Nikon Coolpix P300 - compact camera for the photographer

June 2011. Digital compact Camera Nikon Coolpix P300 is a successful implementation of the concept "compact camera for the photographer" (and not, may be, for the beginner or the average consumer one).

Compactness in this camera is happily combined with a user-friendly interface (manual control, a special zoom drive mode while recording video..), high shooting speed and other"serious" functions.

Coolpix P300 - low-end model of the Nikon's Performance Class (P). Nikon's "P" cameras differ from other Nikon's compact by the fullest implementation of the photographic functions.

So that if you are a Nikon's fan photographer and are on a vacation, you'll leave your professional Nikon in the wardrobe at home and take with you on a tour Nikon's "P", with familiar set of features and controls.


The competitors have an analog - Canon PowerShot S95. Both cameras have appeared when "almost professional" mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses had seriously pushed away traditional compact cameras as a mass product. In such a situation, the more "serious" cameras with interchangeable lenses (such as "G" from Canon, "P" from Nikon) have even less chences to be popular. But little plaything with almost the same functionality as a real DSLR, will find their places in the hearts and pockets of photographers.

Small Coolpix P300, it seems, fells into their lucky company.

Nikon Coopix P300: a small pocket sized body, all-new design from Nikon.The front panel has a small ledge to grip.

The camera is built around a 12 megapixels high-speed CMOS sensor. It has a bright F/1.8 ultra-wide angle lens, (24-100mm). P300 is aimed at advanced users seeking efficient manual controls and is among the smallest digital cameras to feature dual control dials.

In addition to the widest aperture NIKKOR lens ever seen in a Nikon COOLPIX camera, the P300 also comes equipped with a 12.2-megapixel backside illumination CMOS sensor (wich lets the Coolpix P300 shoot continuously at 8 FPS and record 1080p HD video) as well as a complement of other Nikon core technologies designed to prevail in even the most challenging light.

Advanced video recording modes from high-speed to slow-motion round off this camera's video capabilities. Further options includes Sweeping Panorama up to 360° and multi-frame high-ISO noise-reduction.

Nikon Coolpix P300 main features

- 12 megapixels high-speed CMOS sensor

- Stabilized 4.2X ultra-wide-angle optical zoom, equivalent to 24-100mm in 35mm terms

- Ultra-bright F/1.8 maximum aperture at wide angle, down to F/4.9 at telephoto

- White-balance: Automatic, 5 presets (Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash) and custom

- Matrix and center-weighed metering

- Program, Aperture-Priority, Shutter-Priority and Manual exposure modes

- Exposure compensation, -2..+2 EV, 1/3 EV steps

- Flash compensation, -2..+2 EV, 1/3 EV steps

- ISO Sensitivity from 160 to 3200

- Shutter-speeds from 1/2000s to 8s

- Bracketing, 3 frames, up to 1 EV steps

- 8 FPS Continuous drive, up to 7 frames

- 120 and 60 FPS Ultra-high speed drive at 1 MP

- 2, 10s and smile self-timer

- Automatic, Manual, Center, Tracking and Face-Priority focus-point selection

- Single (AF-S) and Continuous (AF-C) focus

- Adjustable hue and saturation, 11 steps each

- 3" LCD

- 1920x1080 @ 30 FPS Full HD video recording

- 1280x720 @ 60 FPS and 640x480 @ 120 FPS High-speed video

- 1920x1080 @ 15 FPS Slow-speed video

- Built-in stereo microphone

- SDXC memory support

- High-Capacity Lithium-Ion battery