Sometimes… there are so many Nikons in the world, I feel like I can’t take it… and my wallet is just going to cave in. (Adapted from American Beauty)
Nikon dropped a half dozen cameras on us today, so if you’re in the market for a new point-and-shoot, you’d best come on inside and see what we got. I reckon some are worth a gander.
Okay, I’m going from most expensive to least expensive — the order I prefer to read, and the opposite of the order most people prefer to buy. I’m too beat for snarky commentary (used up the last of it on iPhrogger) so you’re just getting the basic facts. Well, maybe there’s a little commentary.
All these cameras feature the usual scene modes, some in-camera red-eye reduction, and some motion reducing technologies like automatically increasing the ISO when it detects motion (no thanks) and “Optical VR Image Stabilization,” which sounds shady. No one should be using “VR” unironically in 2008.
They also mention a lot about “My Picturetown,” a photo-sharing service that sounds like Animal Crossing meets Flickr. You can investigate if you want, it doesn’t intrigue me:
Through my Picturetown, users can e-mail pictures directly to friends and family, publish pictures to Flickr®, and link their photos to blogs and social networking sites.
Wow, imagine e-mailing things directly to your friends! — through a random site! No thanks!
P6000
-The new flagship Coolpix. You’re paying for GPS and extra megapixels.
-13.5 megapixels
-4x zoom
-Built-in GPS/geotagging
-Pop-up flash
-Optical viewfinder
-Magnesium front panel (looks pretty tight)
-Accessory shoe (for slave flashes, etc – on a point and shoot?)
-DSLR-ish features like programmable shutter priority modes and so on
-Buttons, buttons, buttons
-$500
S710
-More megapixels, more-ish money
-14.5 megapixels
-3.6x zoom
-ISO up to 12800 (I’m going to guess with serious image quality issues)
-3″ LCD
-$380
S60
-The one I’d get, for sure
-10 megapixels
-5x zoom
-ISO up to 3200
-Sexy 3.5″ touchscreen
-Lots of touch controls: touch autofocus, touch image adjustment, all that stuff
-Comes in the color “Platinum Bronze,” which seems to me to be a contradiction in terms. Does it come in “Silver Gold”?
-$350
S610 and S610c
-Standard P&S and its wi-fi-enabled cousin; they look more or less the same
-10 megapixels
-4x zoom (3.6x on “c” version)
-ISO up to 3200
-Wireless connectivity on “c” version
-3″ LCD
-$280 and $330(c)
S560
-The cheap one (still expensive because it’s Nikon)
-10 megapixels
-5x zoom
-ISO up to 3200
-2.7″ LCD
-Smile and blink indicators; O brave new world!
-$250
That’s all!
They’ll be available next month.