Nikon has announced the successor to their popular pro point and shoot camera the P7100. The camera features a similar 12mp sensor with a standard rating ISO up to 1600 with 3200 and 6400 available in special modes. The lens sports a 7.1x optical zoom which is a 35mm equivalent to 28-200 which is good enough for most purposes.
In a time where its getting tougher to be a standard point and shoot this is an interesting camera to announce. In a time where you could buy the incredible Sony RX100 for $150 more than this camera is there really a place for cameras now with small sensors?
Editor’s Note: The new camera is available for pre-order at B&H Photo.
The camera does have a great lens with a bright F2 lens on the wide end and a still respectable F4 on the tele side. Its a smart move that Nikon has kept a conservative 12mp sensor in this camera which should help keep noise down instead of going the route of the D800. The battery in this little guy could probably use a bit of help though with it only able to capture 330 shots per charge.
The P7700 has the PASM modes as one would expect in a pro level enthusiast camera as well as the ability to capture RAW images. Nikon has gotten rid of the tiny optical viewfinder from the P7100 which probably never saw much use anyway. Also another notable difference from its predecessor is the speed improvement from 1.2fps to 8fps when taking still photos. Nikons GP-1 GPS unit is also now compatible for those who may complain about it lacking GPS.
The camera has a 3″ moveable display (previous camera could only tilt) with 921,000 dots. This will of course allow you to either capture inconspicuous video or photos when you’re out and about. Speaking of video the camera captures full 1080P as expected with stereo sound. One day hopefully soon this will stop being a features and just expected.
Then again when one of the cameras features is that its a “Comfortable, smart design” you should really pay attention and add up the features that you actually care about in a new camera. Sure they have put some thought into the ergonomics but its not made of form fitting gel!
To lead into my final part here is Nikon really needs to take a hard look at their surrounding company and this cameras competition. Canon appears to have left the market with the G1x and have now added a much larger sensor to keep it relevant. Sony has the Nex F3 for $550 with an APS-C sensor as well as the RX100 with the 1″ sensor for $650. This larger beefier point and shoot crowd is getting a bit thin and Nikon needs to roll down the windows and take a look outside.
The P7700 I’m sure is an amazing camera but for the price of $500 there may be better options already available for you. The camera will be available soon but for now take a peak at Nikons website for more information.
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