14 DAY TRIAL // Just when we had hoped that Nikon would not join the producer pack and launch a swarm of point and shoot cameras, the Japanese producer announced 8 new models. But hey, marketing is marketing and their department is now probably proud to offer consumers many many many choices.
Seeing that Canon is very successful with the Powershot G series, Nikon realized that they don't have a competitor in this class, so they've built one, the Coolpix P5000.
Just like the G7, the Coolpix P5000 has a 10 MP CCD sensor and a 2.5 inch LCD. Other common features include SDHC support, similar ISO ranges (64/80 up to 3200), image stabilization and hot-shoe for external flashes.
Unfortunately for the P5000, the lens only has 3.5x (36-126mm in 35mm) optical zoom and a disappointing maximum aperture at the telephoto end (f/5.3).
In the Canon camp, the G7 has a 6x optical zoom with a maximum aperture of f/4.8 at the tele end; the previous G6 is even better, 4x optical zoom and a whooping f/2.0-f/3.0 maximum aperture.
Feature-wise, the Coolpix P5000 boasts the already well-known face-priority AF, which automatically finds, then focuses on people's faces and the D-Lighting technology that can be applied to improve underexposed images or shots taken with too much backlight.
The good thing about the P5000 is that it's cheaper than the G7, the former having a MSRP of $400, instead of the latter's $550, but other than that, Nikon needs a better camera if they want to go after Canon.
The other less high-end models are the Coolpix S200, S50, S50c, S500, L10, L11 and the Coolpix L12.
Next, we will examine each of them and see their main features.
The Coolpix S200 has a 7.1MP CCD, a 3x optical Nikkor lens, some sort of stabilization called electronic Vibration Reduction and ISO sensitivities between 50 and 1000. The Coolpix S50 and S50c are ultra compact models with 7,1MP CCDs, 3x optical zoom lenses, true VR technology (not that electronic VR stuff) and 3.0 inch LCDs. The S50c also features a built-in wireless unit that enables IEEE 802.11b/g LAN support.
The S500 is similar to the S200 except for the true VR technology and the ISO 2000 setting. Just like the S200, the S500 also features a 2.5 inch LCD.
The L10 and L11 are two affordable models with 5.0MP/6.0MP sensor respectively, 3x optical zoom lenses and 2.0/2.5 inch LCDs.
Despite being a low budget model, the L12 has an impressive set of features: 7.1MP CCD, 3x optical zoom lens, true VR technology and a 2.5 inch LCD.
