The IT Nerd

This week, Nikon was kind enough to provide me with the Coolpix P600 which is a compact camera with the ability to be run in a variety of automatic and pre-programmed modes which makes it easy to use. Alternately there is a manual mode that allows you to tweak the camera to your needs. Before I get to how well it takes pictures, let me tour you around the Coolpix P600:

It’s a very compact body that has a pop up flash that comes in handy.

On the side, it has a HDMI and USB port that’s covered by a rubber flap. You can use the HDMI port to play pictures and videos from the camera onto your TV.

All the controls are centralized on the right hand side of the body. The LCD (which is very clear and bright by the way.. Though it does attract finger prints and is not touch sensitive) has a trick to it:

It flips out and it swivels. That way you can protect the LCD by folding it into the body or use it like this. Also, you’ll note this rather eye catching red color that my test unit came in. If that’s too much for you, it does come in black. I should also note that the camera is really, really light.

Now some of the features of the Coolpix 600 that really stood out to me were:

• 16.1 MP Image Quality
• 60x optical zoom
• WiFi capability
• Vibration Reduction image stabilisation system
• 1080P Video

To test all of this out, I went to my usual location for taking photos which is Pearson Airport in Toronto.

First, let me speak about the WiFi capability because it’s not what you think. The use case for a camera having WiFi is to allow it to connect wireless to your iOS or Android device which is runs an app called Wireless Mobile Utility which is available for iOS and Android. Once you activate WiFi on the camera and find the camera in the same manner that you would find an access point or WiFi router, you can then remotely control the camera (which while there is a slight lag, it does work), see the pictures that are on the camera, and pull them onto the phone so you can Instagram them or post them to Facebook for example. You can also see the battery life of the camera and use your phone’s GPS sensor to geotag pictures. While all of this worked as advertised when I tested it with my iPhone 5s, the camera and phone randomly disconnected twice during my testing at Pearson Airport forcing me to reconnect them. I have no explanation as to why nor could I reproduce anywhere else. So I have to assume but I cannot prove that the environment around Pearson Airport was somehow responsible for this behavior.

Now let me get to the image quality. First, here’s a picture in auto mode. Click the image to see it in full resolution:

The fact that this camera has a 60X optical zoom allowed me to take a couple of really great shots. Here are a couple of examples. Click the images to see them in full resolution: 

The Coolpix P600 has the ability to shoot full-resolution stills at up to 7 frames per second simply by pressing and holding the shutter. There is also a slower burst mode, called Continuous L, in which the frame rate drops to 1fps, but you can capture up to 30 full-resolution photos at the Large quality setting. However, you cannot use the flash in either of these settings which limits how useful this feature is. That limitation didn’t come into play for me while I was at Pearson Airport as I was taking pictures in daylight and was about to use the ability to 7 frames per second just fine.

Now over to the video capabilities. I have two videos for your review. Both could have used the wind reduction feature that this camera has but I didn’t turn on. But they will still give you a good idea of what the Coolpix P600 can do. Make sure you set the videos to full screen and 1080p.

As long as you have a large enough memory card, this camera can easily double as a video camera and will will get good results.

Low light and night shots are something that you may have to figure out what settings work best for you. I had to turn off the flash but leave it in auto mode to get these shots. Click the images to see them in full resolution:

Finally, the battery life is outstanding. I took over 150 shots and I had just under 3/4 battery battery life left. That fits in with Nikon’s claim of 330 pictures from a single charge. If you’re someone who needs a camera that will take pictures all day and beyond. The Coolpix P600 is the one for you. On a related note, the charger that charges the removable battery supports 100 – 240 volts (Though you cannot plug it into anything other than a North American outlet. That will force you to acquire an adapter if you travel overseas), or you can plug into your computer to charge the battery via USB.

Gripes? The only one that I could come up with is that it doesn’t support the RAW format. That means for advanced users, they don’t get the option to shoot an image that is minimally processed for use in Photoshop or Aperture. The filpside to that point is that those who care about this will likely go looking for a digital SLR.

Nikon lists the Coolpix P600 for $449.95 Canadian. It’s at a nice price point between digital SLRs and very basic point and shoot digital cameras. That makes sense seeing as it’s aimed at the intermediate user who has grown out of basic point and shoot digital cameras, but isn’t ready or willing to make the jump to an digital SLR. If that’s you, then you should check out the Nikon Coolpix 600 at your local camera store.