Nikon Coolpix P50 Concise Review
Review based on a production Nikon Coolpix P50
The Coolpix P50 is Nikon's attempt at a middle-ground camera: it's neither a point-and-shoot-only ultra compact nor a fully-fledged photographers' camera. Instead it's a pocketable digital camera that marries a sensible sensor to a useful lens and keeps the frills (and the cost), to a minimum. This is a camera to take everyday photos with, rather than one for getting particularly serious about photography. But in such a crowded market does the P50 have what it takes to make it onto our recommended list? Let's find out. Let's start by having a look at the headline features.
- 8.1 Megapixels and 3.6x wide-angle zoom
- Face priority mode
- In-Camera Red-Eye Fix
- D-Lighting
- SDHC card compatibility
- Approx. 52 MB of internal memory
The P50 processing incorporates Nikon's Expeed "processing concept." This doesn't mean that it has the same processor as the Nikon D300 or D3 (in fact Nikon says that it doesn't refer to any specific parts or features). Instead, "Expeed" refers to "Nikon's original comprehensive concept of digital image processing... a system that embodies Nikon's intense passion for digital images." Which doesn't appear to mean a lot more than: 'contains Nikon picture cleverness.'
Coolpix P50 Specifications
| Street price | • $170 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Plastic with rubber grip |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5 " Type CCD |
| Image sizes | • 3264 x 2448 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 30fps |
| File formats | • JPEG Exif 2.2 • DCF • DPOF 1.1 • AVI Motion JPEG with WAVE monaural |
| Lens | • 4.7-17.0mm (28-102mm equiv) |
| Image stabilization | No (Electronic only) |
| Conversion lenses | None |
| Digital zoom | up to 4x |
| Focus | Contrast-detect TTL |
| AF area modes | • Face priority • Auto (9-area automatic selection) • Center • Manually-selected AF area (99 positions) |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | Closest 1cm |
| Metering | • 256 segment matrix |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto (64-1000) |
| Exposure compensation | • +/- 2EV • in 1/3 stop increments |
| Shutter speed | 15-1/2000 sec (With noise reduction for exposures over 1.3 seconds) |
| Aperture | F2.8-5.6 |
| Modes | • Auto • Program • Manual • Movie • Time Lapse • Special Scenes |
| Scene modes | • Portrait |
| White balance | • Auto |
| Self timer | • 2 or 10secs • Custom |
| Continuous shooting | approx 1.3fps until card is full |
| Image parameters | My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color) |
| Flash | • Auto |
| Viewfinder | Real-image optical viewfinder |
| LCD monitor | • 2.4-inch P-Si TFT • 115,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • AV out |
| Print compliance | • PictBridge |
| Storage | • SD / SDHC / MMC card compatible • 58MB internal |
| Power | • AA batteries (Alkaline, Lithium or NiMH) • Optional AC adapter kit |
| Other features | None |
| Weight (No batt) | 160 g (5.6 oz) |
| Dimensions | 94.5 x 66 x 44 mm (3.7 x 2.5 x 1.7 inch) |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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