This is just in. Nikon has announced the new Coolpix W100 compact camera. This one is aimed at replacing the older S33 model. This is evidently a camera that is aimed at casual photographers, kids getting started in photography and for those who want a funky looking camera to pull out at events and get-togethers.
Sensor
The small compact form camera is built around a 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor capable of producing an effective resolution of 13.2 MP.
Lens
It comes with a fixed Nikkor 3x optical zoom lens that ranges from 4.1mm to 12.3mm. On a 35mm format that is the equivalent of 30 to 90mm. On top of that there is a digital zoom of 6x which gives a 35mm format equivalent reach of 360mm. One wouldn’t recommend using the digital zoom on such a small camera as there is a considerable risk of pixilation.
The maximum aperture range of the camera is f/3.3 to 5.9. The smallness of the sensor size and the f/3.3 maximum aperture means low light photography could be a bit of a challenge. The lens construction includes a total of 6 elements arranged in 5 groups.
Vibration Reduction
The Coolpix W100 is equipped with Nikon’s Vibration Reduction technology. This technology ensures that the camera can add several stops of compensation when shooting hand-held. This is important as you can get away with a slower than normal shutter speed. This is particularly useful when shooting in low light conditions and when dragging the shutter speed.
Build Quality
This is an all-weather highly durable camera designed to withstand the vagaries of nature and to go beyond your expectation. If you love taking your camera with you the Coolpix W100 is ready to be tow in literally everywhere. You can take it down to a depth of 10m underwater. It can withstand a drop from a height of maximum 1.8m. Not that one would be willing test that feature out but it’s good to know that the Coolpix W100 is built better than what the looks belie. Plus, it can work even at sub-zero temperatures, up to negative 10 ˚ C for those wonderful skiing vacation photos.
Ergonomics
The Coolpix W100 is a simple to use point & shoot. Four dedicated buttons offer direct access to the essential shooting options on your camera.
Still Shooting
The Coolpix W100 encompasses a bunch of smart shooting features that allow for a better, more reliable shooting experience, every time you decide to pull out the camera from your pocket / bag. Face-priority AF is the perfect portrait mode. When activated the camera can identify the facial contours of the subject and automatically focus on it. The feature works even if your subject moves, a sort of face tracking feature borrowed from higher priced cameras.
Have you ever noticed that the best portraits always happen to be the ones that feature a bright smile. The Coolpix W100 is programmed to detect a smile and trigger the shutter release. How about you never had to worry about focusing for your portrait shots? How about all you need to make great portraits is to just frame? With the Target Finding AF technology provided in the Auto mode, you can achieve just that. This technology can identify faces and accurately lock focus automatically.
ISO
The native ISO sensitivity of the camera ranges from 125 to 1600.
LCD screen
Being a point & shoot camera there is no optical or electronic viewfinder on the Coolpix W100. This means the rear LCD screen is the only means of composing, focusing and of course reviewing the shots. The rear LCD screen on the Coolpix W100 is 2.7” in diagonal size and it has a resolution of 260k-dots.
The screen has an anti-reflection coating as well as option to adjust brightness. Depending on the ambient light, whether or not you are shooting under a bright sunny sky you can adjust the brightness level of the screen for better visibility.
The LCD screen has a frame coverage of 96% horizontally and vertically when shooting and 100% either way when in playback mode.
Movie Shooting
The Coolpix W100 is capable of shooting full HD movies at 1080p with stereo sound recorded via the built-in mic. There is an HDMI output. Just plug your camera to your HD TV and watch your favorite clips in full resolution straight from your camera.
For stable video recording the Coolpix W100 has electronic Vibration reduction technology built into it.
Flash
There is a small flash on the camera. It is not a pop-up version but rather a fixed version and sits just on top of the lens. It has a range of 0.3 to 3.1 m (in wide mode) to 0.6 to 1.7 m (in tele mode). It can be set to fire for AF assist in preflashes.
Connectivity
An array of connectivity features are built into the camera. They include Bluetooth, NFC and wireless. However, please note that these features will only work when it is paired with a device that has the SnapBridge application preinstalled. Apart from wireless connectivity the camera also has micro-USB and HDMI connectivity.
Price
Prices of the new camera are not yet released by Nikon.
Rajib Mukherjee
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