Nikon Coolpix P300 at a glance:
- 24-100mm (equivalent) f/1.8-4.9 Nikkor lens
- 12.2-million-pixel CMOS sensor
- 1080p video recording
- 3in, 921,000-dot LCD screen
- PASM exposure control
- Street price £244.99
Nikon Coolpix P300 review – Introduction
Until the last few months of 2010, there was a large gap in Nikon’s range of high-end compact cameras. By introducing the new P300 to its ‘performance’ Coolpix range, the company now has four current compact models for the demanding photographer. They cover the bases with a choice of two bridge cameras (P100 and P500), a large compact camera with viewfinder (P7000) and, with the P300, a pocket-sized compact camera.
Like the larger Nikon P7000 before it, the Nikon Coolpix P300 has a look reminiscent of its direct Canon competitor – in this case the PowerShot S95. However, there are a couple of features that separate the Nikon Coolpix P300 from its peers. It is not a direct competitor to the S95, or even the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 and Olympus XZ-1, because the P300’s 1/2.3in sensor size is much smaller than the 1/1.7in of the S95 and 1/1.6in of the LX5 and XZ-1.
Furthermore, the Nikon Coolpix P300 lacks raw file capture, which is a key feature for serious photographers. Instead, what we are looking at is Nikon’s first fast-lens pocket compact camera with full manual controls.
