Nikon P7000 vs. LX5, S95 and EX1
Clockwise from top left: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5, Nikon Coolpix P7000, Samsung EX1 and Canon PowerShot S95.
The just-announced Nikon Coolpix P7000 is the company's highest-end compact with features such as manual exposure control, RAW image capture, optical viewfinder, built-in neutral density filter and a high-resolution display. This will immediately draw comparison between this shooter and other advanced shooters such as the Panasonic LX5, Canon S95 and Samsung EX1. But before we delve into their specifications, let's take a closer look at the P7000.
The P7000 is the successor to the P6000 announced two years ago. However, Nikon has designed the camera to give a more retro look. The new Coolpix has more dials and buttons for direct access to certain functions such as white balance, ISO sensitivity settings and exposure compensation. There is also an optical viewfinder, a feature we sorely miss in most compacts today. All in, the P7000 looks like it's aimed at enthusiast photographers.
The P7000 features more dials for direct access to certain functions.
The 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor in this Coolpix is the same size as the one used in its predecessor. However, the firm has reduced the image resolution from 13.5 megapixels to 10.1 megapixels. Granted, this should improve the picture quality as a lower-resolution sensor means larger pixels, and that means more surface area per pixel for light to reach.
What we don't agree with in this Coolpix is its lens. While the zoom range of 7.1x is useful for travelers and trumps its rivals' optics, the maximum aperture of F2.8 is disappointing. We were hoping Nikon would implement an F2.0 lens on this shooter to be on par with the competition.
Here's a breakdown of the P7000's specifications and how it stacks up against other competing models.
| Nikon Coolpix P7000 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 | Canon PowerShot S95 | Samsung EX1 | |
| Sensor resolution | 1/1.7-inch/10-megapixel CCD sensor | 1/1.63-inch/10-megapixel CCD sensor | 1/1.7-inch/10-megapixel CCD sensor | 1/1.7-inch/10-megapixel CCD sensor |
| Lens | 7.1x optical zoom (28-200mm), F2.8 max | 3.8x optical zoom (24-90mm), F2.0 max | 3.8x optical zoom (28-105mm), F2.0 max | 3x optical zoom (24-72mm), F1.8 max |
| Screen size/resolution | 3-inch, 921k-dot | 3 inches, 461k-dot | 3 inches, 461k-dot | 3 inches, 614k-dot (AMOLED) |
| Video resolution | 1,280 x 720 pixels | 1,280 x 720 pixels | 1,280 x 720 pixels | 640 x 480 pixels |
| Image stabilizer | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Memory media | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC |
| Dimension/weight | 114.2 x 77 x 44.8mm/360g | 109.7 x 65.5 x 42.9mm/231g | 99.8 x 58.4 x 29.5mm/170g | 114.3 x 63.2 x 29.2mm/356g |
| Related link | Review | More info | Review |
Judging from the table above, it's clear that Nikon has the upperhand when it comes to zoom range and LCD resolution. But what about image quality? The company claims the P7000's new Expeed C2 image processor helps deliver "images with rich tonal expression". We will reserve our judgment for when we test out this shooter.
Be the first to comment
Sign In with Facebook or create an account to post a review.
