Full Review

We bought our first and last digital camera over four years ago. It has served us well enough but we really wanted a digital camera that could provide film quality images and our old HP just could not do that for us. Doing a little Christmas shopping led us into local electronic stores and low and behold, we found an amazing little camera that gave us what we were looking for and so much more.

Meet the CoolPix P1. This is Nikon’s answer to the amateur/ home photographer who is looking for high quality images.

Basics

The P1 by Nikon is a digital camera that boasts tons of features, high quality images and an industry first, built in WiFi for wireless and instantaneous communication between the camera, printer or PC. The P1 is also amazingly small measuring a mere 3 7/8 inches wide by 2 7/16 tall and the P1 is only 1 9/16 inches deep. When you power the P1 up the lenses will extend to the ready position and make the depth 2 1/2 inches. The camera will fit easily in the palm of an adult man. The P1 provides video recording with audio from an onboard microphone as well as normal picture taking. Weighing only six ounces the P1 is an amazingly light and compact camera. Nikon offers the P1 in both silver and black finish for those with a fashion sense.

Diving into the features a little here I will start off with the first thing that makes the P1 such a unique digital camera, the integrated WiFi. Kodak currently has a camera that is WiFi enabled but you need to buy an accessory to make this happen. Sanyo has a WiFi built in camera in the works. Nikon has it in my hands. Built into the P1 is a WiFi system that allows you to connect your camera wirelessly to your printer and PC. You must have a WiFi network in your home or business for this to work, of course. With this you will be able to instantly send pictures as you take them to your computer or you can choose to wait and upload them all at one time. The WiFi works the same way for video feeds as well.

The P1 has a 2.5 inch LCD display used as a viewfinder. If it has been some time since you last purchased a camera you may be surprised to learn that the view finder is going the way of the Dodo bird. The 2.5 inch LCD is about the standard size for a digital camera now, there are larger ones on the market but I found the P1’s to be easy to see and use in nearly all lighting situations. The LCD is not the touch screen type but it does contain all the information about what the camera is doing or capable of at that moment. Different modes will have different information on them corresponding to that given mode. You will find information about battery life, number of shots or time left (depending on whether you are shooting video or pictures), the ISO setting and much more. An amateur may find some of the information daunting but the very lengthy and informative manual will help guide your way through the sea of information.

The camera can use several ways to communicate the information stored aboard. You can use the WiFi feature if you are so equipped but you can also use the “old fashion” USB 2.0 cable provided to connect to your computer. You can also choose to view your pictures on the television by connecting the P1 to your TV’s RCA connections. By doing this you will be able to view on the stored images from the P1 on your TV by connecting the provided RCA cables (one video and mono audio). This is a neat and fun way to show photos taken at family gatherings. You can also play recorded video this way.

On board storage is provided by 32mb of internal storage. This is not much and you will only get about seven, 8 mega pixel pictures or nearly two minutes of video recording. Nikon moved away from Compact Flash and have opted for the smaller Secure Digital (SD) memory cards which are about the size of a postage stamp. Nikon does not provide an SD card with the P1. The SD card is inserted on the bottom of the camera along side of the battery. When a SD card is installed the P1 automatically stores digital information on the card instead of the internal memory. It is important to know that all of the images you store are on the card so if you remove the card to transfer data to your computer or printer via a docking station. The internal memory is only used when there is not an SD card installed in the P1.

Following trends from other electronic companies Nikon has also moved to compact Li-ion battery. It is small and provides outstanding digital performance. The battery itself is not much larger than the SD card and gives you approximately 180 pictures to a full charge. Flash usage will drop the number of shots you will be able to take but not significantly. It will take about 2 hours to fully charge the Li-ion battery. Nikon provides a battery charger that plugs into home’s outlet with the P1. The charger itself is very easy to use. All you need to do is slide the battery into place and a light will flash on the charger. Once the battery is fully charged the light will stop blinking and remain on.

The P1 also carries on board editing for pictures. The feature does not work with video however. From selecting the menu button on the backside of the camera you can do things like resizing photos, panoramic photos and removing red eye (you can also use the P1’s red eye eliminator that pre-flashes the target before hand). The editing features are limited but useful in a given situation. Most people will fall back on their preferred picture editing software on their PC instead.

Using the P1

It needs to be noted that the first time you use the P1 the camera will ask you for some basic information. The P1 will need to know which of the 12 languages you prefer, the current time and date. The settings can easily be changed later as well.

Nikon uses a rotary wheel like the Rebel series from Canon to control the different modes on the P1. Here is a break down of the different modes and a brief explanation of the controls:

• Setup: When the dial is set to “setup” you will be able to access all of the camera’s functions. This is where you go to change date and time settings, greetings, stamps, etc.
• Picture: The dial will show a green picture of picture taking style of camera to confirm the picture mode. In picture mode the camera can work as a simple point and shoot camera. There is an AF (infrared) assist. To use this just hold the button half way down and a red light will shine on your target. Fully depress the button to take the picture. The P1 also has a voice memo feature that allows you to record a 20 second memo with each picture. By default the P1 shoots in 8m (mega pixels).
• Video: A picture of a movie style camera will show you that you are in the video mode. Once you are ready to start recording press the shutter button like you would to take a picture. You will loose the P1’s low light feature in video mode and the flash is not available. There is a built in microphone to record audio.
• P Mode: The P1 when be programmed with your picture taking preferences and those settings will be used when in P mode. This is a great feature for those who take the same style of pictures (i.e. flower petals, indoors, natural lighting) repetitively.
• A Mode: The P1 will choose the shutter and aperture settings for optimal results. This is used when taking pictures of subjects when surrounding details are not important. This setting tells the P1 that the object in its target box is the vital subject and the background image will be softened or blurred. The opposite is also true and the camera could focus on the background and soften the foreground like when you shoot a sunset with a tree close in the foreground.
• Scene: When you select the scene mode you are telling the P1 that you are taking a specialized type of picture. You will want to push the menu button on the back of the P1 to let the camera know which one of the specialized pictures you will be taking. You can select portrait (both AF assisted and non-AF assisted), indoor, night portrait, beach or snow, night time landscape, panorama assist, landscape, sunset, dusk /dawn, fireworks, backlit subject, sports, photo of a photo, museum, and close ups. The camera will adjust all the internal settings of the shutter and apertures to give you the perfect picture for your conditions.
• Image Mode: There is a symbol here that looks like a cone flying side ways on the dial that controls the image modes. You can change the image quality from basic to normal or fine. Normal is the default on the P1. You can also choose from one of the eight image sizes to be stored. 8m (3264x2448) is the default on the P1.
• ISO: Here you can manipulate the ISO sensitivity. Auto is the default but you can select 50, 100, 200, and 400.
• WB: The WB button gives you the controls of the white balance. As with all the other features on the P1 you can select to set the white balance to auto or customize the settings for your given environment.
• WiFi: A little antenna with lines around the tip is the symbol for the WiFi feature. From here you can select what and where information will be shared via the WiFi system.

On the backside of the P1 you will find a button to display the pictures or videos you have taken. From here you will be able to edit the photos. You will also find a trash can button used to delete any unwanted photos. The zoom is also on the backside of the camera and is used like a rocker switch. The Zoom is 3.5x lens and 4.5x digital bringing the overall zoom to 14x. Even while in digital the zoomed image remains remarkably crisp. I was able to take pictures from 100 yards of 3 inch tall letters that were able to be read easily. The zoom will not get you really close to the action if you are way up in the stands but the image you do get is still very crisp.

The interface is designed for the inexperienced while providing enough features for the photo bugs out there. Everything is easy to use, adjust and restore. The truly novice may need to read through the manual a little to learn the nuances of the P1 but should given a little time anyone, and I mean anyone should be able to take outstanding quality pictures with the P1.

Software

Nikon bundles the P1 with a small but useful software package. There are three programs included with the P1. One program is designed to control the WiFi interface of the P1 with your computer and its components. The second is a picture organizing and editing package. The final program is a panoramic picture maker that helps you blend up to six pictures together for panoramic shots.

The WiFi interface program works to securely connect the PC (or whatever devices are connected to your WiFi hub) and the P1. It is a fairly straight forward program and easy to use. When you turn the WiFi feature on the P1 it will connect itself to your WiFi hub and begin communicating with your PC. Without this interface the camera will not download pictures or video though they will remain on the SD card or internal memory.

The picture organizing and editing software has a nice look to it but I have opted not to use it. It copies pictures already stored to another file taking up more room than needed. The editing features are pretty basic and generic without a lot of the creative features that many people are looking for now. Use your Window’s file for storage and organization. I would pick a more feature laden photo editing program myself.

The panoramic picture maker is a neat program but unless you really enjoy taking these types of photos this program will be seldom used. I live in Nebraska and it is winter as I write this so for me there really is no point to panoramic photos. The front looks just like the back here this time of year. I have not used this program yet but I do have it installed.

Manual

The manual itself is 159 pages long with several troubleshooting and technical pages in the rear. It should also be noted that two manuals come with the P1, English and Spanish. The manual is long and very detailed. I have only had the camera for a relatively short period of time and still seem to find little things I did not know before. I have found the manual to be one of the best ones I have ever seen covering ever subject matter in clear and easy to understand language. Whenever technical terms are used they are explained in a manner that a novice can understand. Pictures, charts and diagrams are used throughout for added effect. Not only is this one of the best manuals I have seen with a camera it is one of the best put together manuals I have ever used for any product. Nikon did a great job with this!


Technical Specs on the Nikon CoolPix P1*

Pixels: 8 Million
Lens: Nikkor 36-126mm
Zoom: 3.5x optical, 4x digital, and 14 x total
LCD (no viewfinder): 2.5 inch, 110,000 pixels
Focus Modes: Auto (9 areas of focus), manual (99 areas of focus)
Auto Focus: AF assisted (infrared)
Media Storage: 32mb internal, SD memory card slot (no card provided)
Still Shot Modes: Auto, Aperture Priority Mode, Advanced Scene Mode (Portrait [Face AF], Portrait, Party/Indoor, Night portrait, Landscape, Night landscape, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Fireworks show, Back light, Close up), Scene (Panorama assist, Beach/Snow, Museum, Copy, Sports; Voice recording; BSS (Best Shot Selector); Blur Warning; Date imprint; Self-timer (3, 10 sec.)
Movie Shot Modes: w/ sound: TV movie (640) at 30fps; TV movie (640) at 15fps; small size (320) at 15fps; smaller size (160) at 15fps; Sepia movie (320) at 5fps; B/W movie at 15fps; w/o sound: Time-lapse movie at 30fps; Electronic VR (Vibration Reduction) available
Shutter: 8-1/2000th second
Aperture: Wide Ten-step (f/2.7 - f/7.6), Telephoto Four-step (f/5.2 - f/7.3)
Photo Capture: Single, Continuous H (approx. 2.3fps), Continuous L (approx. 2.0 frames), Ultra HS (up to 100 pictures at up to 30fps), Multi-shot 16 (16 frames 1/16 in size)
Supported Languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Russian.
Computer Requirements: Mac/Apple: Mac OS X version 10.1.5 or later. Windows: Windows XP Home Edition/Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Me, Windows 98SE pre-installed models.

Personal Impressions

There are many reasons I chose the P1 from Nikon. I wanted an 8 mega pixel camera with as many features I as I could get for the money. I want an 8m camera so that I can print a full 8x11 picture without any pixilation or loss of quality. We have all seen digital pictures enlarged to obscurity. I did not want that. I also wanted a camera that would last at least five years so I wanted to be on the leading edge of technology. I needed a camera that was easy to use and provided not only high quality images but features as well. The P1 is that camera.

Using the P1 is very easy. The camera will be ready to shoot in 5 seconds after turning it on. You can just point, give the camera a moment to focus and shoot. The focusing time varies on the area and subject you are shooting. I have noticed it taking a little longer than other cameras in this market but the picture quality is higher with the Nikon than I have seen in the competition too. Shutter lag is noticeable but brief. I have not taken my P1 to any sports games yet to fully judge it. I will update when I do though.

Using the AF focus is paramount in taking high quality photos with the P1 though. You can take pictures in absolute darkness with the AF feature enabled. The infrared will measure the distances to the subject and adjust the P1 to take the ideal photo for the situation. Testing this I went to the unlit basement and started taking pictures. The P1 was able to take great shots full of color in near to total darkness. All of the pictures came out with great color balance, in focus and in perfect detail. I was amazed.

The video quality leaves a lot to be desired on the P1 and I would not recommend using this as your digital camcorder. The video recorded is grainy and out of focus too much of the time especially with busy scenes. If the camera were used in a naturally lit place and the camera was stationary then you might be able to get fairly good quality out of the P1 but the camera will show its short comings when you go indoors and start walking around with the unit. As a back up the P1 will surprise you but as your one and only video recording device you may be disappointed with the P1’s performance.

This camera is as good as I need and has more than I wanted. The pictures themselves are simply perfect. I can take great 8x11 inch pictures and the P1 is capable of 16x20 inch photos but my printer is not. I have seen few digital cameras take such outstanding pictures and even fewer at anywhere near this price. I could not recommend the P1 enough. This camera is amazing!

Company Website: www.nikonusa.com

MSRP: $549.95
Street: $377-$549

*Technical information taken from manual, box, research, and Nikon website.

Thanks for shooting by,
© Christian921