Nikon Coolpix P2

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If you are looking for a camera that is simple and light, yet doesn't look like a wafer stick that has gone on a serious diet, the Nikon Coolpix P2 will probably end up on your list of selections. The size of this compact shooter is not something we would rave about. Instead, its Wi-Fi capability which does away with the need for cumbersome wires and cables took our breath away--for a short while--until we realized that it doesn't connect to the Web.

Design

	You can reach the white balance and ISO settings from the mode dial itself.

Nikonians will probably recognize the design of the Coolpix P2 instantly. What more can we say when the design of its cameras hasn't really changed much compared with recent models like the Coolpix 7600 and Coolpix 7900. Measuring 91 x 60 x 39mm and weighing 170g (without battery and media), this compact shooter extends another 24mm to reveal its 36-to-126mm (35mm equivalent) Zoom-Nikkor lens. Although we preach the importance of using two hands to take a picture, the Coolpix P2 has a convex right edge that facilitates one-hand shooting.

The P2 also bears the standard design set that almost every other compact camera today sports. The top-right corner of the camera face clearly is a space for advertising the company's name and the model of the shooter. The built-in flash unit, focus assist beam, microphones and lens are all bunched together in a random yet organized manner.

Along the top edge of the unit, a mode dial which cycles among 10 of the most commonly used functions--including Wi-Fi, white balance, ISO and picture quality settings--allows users to easily adjust the values without delving into the menus. The shutter button, power switch and speakers accompany the mode dial on an otherwise lonely stretch of brushed aluminum body.

While we witness cameras getting smaller and LCD screens getting bigger, we cannot say for sure that the 2.5-inch display on the Coolpix's back is large anymore. Recent offerings from Kodak and Sony have started to offer users 3-inch, touch-enabled screens.

	Looks familiar? Yes, the control layout didn't have earth-shattering changes from the previous Coolpixes.

First-timers aside, if you are used to pressing the right button consecutively, for example, to access the various flash options, you will need some adjustment because pressing on the Up button once will open up only a column of various flash options, while you need to continue the arduous journey of keying Up or Down to reach the flash setting you want. That said, Up will bring you to the flash menu while Down allows you to shoot at close proximity or macro. You press right to adjust compensation values and left to activate the timers.

Over at the right edge of this Coolpix, we see two rubber attachments: One for the A/V-out connection. The other? We have absolutely no idea. A slide-out cover along the bottom of the unit conceals the memory card (we use the Imation 1GB Secure Digital card in our tests) and Lithium-ion battery. If you don't use the tripod a lot, you probably won't care a lot if the tripod receptacle is metallic or plastic. But we still have to say it: A receptacle with plastic threading, as on the Coolpix P2, would under normal circumstances wear and tear at a faster rate than one with metallic threading.

Being one of the early adopters of wireless connection on compact digital cameras, the company has spared no efforts in making its Wi-Fi capability on the Coolpix stand out. Even on the unit itself, the clearly labeled Wi-Fi connection occupies slightly over a quarter of the left edge (from the back) of the camera.

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