Nikon megazooms bring 1080p, CMOS sensors
updated 12:00 am EST, Wed February 3, 2010
Nikon 2010 starts with P100, L110, L22
Nikon led its PMA camera launches early with a Tuesday night launch of several new Coolpix cameras. These are headlined by ultrazooms and start with the P100: a sequel to the P90, it becomes the first Nikon compact with a back-illuminated CMOS sensor and gets all the image quality and speed advantages of moving beyond CCD. It shoots up to 3,200 with reduced noise and at up to 10 frames per second at its native 10.3 megapixels.
The 26X lens is just as new and reaches out to an equivalent 28-678mm that should cover most photography. Hardware mage stabilization is not only present but recognizes five different directions.
Software brings a high dynamic range mode that uses multi-shot exposure to reveal shadows and highlights. It's also the first compact camera from Nikon to shoot video at 1080p and provides a 'real' experience with stereo audio and HDMI video output.
A companion long-range camera, the L110, uses the same 15X range as the L100 it replaces but upgrades to a 12.1-megapixel CCD and now shoots 720p. Autofocusing has been stepped up to track 12 faces, including some while moving, and extras like blink, red-eye and smile detection to time photos properly.
The L22 rounds out the trio but, despite its family link, is a regular compact camera with a 3.6X lens, a 12-megapixel sensor and software-only image stabilization.
Nikon ships the L series first, putting it in stores early this month at $280 for the L110 and $130 for the L22. The P100 is due in March for $400.
L110
L22
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2009
Bad zoom range
Why do companies always try to tack on more telephoto focal length? Nobody really needs almost 700mm. It would have been better to open up the wide angle to 24mm. So you'd lose 96mm of the telephoto. 600mm is still plenty and there's always cropping and "digital zoom" available. Everybody's been in a situation where they needed a wider field of view than was available, and no digital tricks can provide it.