On paper the Nikon Coolpix P330 ($379.95 direct) is an impressive pocket camera. It's got a 12-megapixel image sensor with a 1/1.7-inch design, larger in surface area than those in other compacts in this price range. The lens opens up all the way up to f/1.8 on the wide end, Raw shooting is supported, and the rear LCD is impressively sharp. Unfortunately, the P330 is a noticeably slow performer?it takes a full 1.9 seconds to recover after capturing a JPG photo. It's priced on the high-end of the scale for midrange cameras, but can also be looked at as a bargain version of an enthusiast-oriented compact. But despite capturing impressive images, it doesn't manage to oust the Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS as our Editors' Choice for midrange compact cameras.
Design and Features
The P330 is a practical clone of the Nikon Coolpix P310, a similar camera (that still remains in the Coolpix lineup) with a smaller 1/2.3-inch sensor. Both are flat black with a boxy design and similar control layout. The P330 measures 2.3 by 4.1 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.1 ounces; the P310's measurements are the same, but it's a smidge lighter at 6.9 ounces.
The lens is a 5x design, covering a 24-120mm (35mm equivalent) range. At the wide end it opens all the way up to f/1.8, but narrows to f/5.6 when zoomed all the way in. It's still a reasonable f/3.2 at the 50mm-equivalent focal length. The lens and camera are similar in design and concept to the Canon PowerShot S110. Both use a 1/1.7-inch sensor design and pack a 5x zoom lens that covers a similar zoom range and aperture.
If you want a lens that captures more light, you'll have to move up to a more expensive camera. Wide-aperture lenses are usually the bailiwick of larger compact cameras priced above $500. Nikon's own Coolpix P7700 is one example?it's priced at $500 and its 7.1x lens has a 28-200mm f/2-4 design. The P330's lens is physically smaller; it doesn't jut out as much from the camera body and its front element isn't as large.
The control layout is sure to please serious shutterbugs. On the front of the camera there's a programmable Fn button?I used it to control the ISO, but it can also be set to adjust the drive mode, image quality settings, the metering pattern, and focus area. On the top plate there's a standard mode dial, a zoom rocker, shutter button, a control wheel, and the power button. Rear controls include a record button for movies, an additional control wheel with button functions at the cardinal directions to adjust the flash output, self-timer, exposure compensation, and macro shooting mode. There's also a button for image playback, a delete button, and the menu button.
I had a couple of quibbles with the control layout, but your mileage may vary. The top control wheel always adjusts the shutter speed, so if you're working in aperture priority mode it doesn't do anything. Likewise, the rear control wheel always adjust aperture. While the consistency of this approach is appreciated, it would be preferable that the top wheel was dedicated to exposure compensation and that the rear wheel's function changed from mode to mode. There's no way to adjust the functions of these controls via the menu system. The menu system itself is a bit on the slow side. There's a slight lag when scrolling through options and when going from screen to screen. It's 2013, and that's just plain puzzling. These are text menus, and either the firmware engineers at Nikon have deliberately slowed down the operation of the menu, or the P330's processor is severely underpowered.
The power button is a bit finicky. Simply pressing it in does not turn the camera on; you have to hold it for an additional beat before the camera starts. This isn't the same when turning things off; a good, quick press powers down the camera. It'd be one thing if the button was easily tripped?it could save you from accidentally powering the camera on in your bag, and discovering your battery dead at the worst time. But the button is slightly recessed?the chances of it being pressed in accidentally are minimal.
The rear LCD is impressive. It's 3 inches in size, but packs an outstanding 921k-dot resolution. It's very, very sharp and bright enough for use on sunny days. It's one of the best LCDs we've seen on a compact camera, absolutely killing the 230k-dot LCD packed into compact Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX80 in comparison. It's also better than some of the more expensive competition?the Canon S110?only packs a 460k-dot display.
There's a built-in GPS, which isn't a common feature in digital cameras. It automatically adds your location to photos, so you can view them on a map in software like Lightroom, iPhoto, and Picasa. The GPS requires about 90 seconds to lock onto a signal at our standard test spot under the open skies of suburban New Jersey. This is a bit slow; the Olympus Tough TG-830 iHS acquired a signal in 30 seconds at the same spot. There's no built-in Wi-Fi, but you can add an external adapter to add that functionality to the camera. The Nikon WU-1a adds $60 to the cost of the camera, but we felt it was a disappointing accessory when we reviewed it along with the Nikon D5200 D-SLR.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/8e1hhH1wStw/0,2817,2421389,00.asp
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