Users Speak Out: Nikon Coolpix P80

[Allison Johnson]

Ultrazooms are hot right now, and shoppers looking for a new camera in this space have been checking out the Nikon Coolpix P80.

The P80 features a 10.1 megapixel sensor and an 18x, 27-486mm NIKKOR zoom lens, and is available from several retail outlets under $300. No wonder it's on our top ten most viewed cameras list, and this week, it's the topic of our "Users Speak Out" feature – our monthly round-up of opinions straight from the User Opinions section of our site.

Our own review of this model was positive, but what did other users think of the P80? Take a look.

Fast and Clear

PROS: Starts up quickly and focus works well. No problem inside with ambient light. Actually looks better without flash. Wide angle is a welcome addition. Don't hesitate for all around use. It will not disappoint you as long as you pay attention to the subject. Nice!

CONS: Could use a fold-away LCD. No RAW. Would recommend a flash shoe. Other than that, it is superb for its class.

OVERALL SCORE: 9/10

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I like it...but I had to learn it...

PROS: Excellent photo quality. Great dynamic range. Zoom lens works great. Scene modes help with difficult situations. Sports mode captures photos at 13 fps (3 megapixels). Scene settings work well. I have found that once I read the manual I was able to take much better photos.

CONS: Movie mode looks blocky sometimes. Only digital zoom during video mode. Automatic white balance does not work for florescent lighting, heavy red color cast. Sports mode will sometimes select a high ISO setting giving high noise pictures. Sun glints in sports mode will light up an entire column of the CCD. Purple fringing at the extreme end of the zoom.

OVERALL SCORE: 6/10

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Don't buy it

PROS: Great body design, decent flash, good sports continuous mode, nice video mode with zooming.

CONS: I purchased this camera and was extremely dissatisfied with the image quality, severe fringing and aberrations at max telephoto, terrible low light performance, no RAW, dead pixel, bad battery life. Don't buy this, get the Panasonic FZ18, it's got absolutely everything over this camera except for compactness and zooming during video mode.

OVERALL SCORE: 6/10

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My P80 consistenly overexposes bright landscape scenes in auto mode

PROS: Great zoom range, compact and lightweight, ease of use.

CONS: Overexposes landscapes when in auto mode; light weight is at expense of flimsy feel unbecoming to the Nikon name; difficult to adjust zoom precisely; battery size (life) also sacrificed to reduce weight; slow start-up.

OVERALL SCORE: 6/10

[Andy Stanton]

I like the ability to use rechargeable AA batteries.

As a point of clarification, the Nikon P80 uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery, not AA batteries.

[David Rasnake]

As a point of clarification, the Nikon P80 uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery, not AA batteries.

Oops. Good catch, Andy. Some of this text came from the wrong source - an error on my side. Fixing now...

EDIT: Alright, it's fixed. That one entry was a carry-over from last month's piece on the A590. Hence, the references to AAs. The text has all been reloaded (correctly) now.

dr