highly recommend it.
Recommended
Yes
Product Rating
(Excellent)
This review is also available at Epinions.com: Nikon Coolpix P2 Digital Camera Review on Epinions.com