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Nikon's latest flagship fixed-lens camera, the Coolpix 8700, joins a small group of new digital cameras straddling the now rather tiny gap between high-end 'prosumer' products and budget digital SLRs.
Very similar in appearance and function, the Coolpix 8700 picks up where the Coolpix 5700 left off, adding many enhancements as well as that all-important boost from five, to eight megapixels.
If you're familiar with the Coolpix 5700, you'll find its big brother almost identical in appearance and operation. Its magnesium-alloy body is one of the smallest in its class and, at 480g, it's certainly the lightest. Despite its diminutive dimensions, it packs an 8x optical zoom lens (35-280mm equivalent) and comes with a larger LCD screen than its predecessor. It also offers a useful AF-assist lamp and is generally faster in operation.
Picture quality is excellent. Most people won't need an eight megapixel camera, but those who appreciate image quality will immediately notice the improved clarity. It's not a subtle difference - it's really outstanding.
Advanced users (and you really should be, or want to be, an advanced user if you're considering buying this camera) will appreciate the new live histogram function as well as an enhanced 'best shot selector' system. There's also a great movie mode that'll shoot at 640 by 480 pixels at 30fps, although sadly only for a maximum duration of 35 seconds.
In best shot selector mode, the camera takes up to ten shots at once, automatically choosing the sharpest image and discarding the others. The Coolpix 8700 expands this capability with additional modes allowing the automatic selection of the best image based on different exposure preferences.
While a novice photographer will find the fully automatic mode allows them to take good pictures with ease, doing anything that requires changing settings can become a rather complex task. There's a bewildering array of customisable menus and a large number of buttons, many with multiple functions. These are arranged into three groups, one falling under each thumb and one beneath the right-forefinger for easy reach when taking pictures. Twelve scene modes are incorporated for easily setting up different types of shots such as portraits, night shots and landscapes but it's not obvious how to activate them by simply looking at the camera.
The Coolpix 8700 has so many functions that there is no choice but to bury many of them deep into the menu system. This is alleviated somewhat by the customisable 'My Menu' which lets you store commonly used items on the front page but if you have a sudden need to try out something new for the first time or change a little-used setting you may well find it far from obvious how to do it without consulting the manual.
Power comes from a proprietary rechargeable battery, supplied with charger, that's good for around 210 images. Images are stored on CompactFlash cards and interestingly there is no memory card included with the camera. You'll have to bear this in mind when working out your budget. When you consider that a high quality JPEG photograph will consume 4MB and an uncompressed TIFF, 23MB, it becomes clear that you'll need a CF card rather larger than the paltry 32-64MB often supplied in the box. Nikon is wise not increase the price of the camera for the sake of a tiny memory card you're never likely to use anyway.
The Coolpix 8700 is a big step up in quality, and price, from the 5700 and includes some significant functional enhancements. At this size and weight you'll find it very hard to beat.
Contact: Nikon (0870) 770 0233
www.nikon.co.uk
Specifications:
- Dimensions (DxWxH) 78x113x105mm
- Weight 480g (without battery)
- Max resolution 3,264 x 2,448 pixels
- Optical zoom (35mm equiv) 35-280mm (8x)
- LCD screen size 1.8in
See also:
All Digital Cameras
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