Nikon Coolpix P7000 review

Photos were extremely sharp and noise-free in bright light, with sumptuous colours and barely any chromatic aberrations. Quality remained excellent to ISO 800, with ISO 1600 and 3200 good enough for casual shots. That’s typical for these cameras, though, and the f/2.8 lens demands double the ISO speed compared to the f/2 lenses used elsewhere. The lens also suffered from distortion at the extremes of its focal length range, although enabling Distortion Control in the menu fixed it and didn’t damage performance. This isn’t applied during video recording, though. Video picture quality was otherwise excellent but enabling continuous autofocus spoiled the soundtrack a little.

Enthusiasts’ compact cameras are under threat from the falling prices and increasing maturity of compact interchangeable-lens cameras such as the excellent Sony NEX-5. There’s still life in the format but the P7000 isn’t the best example. The 7.1x zoom range is welcome but its sluggish menus and f/2.8 lens mean the Canon S95 and Panasonic LX5 are both more attractive options.