Nikon Coolpix P7100 review

Most other aspects remain the same as the P7000, including the lens, sensor and 720p video mode. These are all good but not excellent by today’s standards. The lens is seriously sharp and its 7.1x zoom range is welcome, but various rival cameras including the newly announced Canon S100 have an f/2 aperture at the wide end of the zoom, capturing twice as much light as the P7100’s f/2.8 lens. The S100 also records 1080p video, which we consider to be a fairly basic expectation in a £400 camera.

The sensor and lens both perform extremely well outdoors, with sharp, clean details that few compact cameras can match – click to enlarge

Noise levels in low light is an area where this kind of camera has traditionally excelled, thanks to their relatively large sensors. However, things have moved on since the launch of the P7000. Canon’s latest 12-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, as featured in various compact cameras including the Canon PowerShot SX230 IS, displayed less noise at ISO 3200 than the P7100, despite the Canon’s sensor being physically smaller and having a higher resolution. The Canon S100 is more directly comparable to the P7100 and is likely to be even better still, as it uses the same CMOS sensor technology but in a larger 1/1.7in format.

Low-light image quality is good but not excellent; various cheaper cameras give cleaner results at ISO 1600 – click to enlarge

The P7100 is also under threat from the falling cost of compact system cameras. £400 could buy you a Sony NEX-C3, which is in a different league to any of the cameras mentioned above for image quality. It doesn’t have the P7100’s large variety of controls, though, and it won’t slip into a jacket pocket.

Image noise levels aren’t the be-all and end-all, and in bright conditions the P7100 took beautiful photos. However, the whole point of having all those controls is to help the user get the best photos in any given situation. The fact that the P7100’s sensor puts it at a basic disadvantage compared to other £400 cameras – and various cheaper ones too – is hard to ignore.