Dilemma remains the same: I go out with the backpack with 10kg of equipment, or go out with the only compact in the pocket of his jacket? If you choose the compact, you have the frustration of not always have complete control of all the shooting settings, unless you are holding one of the so-called “advanced compact”.
Included in this sector all cameras with body size and sensor size typical of compact, but with the ability to have full control of shutter speed and aperture, as well as to allow shooting in RAW format. These have also evolved compact ergonomics designed for demanding photographers: there are a good number of dials and buttons, so as to minimize the menu navigation. One of the latest advanced compact outputs on the market is the Nikon Coolpix P7700.
Table of Contents
Nikon Coolpix P7700: Design
The Nikon Coolpix P7700 falls nicely in the hand, thanks to the shaping front of which are a good foothold pinky, ring and middle fingers. The thumb has its gummed area on the back where to set. Only the index finger you can find a little uncomfortable, as the shutter buttons with the zoom tab coaxial are a little too far from the main dial.
Holding the Nikon Coolpix P7700 you have a nice sturdy feel, though not particularly heavy. When turned off comes into pockets of medium size. The body stands out the lack of a viewfinder. Unfortunately, you cannot even add one optional. We can accessorize the Nikon Coolpix P7700 with an external microphone with a GPS receiver, with a flash, with a Wi-Fi card, but with a viewfinder really.
So we have to rely for the shot only to still great LCD 3 and 921,000 pixels, fully adjustable. The fact that the monitor is the only way to frame has two confirmations. First, it is impossible to turn off the monitor. Pressing the DISP you can only choose whether to have more or less visible information. In addition, the camera will not turn on whether the monitor is folded against the body.
I must admit I just picked up the Nikon Coolpix P7700 did this put me in trouble: I feared that he had received a copy failure. Apart from the speech of the viewfinder ergonomics is excellent. So many prayers, so many buttons, among which two customizable. Two goodies are also the retractable flash, small but still useful, and clearing the ring with led light that signals the possible activation.
Nikon Coolpix P7700: Features and Functionality
Shooting with the Nikon Coolpix P7700 is very easy, just keep in mind that the auto focus is not lightning-like on an SLR. The white balance and the exposure behave correctly in every situation. The only aspect that has not convinced me is the Auto ISO, whose highest shutter speed cannot be set to Puu times shorter than 1/30s, that leads to some shake-too much in low light.
I am also sorry that unlike the SLR and mirrorless Nikon, here there is the ability to import and export the Picture Style, that I find very convenient to have the JPG consistent, regardless of the camera that made them.
The Nikon Coolpix P7700, as mentioned above, and can be equipped with an external microphone. This is because it also points in the video industry, with the possibility of shooting Full HD (1080p) with stereo sound and full control of the aperture in use.
For those who love to play with the images can have fun with the built-in effects, including an interesting “Creative Black and White”, where we can choose the nuts by turning the fine grain and hardness of contrast. Finally, for those who love the bursts, we have the ability to shoot at 8 fps, even if only for 6 consecutive frames.
Finally, the excellent functionality of stabilization, which helps both in phase composition that shutter. A few more problems in the room laying, where I realized that the flash shoe is deactivated as standard: to be able to use the remote controls for studio flash, so I had to look for the specific option to activate the menus. I also came across an oddity in saving files.
If you shoot in RAW and JPG does not expect the time needed to finish the rescue, it may happen that the JPG file is recorded in the file name following the RAW file. No data loss then, but some doubts when it is not the usual correspondence between RAW files and JPG files.
Conclusion
The Nikon Coolpix P7700 I was pleasantly surprised. I was convinced that the sensors are small, even those from 1/1, 7 “, could not return satisfactory results. But while I took in the room laying, already looking at the display, I realized that times have changed. Nikon compact evolved as this can really be considered as an alternative to pocket an SLR, but without having to ask too obvious compromise in terms of image quality.
Where to Buy Nikon Coolpix P7700
- An Affordable Automatic 120 Panoramic Camera
- Take Medium-Format Photography with you Everywhere
- A World of Possibilities: Interchangeable Lenses
- Automatic Exposure Shutter
Overall
PROS : Rich body of manual controls, Fully adjustable monitor, Image quality especially at lower ISO.
CONS : Lack of a viewfinder also optional, Auto ISO limited to a relatively long time.
Product prices and availability are subject to change. Any price and availablility information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of any products.