Nikon has just announced its new Coolpix P80 with 18x zoom. Although described as a compact camera, it looks and feels like a small DSLR.

Nikon’s new Coolpix P80 with 18x zoom

Here’s part of the press release :

MELVILLE, NY (April 10, 2008) Nikon Inc. is pleased to announce the COOLPIX P80, a high-performance compact camera built to satisfy the needs of camera enthusiasts and family photographers alike. The P80 harmoniously integrates a 10.1 megapixel CCD image sensor with Nikon’s innovative EXPEED digital image processing concept and an 18x optical Zoom-NIKKOR lens designed with the compact and comfortable styling of the Nikon COOLPIX brand.

The COOLPIX P80 addresses a need from consumers for an ultra-zoom compact camera that offers unrivaled Nikon performance and clarity, said Bill Giordano, General Manager, Marketing, COOLPIX for Nikon Inc. Nikon is proud to continue delivering the highest quality imaging products for photo enthusiasts and aspiring photographers with a broad range of creative control options and superior imaging ability.”

At around $400, this looks a very interesting addition to the legendary Nikon range.

Last week, my mother (75 years old) told me she was considering a new camera: a nice digital one instead of her old film-based cam. As she liked her old Nikon a lot, she wondered what model to buy.
My first reaction was: “no, stay with film - it’s easy and you have no computer”.

However, it’s very easy nowadays to have pictures printed. So that’s no stopper.
Another thing is batteries: digicams drain batteries so much faster… And, last but not least: these things are so complex!

Stop: none of these issues exist with the wonderful Nikon Coolpix L6: it looks too simple for experienced users, but it’s in fact a very, very clever camera for starters:

• very easy to use
• a huge display
• very long battery life

And, it’s also relatively cheap, for instance here.

Read more about it at Nikon USA.

There are a lot of superzoom cameras around, but this beauty certainly is the smallest. Portable enough to take wherever you go. It’s predecessor was already unique, but the S10 improved quite a bit on quality.

This is the kind of camera I like: very compact, very usable and a huge zoom to get everything close. There are a few drawbacks: it does not have many manual options for the technical photographer and it’s powered by a small, but proprietary battery.

So yes: there are better options for people who want to use all possible options on a digicam, but always at the cost of weight and portability.

For the rest of the world, this wonderful piece of technology is about the best thing you can get. Prices are dropping nicely, it’s available for less than $ 340 .

Besides amazing pictures, it will yield amazing faces, too…

Now Nikon has introduced it’s entry level D40 SLR camera many potential buyers are tempted to get one instead of a high end compact camera. At the same time, Canon is not the cheapest supplier anymore, so also on the manufacturer’s front a lot of things are moving.

Just now, Canon made their move: US prices for the Digital Rebel XTi will be dropped by $ 100, by means of a refund . For us, that’s very good news: even Canon fans will love Nikon’s move!

When these camera giant are preparing for the battle and start to equalize prices, we can concentrate on specifications, options, features… Which one tastes better?

The ultimate answer used to be: buy a camera that fits the lenses you already have. But now, that’s getting complicated. The Nikon D40, for instance, is unable to use autofocus on lenses that don’t have a motor themselves, so do you really want to use these nice old optics???

Starting from scratch with a first DSLR seems easier… with the present season ahead there is another argument: availability. The D40 is not yet available in stores, but the XTi is. You can’t go wrong with this wonderful piece of technology. Check it out here for a nice offer.