Nikon Coolpix P3

Performance
The Nikon Coolpix P3's performance is disappointing, with some infuriating delays between shots. The camera takes slightly more than 4 seconds to turn on and shoot, and performance goes downhill from there. Shutter lag in bright light was an irritating 0.9 second, with dim light bumping that time up to 1.4 seconds. After taking a shot, it was a full 3 seconds before we could snap off another one. Burst mode was acceptable, with a rate of 1.5fps in five-shot bursts. The screen refreshes quickly but has a narrow viewing angle. Unfortunately, users are stuck with the LCD; the P3 lacks an optical viewfinder.

Shooting speed in seconds
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Casio Exilim EX-Z850

2.7 

2.1 

0.5 

Canon PowerShot A620

1.9 

1.4 

0.5 

Canon PowerShot A530

2.8 

2.1 

0.5 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

2 

1.5 

0.5 

Nikon Coolpix P3

3 

4.1 

0.9 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3

2.6 

2.9 

1 

Typical continuous-shooting speed in frames per second
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Typical continuous-shooting speed

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3

2.7 

Canon PowerShot A620

2.1 

Canon PowerShot A530

1.8 

Nikon Coolpix P3

1.5 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

1.1 

Casio Exilim EX-Z850

1 

Image Quality
Image quality is where the Nikon Coolpix P3 really shines, overshadowing any shortcomings in its Wi-Fi implementation and almost overcoming its flawed performance. Colors are neutral but rich and pleasing, from the bright greens and blues in landscapes to the subtle tones of human skin. Reds, usually difficult to capture with digital cameras, are reproduced with fine gradations and detail; one macro shot of an apple revealed the texture of the fruit's skin with detail intact.

Sharpness and resolution are high at all subject distances. There is slight vignetting, or darkening of corners, and other image distortions at large lens apertures, but those problems are hardly ruin the picture and disappear at more moderate settings. Bokeh, or out-of-focus highlights, looks pleasing with a soft and round quality to it.

The P3 keeps flare and blooming well under control, even when shooting at the sun. Chromatic aberration, the purple fringing that appears on high-contrast edges, is also in check, appearing only slightly even in extreme backlighting.

Noise levels are below average in the Nikon Coolpix P3, with images appearing very clean at ISO 50 and ISO 100, usable at ISO 200, and tolerable at ISO 400. Unfortunately, at ISO 400, the noise softens the detail significantly. That said, the noise wasn't overpowering and produced some decent, albeit speckled, shots that you could use at small sizes.

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