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Just Posted: Nikon Coolpix P7100 studio comparison samples

Nov 21, 2011 at 22:43:00 GMT

STUDIO SAMPLES NIKON

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Just posted: JPEG and raw studio samples from the Nikon Coolpix P7100. In preparation for a forthcoming review, we have shot our standard studio test scene with the Nikon Coolpix P7100. To allow easy comparison with its peers, we have now added these shots to our comparison database. As such the P7100 can now be selected from the pull-down list within both our standalone studio comparison tool and the comparison pages in any review.

Click here to see the P7100 studio comparison shot compared to some of its peers

Note: Image quality samples published prior to a review should be considered preview content, and may be subject to change. As such, neither images nor commentary on any aspect of a camera's performance published on dpreview.com should be regarded as absolutely 'final' except in the context of a full review.

Comments

Total comments: 58

Specs on the P7100 were so-so -- right up until the Canon G1 X was announced. Now, the P7100 looks sort of really ancient, doesn't it though?

0 upvotes

Change out the Olympus for a D300s. Close to the Standards set there.

0 upvotes

I was expecting the Nikon to be worse than it is. I think it stacks up very well against the others and if I were offered the choice, I would go with this camera compared to the others. Good detail and gradations of tone - no over-sharpening, nice colour palette.

All in all, I think the image is very good.

0 upvotes

Regarding the reds: Take a look at the photo on the right image border. Here the reds are more natural in the nikon picture, and too much in the canon's. I think the significance of such a shot for the results in real world photos is not so high.

1 upvote

This demonstrates at best the difference between factory settings. Nikon colours are usually more muted than Canon, Canon usually has more 'pop' than Nikon. Either could be tweaked to be more like the other. The half-wits who think that this proves that Canon is better than Nikon are just desperate for some ammunition.

The sharpening? Another default. That can also be tweaked.

0 upvotes

Nikon's image processing improved dramatically after they learned some tricks from a small foreign company.

1 upvote

Deleted. Something went wrong.

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Nikon using Panasonic's color palette? I'm not sure if the orange reds are better or worse than Sony's bleeding, overdone reds. Why can only Canon and Olympus produce reds that are actually red?

0 upvotes

Look at the entire sample photo and note the color of Martini's red label and Baileys' slightly orangish label. You can see the two are completely different. The Canon is off with its reds. In fact all the colors are over-enhanced. Now highlight Mickey's face. The Canon shows he's wearing blush. The real doll is more accurately depicted by the Nikon.

1 upvote

Actually I think all the Olympus EPs look great (and sharp). Something to consider if I make the concession to travelling with two lenses.

0 upvotes

Yes well, the Olympus EPs are nor really compacts, travelling with them might be fairly light but not as light or as small as the P7100 if you carry a two lens kit, not even if you carry with a single lens 10x zoom. Apples and oranges. The EPs should be compared with entry level DSLRs, not compacts.

0 upvotes

the difference between 4/3 and APS-C is about the same as the difference between 1/2.3" and 1/1.7" compacts, plus the gap of performance between Panasonic and Sony sensors.

0 upvotes

lots of people complaining about the rendering of reds by this coolpix.

however: if you compare the martini label shot with this camera with shots taken by the g12, the canon 5d mkII and the nikon d3, you may be surprised to find that the two most expensive, and, one might presume, verisimilitudinous ( ;o) ) cameras tend towards a more orange rendering than the g12 as well.

in other words, relax. nikon isn't famous for producing ugly colours, is it..? in real usage, i'm sure you'll see why they chose to do things the way they did.

3 upvotes

I think Nikon has lost the plot of late, right across their range.

0 upvotes

Is it just me or does the Olympus E-PL1 just make everything else look terrible?

1 upvote

He guys, we are lamenting on a very high level. An few years ago we all were very happy to have such a camera.

I see, that the 7100 is a great cam, but not better or worse than any other of the premium-compacts. That's what I wondering about: the newest cam of Nikon is only as good as the competitors.

I still be satisfied with my Pana LX5, the image-Quality is about the same but the 24 mm-lense and the 16:9-Sensor is great for composing.
The 3:4-Sensor is only boring........

0 upvotes

never quite got this sensor-morphing thing. How is it any different to changing the aspect ratio by cropping afterwards? That is all it is doing, right, cropping the sensor. Why is in-camera so much better, why is ex-camera such a deal breaker?

I makes as much sense as rejecting a camera for lack of a 'digital zoom'.

Comment edited 11 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

This is easy to explain: the Pana LX5 has a 24-mm-lense. This lense takes a wider angle and produces a bigger sircle on the surface (of the sensor). This is the first reason, why a 24 mm lense gives a wider picture.
The second reason is as simple: in (any) sircle a square with a ratio of 16:9 is much wider than a square/sensor of 3:4 in the same sircle.
The 16:9-sensor behind a 24 mm linse gives you a much wider projection of your motive, becaus of the bigger sircle of the 24 mm lense and because of the image-ratio.

For sure you can change a 3:4-Photo of a 28-mm-lense into a 16:9-ratio on your Computer, but this picture will show you approx. 1/3 less of the width of a 16:9-Sensor behind a 24-mm-lense.

Comment edited 49 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

More exactly (after I have drawn and caculated): the picture of a 16:9-Ratio-Square behind a 24-mm-Lense ist exactly 27,4 % wider than a 4:3-Ratio-Square behind a 28-mm-lense, the picture shows a little bit more than 1/4 more of your motive

0 upvotes

Improvement in pictures of the 7100 are insignificant in comparison with the predecessor, and JPEG-engine frankly surprised with shift red tones in the brick-and-orange. I believe that the "old man" Canon still is the leader among the advanced on equipment compact cameras. Taking into account the maximum aperture of the S100, it was on a one stop wins in detail, especially in JPEG. This is clearly seen on a white letters at red paper. Also G12 and S100 have a wider dynamic range. Disappointed only optics S100, very soft on the right and in general impression beck-focus on the whole plane. However, a large sensor with a small number of pixels is better than any minor brothers:)

1 upvote

cannot belive this, a CoolPix with usable IQ...

1 upvote

The red's are very problematic and a lot of distortion is visible in the top left corner. Maybe these sshots should be reshot with another sample?

0 upvotes

If you want your reds red (in jpeg) then it's the M9, but the XZ-1 looks the sharpest to me.

0 upvotes

Sharp at base but horrible at high ISO. =D

0 upvotes

High ISO has never been the province of P&S cameras

0 upvotes

The XZ-1 suffers from the same problem every Olympus suffers. As soon as you get to ISO400 the image falls apart or if you switch NR off it becomes uselessly noisy. At base ISO it is fine but unless you always use base ISO you quickly end up much higher and already at ISO 200 the XZ-1 is very noisy. Nikon solved this much better. That is a nonsense comment about the M9, since you can never compare this camera with it. Thank god the M9 is better. For that price and size I’d be pretty upset if it was not.

0 upvotes

I'm shocked. I was going to buy the P7100 but this comparison has really opened my eyes. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the other colours but I have a very good friendship with Martini and the colour is totally wrong. I am going overseas soon to India where reds are a dominant colour. I would hate to see all my pics coming out as an orange.
I am now seriously considering buying the Canon G12 which has a far more faithful rendition of red and foregoing the extra zoom or even one of the four thirds cameras despite the extra bulk if using the longer lens.

0 upvotes

Panasonic LX5 (which I own) has the same problem. In sunny daylight it's not so evident, but I have the WB retouched towards red/magentas (DetailMan in the Panny forum has a very nice recipe) and red's are ok, so I suppose you can do the same with P7100.

0 upvotes

*RAW is much better !

1 upvote

Fuji colors is what you are looking for. Forget about G12 and buy the X10. Better colors and IQ.

5 upvotes

of course you can adjust or shoot raw BUT if the Martini label is the benchmark: what about the golden border ? it is kind of red on g12, isn't it?
they are all great cameras but they are not perfect

0 upvotes

When compared to some higher end DLSR results I think that this camera (and the Powershot G12) give excellent results for the money you pay.

0 upvotes

The color balance on the whole thing is off, or the colorimetry on the pre-selected cameras is wonky. Look at the paper clips: Nikon & Panny are bordering on green, while the Canon & Olympus are bordering on red/pink. And this is for the silver paperclips which are reflecting "white" light.

Same grouping when you select the model's face in the upper right- the Canon & Olympus are clearly more red.

But then, select the "blue" watch face and the situation is reversed- the Nikon & Panny now have _more_red in them than the Canon & Olympus.

Really makes you question the accuracy of all these cameras.

0 upvotes

All these issues are not present in RAW.

But I agree the crowd that goes for such cameras probably only shoots jpeg. :)

2 upvotes

I think a lot of people here at dpreview don't care about anything else than ISO 3200 & beyond. So the colors are of little interest.

This test chart tells very little about the true capabilities of a cam. I'd like to see real skin, real sky, real foliage, ... but I confess this wouldn't be comparable.

0 upvotes

gl2k, all these things you mention should be fine with any enthusiast camera. What's tested here is the maximum potential and the default accuracy, meaning does it need much post-processing or not. IMO 'true capabilities' as you call it is 90% up to the person behind the camera. It's true that most probably click on 3200 right away and take it wayy to seriously. The important thing is to look at the system as a whole, right? If the format is what you're looking for, the sensor is big enough, and it operates intuitively, then these little differences between iso 1600 and 3200 really aren't going to matter as much as being able to actually use it properly in real-life situations.

0 upvotes

@IEBA1: The clips are on a green(ish) ball which is why the clips reflecting green. This looks correct on my screens.

0 upvotes

Comparable to some of its peers (G12/S100/S95), better than LX5/XZ1 but worse thanV1/J1. In short, no surprises here.

0 upvotes

Absolutely! If you agree with Nikon that red should be orange.

0 upvotes

do u really think that it is better than xz1?

Comment edited 11 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

JackM: The color issue does not surface in RAW which is what concerns me most. :)

Xentinus: The P7100 sensor is very slightly better. But the fast XZ1 lens (f/1.8-2.5) more than make up the disparity in sensor performance.

2 upvotes

lol so since u cant change the lens we can say that xz1 is better?
btw i dont ve none of these cameras :)

0 upvotes

Neither do I own any of those cameras. :)

0 upvotes

"Comparable to some of its peers (G12/S100/S95), better than LX5/XZ1 but worse thanV1/J1. In short, no surprises here."

So once the X10 is out, it will be V1/J1 > X10 > G12/S100/S95 > LX5/XZ-1. No surprises too. =D

Comment edited 29 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

But of cameras with a built-in zoom, the P7100 looks pretty good. Not to mention it's got the longest zoom of the "enthusiast" bunch.

But I'd have to say the Panny and the Olympus have more accurate colors than the Canon or the Nikon here.

0 upvotes

I'm sticking with my G10.

0 upvotes

Hey Admins, I get this message when clicking your link above to 'Click here to see the P7100 studio comparison...':

"Cannot find camera nikon_cpp7100 in index file (/reviews_data/boxshotindex.xml).

Note: This debug message is visible only to admins or in staging."

But it IS visible to me LOL and I'm not an admin, and I'm not in staging!

Comment edited 28 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Same and I get no pictures.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

0 upvotes

Clear your cache and refresh the page and all should be well, but we're looking into why you're getting that error.

0 upvotes

This camera is awesome for people who think red should be orange.

9 upvotes

LMAO!

2 upvotes

You're right...! The studio comparison shot prooves it.
How is it possible???
Does Nikon know about this?

0 upvotes

Except...if you look at the studio shot, you see quite a bit of red, all over the picture. It's just that the area sampled appears to be orange, not red. Is it possible that the other cameras are seeing red, when they should be seeing orange, a much subtler color with an RGB sensor?

0 upvotes

In RAW it is less orange I think (on my cheap tablet screen lol)

1 upvote

How many of You wiseguys take pictures of paperclips most of the time?

0 upvotes

Note: Image quality samples published prior to a review should be considered preview content, and may be subject to change. As such, neither images nor commentary on any aspect of a camera's performance published on dpreview.com should be regarded as absolutely 'final' except in the context of a full review.

0 upvotes

interesting, in the photos taken with the P7100 in the Nikon forum that people have posted the reds are red.

0 upvotes

@jorepuusa. I'm not a wise guy nor do I take pix of paperclips.Just an ordinary photo enthusiast who just loves this dpreview feature which I consider the most valuable on the web.

Just compared, for example, paperclips, noses, watches, feathers at 1600 ISO produced by Nikon P7100, Panasonic FZ150, Olympus XZ-1, Nikon V1 and Olympus latest Pen.
1) Surely there's a marginal difference between the Nikon 7100 and Panasonic FZ150 but personally I'd rather go for the Panasonic which is easier to handle, has a bigger zoom and better video.
2) For better image quality, I'd forget the 7100 and go for either the Nikon V1 or an Olympus EP (for the beautiful Olympus JPEG, effects and panorama). Rather than buying the Pen's 18-180 optics and optical viewfinder I might take a FZ150 for its better video, great zoom for travelling and tiltable screen.

So yes, the comparison shots of paperclips and cinzano labels is the main page I jump to.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 58


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