Nikon Coolpix P7800

Of the three compact Coolpix cameras on test, this one arguably offers the best compromise between size and versatility

Nikon Coolpix P7800

£350, $547

www.nikon.com

lightly bigger than the S9900 but much smaller than the P610, we’d just about class the P7800 as a pocket-sized camera. It has a much shorter optical zoom range than the other two Coolpix models on test, with the 7.1x lens giving a more conventional equivalent range of 28-200mm. It therefore loses out to those other cameras for wide-angle coverage as well as telephoto reach, but image quality is more impressive. That’s reinforced by a larger-format 1/1.7-inch image sensor but, with a 4.7x crop factor, it’s still rather smaller than the sensors fitted to the Nikon 1 cameras, and a lot smaller than those inside DX-format D-SLRs.

Highlights for enthusiast photographers include a well-

Sstocked shooting mode dial with no fewer than three userdefined custom settings, plus a dedicated dial for exposure bias. Similarities between this camera and the P610 include a 921,000-pixel electronic viewfinder and three-inch vari-angle LCD screen. However, in order to switch between the two you have to physically press a button, whereas an optical sensor does the job for you in the P610. Of the three Coolpix cameras on test, the P7800 is also the only one to lack built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, but at least it adds a hotshoe alongside its pop-up flash.

Performance

Unlike the other two Coolpix cameras in the group, the P7800 can capture RAW images as well as JPEGs. The autofocus system is typically sluggish, but proved more accurate than in the P610 and on a par with the S9900. It beats the other two Coolpix cameras for continuous drive speed as well, at eight frames per second rather than seven.