Nikon CoolPix P7100 Preview

When Nikon released the CoolPix P7000 last year, several commentators, including ourselves, remarked on its uncanny resemblance to the Canon Powershot G-series. Clearly intended to compete with Canon's G-series in the high-end compact camera market, the raw-enabled P7000 offered very similar ergonomics, as well as near-identical top-level specifications to the Powershot G12. Sadly, although it was capable of producing excellent image quality, the P7000 was plagued with poor operational speed and frustratingly glitchy on-screen menus. The overall impression was of a camera which was almost, but not quite finished for public release. It was a camera that we wanted to love, but just couldn't.

It was with great interest then, that we received news from Nikon of a successor. The P7100 isn't hugely different to the P7000 in terms of specification - it utilizes the same 10MP CCD as its predecessor (and is thus limited to the same 720p video specification) and the same lens. The LCD screen might be articulated, but it is the same excellent 3in, 921k-dot display as before. The P7100's form factor is almost exactly the same as the P7000, and is partly defined by the same optical viewfinder - a slightly anachronistic touch on a modern compact camera, perhaps, but no doubt a welcome one for some users and useful in some situations.

Meaningful changes can be seen though to both its ergonomics and operational speed, if you go looking for them. The most obvious physical additions are a command dial dial on the front of the camera, and of course that flip-out LCD screen on the rear. Operationally, Nikon claims to have greatly increased the P7100's responsiveness compared to the P7000, in everything from image processing time to menu activation/dismissal - areas in which the P7000 badly lagged behind its competitors.

In all other external respects, the P7100 resembles its predecessor. Like the P7000, the P7100 offers full manual exposure control, and pleasantly chunky mode dials on the top-plate, which reinforce the utilitarian, fashionably 'old fashioned' design aesthetic which is so prevalent in its class.

Not all of the cameras in its class are quite so large though. In fact, the P7100, like its predecessor and like the Canon Powershot G12, are remarkable amongst their peers for their bulk. Even direct competitors like Panasonic's Lumix-DMC LX5, and Samsung's TL500 / EX1 (which shares the same 10MP CCD sensor), are relatively small cameras. The P7100, by comparison, is something of a beast, thanks mostly to its height. Certainly not small enough to fit in a shirt or trouser pocket, the P7100 rivals some interchangeable lens cameras in terms of its overall dimensions, despite having a sensor many times smaller. As such, despite its trump card - a 28-200mm (equivalent) optical zoom lens - it faces stiff competition on two fronts. Nikon's engineers will be hoping that by taking the imperfect P7000, and refining its ergonomics and its operation, they have done enough to keep the resulting updated model relevant in a changing market.