Nikon's New Compact with Manual Mode Capability

For Nikon, the P-Series designation is reserved for their highest quality and most technically advanced compact digital cameras. The Nikon P7000 is the flagship of the Coolpix camera lineup and was specifically designed to satisfy the needs of the serious amateur and professional alike. By combining the features of an SLR with the form factor of a point and shoot, Nikon has created quite an impressive pocket camera.
The Nikon P7000 replaces the year and a half old P6000. Typically new models are released with subtle upgrades and minor improvements over their predecessors, however the P7000 breaks that trend as pretty much the entire camera was redesigned from the ground up. The overall shape of the camera changed and is now made of metal, while the key control switches are now located in areas where your hands naturally grip the body. The camera still features a large format 1/1.7 inch CCD sensor. However, in order to increase low-light sensitivity, the resolution was reduced to a reasonable 10.1 megapixels. A noteworthy improvement was made to the camera’s lens. The P7000 now sports an image-stabilized 7.1x optical zoom (28-300mm 35mm equivalent) This versatile lens distinguishes the P7000 with the longest zoom lens in its class. On the back of the camera, the 921,000 dot LCD screen grew to 3 inches allowing easy image composition and playback. Fortunately Nikon has also included an adjustable optical viewfinder that is rather helpful when shooting outdoors.
One attribute that sets the P7000 apart from nearly every other compact camera is the ability to shoot in full manual mode. Being able to select the aperture and shutter speed combination you want allows much greater creative control. In addition to the standard JPEG picture file, the P7000 also supports the uncompressed RAW image format. ISO settings can also be selected manually and range from ISO100-6400. Other notable upgrades include 720p HD video mode with stereo sound as well as a built-in virtual horizon that helps ensure your photos are level. Operating the P7000 is very straightforward. You can quickly adjust important settings like ISO, white balance, picture quality, exposure compensation, and the shooting mode with just the thumb wheels on the top of the camera.
With its compact size and impressive feature-set, the P7000 has definitely earned its place at the top of Nikon’s Coolpix lineup. If you are interested in a travel friendly compact camera but still crave the creative control of SLR, the P7000 is a great alternative. The P7000 kit includes: one rechargeable Li-Ion batter, charger, USB and AV cable, neck strap, and the Nikon software suite CD-ROM. The P700 currently sells for $449.95.