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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

The new point-and-shoot camera from Nikon tags a competitive price of Rs 16,950, says Meenal Singh.

Nikon Coolpix P330 is a new compact camera that comes with optical zoom up to 5x, and houses a wide-angle zoom lens ranging from 24 to 120mm, having a maximum aperture of f/1.8.

The company aims to sell this camera to users, who look for more creative control over a regular point-and-shoot, but are wary of the bulk of a DSLR. Let's take a closer look at Nikon Coolpix P330 that comes loaded with plenty of features.

REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

Body design

It has a solid grip that gives a boxy feel with its rubberised thumb rest over the metal body, on the left. The camera with a classy appeal is light enough to be carried along.

The physical controls are quite accessible for single-handed shooting coupled with easy control of shutter speed and mode dialing, while shooting on manual mechanism.

From the perspective of ergonomics, the front fascia of the camera is quite flat, however, the raised bump of the rubber lets one get a tighter and firmer hold onto it.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

Performance

The camera complements its sharp looks with a stunning performance. The mode dial allows one to choose from Portrait mode, Full Auto mode, Shutter Priority mode (S), Aperture Priority mode (A), Full Manual mode (M), Scene mode, User Defined mode (U) and a Night Picture mode.

The on-off button lies amid two large dials to make the mode and shutter speed control, easy to operate. When the power button is pressed into its groove, one is saved from hitting it by chance while shooting, thus making it a safe, smart feature.

The Nikon Coolpix P330 comes with User Defined mode, the Aperture priority mode, the Full Manual mode and a Shutter priority mode and shows the flexibility of a DSLR, when someone can get started by popping open the bottom and insert the battery and memory card.

The camera has the capability to take up SD, SDHC, SDXC cards. However, the placing of memory card slot at the bottom is not justified, for after the camera is mounted on a tripod, one needs to take off the tripod to change the memory card.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

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Before starting the camera, one needs to set up information like date, time, language preference and the country one is in. Following which the ISO settings could be set up or left to the default Auto mode.

There is a function button at the front of the camera, to allocate a function of one's own choice like changing ISO, etc. The camera really takes off after the focus has been set.

The images can be saved in both RAW and JPEG formats, and the image quality setting must be set to fine, if the JPEG mode is selected. The camera has a Standard setting by default.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

The screen at the back is brightly lit and sharp such that, even on a sunny day one does not have much trouble with the viewfinder.

As the camera offers an aperture of f/1.8 measure, great pictures can be taken by setting up the ISO to 400. The placement of the dials over the top might make one go for the wrong dial, but ceases to matter, once one has learnt to use the camera.

A great feature that marks the camera is its ability to alert the user to use flash and if not required, one can shut the same to prevent it from popping again, and if needed, used manually.

The lens of the camera is optically stabilised. The camera comes with in-built GPS system that records the location of the photos. Also, the camera has Wi-Fi functionality that can be activated by attaching WU-1A mobile adapter accessory that comes at an additional cost of Rs 3,510.

The camera sports a 3-inch wide screen with 912k dots.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

Focusing

With half-press of the shutter, the autofocus kicks in, and in about 0.25 seconds, the image gets focused. Even if one misses the focus while the lens is impacted by sunlight, the camera adapts itself to give a clear image.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

Image quality

The DLSR kind of image cannot be obtained with point and shoots, but P330 does not disappoint, and using RAW mode and aperture, the ultimate quality of image can be had even if cropped in full zoom.

Also, the backlit sensor in P330 helps to achieve some great images.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

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Video

The camera can shoot videos in Full HD 1080p format. In case the memory space on the card is about to run out, the videos can be taken in 720p or 480p resolutions.

One can even catch a snap by pressing the shutter button while recording a video, provided, one can ignore the sound of the shutter button that gets recorded.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

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Battery

Nikon Coolpix P330 derives its power from EN-EL-12 lithium-ion battery. With full charge, one can obtain 200 shots. To charge the camera, one need not take the battery out, but merely connect it to the USB port.

The battery can be charged by plugging it with a separate charger, to be bought separately.

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REVIEW: Nikon Coolpix P330

Last updated on: June 20, 2013 18:01 IST

Verdict

At a price of Rs 16,950, P330 is quite competitive. Even though, the grid to help frame the shots isn't available and functions like swapping of aperture control and shutter control is not possible, the function button is quite impressive and the user mode evens it out by the ease with which the camera can be operated.

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