Details on the Nikon P8000 Emerge, 70-300mm 1-Nikkor Lens Reportedly Coming

Last Updated on 03/05/2014 by Felix Esser

With the four-digit P-series, Nikon has had a number of high-end compact cameras in its setup for some years now. However, simply putting all the latest point-and-shoot tech into a body with lots of buttons and dials doesn’t cut it anymore these days. With its relatively small 1/1.7″ sensor and medium-fast zoom lens, the current P7800 isn’t really up there with the best of the bunch, and so a replacement can be expect to come soon. According to Nikon Rumors, the P7800’s successor will be the P8000, and it will up the ante just enough to make it a more attractive option to potential buyers.

The P8000 will reportedly sport a larger 1″ sensor, which is the same size as in Nikon’s 1-series of interchangeable-lens cameras. In addition to the larger sensor with its better overall image quality, the P8000 will also sport a slightly faster 5x zoom lens, which still starts at f2 but only goes down to f3 at the telephoto end, as opposed to the P7800’s f4. Speaking of telephoto, the P8000’s lens will be a 24-120mm equivalent, so this is a significant step down from the P7800’s 28-300mm equivalent.

Additional features of the P8000 will be a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 second, Expeed 3 image sensor, a magnesium body, and of course the ever-present 3″ screen on the back. The camera is reported to appear some time between April and May, so we won’t have to wait much longer until we can be certain whether it’s real.

There’s also news for users of Nikon’s 1-system, which might soon see the addition of a 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR zoom lens. To put things into perspective, due to the 1″ sensor’s 2.7x crop factor, this lens would be equivalent to a 190-810mm lens on a 35mm full-frame camera! That’s quite a lot of telephoto. In order to keep the size of the lens down–after all, it must fit with the tiny 1-series cameras–, it’s going to sport a collapsible design just like the recently announced 18-55mm DX kit lens. Unlike the P8000 camera, the 70-300mm 1-Nikkor will already be announced this month, according to Nikon Rumors.