Posted to Digital Cameras 2009-04-23
If you want a high-end point and shoot camera that takes excellent pictures in auto mode, yet gives you manual control if you want to get a little more creative, then have a look at the Nikon Coolpix P6000. Featuring 13.5MP resolution, a 4X optical zoom and Optical VR (Vibration Reduction) Image Stabilization in a compact format, the P6000 makes an excellent carry-anywhere camera. The camera features a bright 2.7 inch LCD along with an optical viewfinder, a rare find on point and shoot cameras these days. Although the optical viewfinder is small and only gives you 80% coverage, it comes in handy in bright light where the LCD is difficult to see. The P6000 features Program, Aperture, Shutter and Manual exposure modes for complete creative control. And it's ability to store images in the RAW format gives you even more control, allowing you to process the images on a PC rather than relying on the camera to do the work.
FeaturesThe P6000 is packed with features. In addition to those already mentioned, there's a GPS device built-in to allow stamping your images with latitude and longitude information, and a built-in Ethernet port which uploads your pictures to Nikon's my Picturetown online service. The camera also features a host of scene modes to choose from, Face Priority autofocus which finds the faces in an image and automatically focuses on them, and a movie mode that provides 640x480 (VGA) movies. PerformancePerformance of the P6000 is acceptable, but maybe not quite what you would expect for the price. Shutter lag is not a problem, and shot to shot times are good, but battery life is poor (especially if the GPS is turned on - it automatically updates every 5 minutes even if the camera is powered down), and the high ISO results are disappointing. Of course, we've come to expect this from compact cameras with small sensors and lots of megapixels - noise in low light is going to be a problem. However, in good light the camera produces excellent images throughout its zoom range, although there is some barrel effect at the wide end. SummaryThe P6000 makes an excellent choice for the point and shoot photographer who wants to exercise a little more creative control, yet is either overwhelmed by an SLR or can't justify the cost. The zoom range is quite usable, and the image quality is excellent as long as you keep the ISO setting at 400 or below. Its main competition comes from Canon's Powershot G10, which has a little better image quality at higher ISO's, but doesn't include the GPS capability. If you're looking at compact cameras in this price range, be sure and give the P6000 a try. Pros
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