As part of its launches ahead of the PMA photo expo, Nikon today released a pair of high-zoom COOLPIX cameras. The P90 is Nikon's most powerful non-SLR camera and centers on a 24X zoom lens with a rare 26-624mm coverage that lets it both accommodate wide-angle shots as well as very distant telephoto shots. The camera maker has also detached the LCD from the body and gives the P90 a swiveling 3-inch display, though it depends on an electronic viewfinder for head-on previews.

The 12-megapixel shooter is also notable for a very high-speed, 15 frames per second shooting mode at a stepped-down 1080p resolution (up to 3 seconds) and can also up the light sensitivity as high as ISO 6,400 by capturing at 3 megapixels. Nikon further touts four-way hardware image stabilization, an improved face detection system that recognizes off-angle faces, motion detection that can auto-tune shutter speed and ISO, and smile detection.

The 10-megapixel L100 is a budget cousin of the P90 and has a 15X, 28-420mm lens along with a fixed LCD. It shoots at a slightly slower 13 frames per second (for 2.3 seconds) and can boost to at most ISO 3,200.

Nikon plans to ship the P90 first, with a March arrival and a $400 price. The L100 appears in April but will cost $280.

P90





L100