Overview
The Nikon Coolpix 8700 is a 'high end' compact digital compact. Nikon have an excellent reputation with prosumer digital cameras and the Nikon Coolpix 8700 fits the bill with 8 megapixels and an 8x optical zoom lens. It is packed with features and is aimed at anyone who is serious about their photography. It has a full set of manual controls that provide you with all the flexibility you need to maintain complete control over the final image.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
8
8x
1.8 inches
113 x 105 x 78mm
480g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
10cm
No
Yes
Lithium-ion Rechargeable
CompactFlash/Microdrive
Features
Some of the many features of the Nikon Coolpix 8700 include:
LCD Monitor
1.8 inch colour monitor. Swivels through 270 degrees.
Automatic Mode
Fully automatic mode that allows you to switch the Nikon Coolpix 8700 on and start shooting.
Scene Modes
In all there are 12 pre programmed scene modes available. These modes are really a semi automatic mode. The preset scene modes available include portrait, landscape, beach/snow, party/indoors and sunset.
Two Custom Modes
The two custom modes allow you to set up the Nikon Coolpix 8700 however you wish to. You can then store these settings under the two different custom modes. If you wish you could set one for portrait photography and the other for landscape photography. Then all you would need to do is switch between the two and the camera is ready for action.
Aperture Setting and Shutter Speeds
There are a wide range of aperture and shutter speed settings available. Available apertures range from f/2.8-f/8. It should be noted that the smallest apertures are not available when the zoom is fully extended. Shutter speeds can be varied between 1/4000 seconds to eight seconds. There is also a bulb mode that lets you keep the shutter open for up to 10 minutes. You can place the camera in fully manual mode and set both the size of the aperture and the shutter speed or you can set the shutter speed leaving the camera to select the size of the aperture or you can set the aperture, leaving the camera to set the shutter speed. Alternatively you can allow the camera to set both.
Image Formats
You can choose between three different types of file to store images. These are Jpeg, TIFF and NEF (RAW). You can also change the size of the image. This allows you to shoot using differing numbers of megapixels.
White Balance and Exposure Compensation Settings
There are seven white balance settings you can use in addition to allowing the camera to set white balance automatically. There are settings for daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, speedlight, shade and white balance preset. White balance can also be fine tuned in each of the settings other than auto and white balance preset.
Metering
There are four different methods of metering that you can choose between, 256-segment Matrix, Center-Weighted, Spot, and AF Spot.
Best Shot Selector
You use Best Shot Selector when the light is poor. The Nikon Coolpix 8700 captures up to 10 images. It then works out which one is the sharpest and stores only that one on the memory card. There is also a best shot selector for exposure. In this mode up to five shots are taken and the best one in terms of shadow and detail is saved on the memory card.
Flash Settings
There are five separate flash settings. These are auto, off, auto with red eye reduction, anytime flash or fill in flash and slow sync flash for night time shooting.
Hot Shoe
There is a hot shoe for adding an external flash gun. Other accessories you may wish to consider include wide angle, telephoto and fish eye lens converters.
Others
Electronic viewfinder. Automatic and manual focus control, with adjustable focus area. ISO range 50 - 400. AF Assist Lamp. Continuous shooting.
Image Quality
At the end of the day this is what it all boils down to. It doesn't matter who many features the camera has the big question is can the Nikon Coolpix 8700 take great pictures. In my opinion it can. It has a lot to live up to. The Coolpix range has always performed very well at the top end of the market and this model happily continues the trend.
The thing that has struck me the most is the sharpness of the images it produces. They really are pin sharp. Colours were also faithfully reproduced. Two types of images that particularly impressed me were macro shots and night photography. Macro shots producing exceptionally fine detail.
One area that could be improved is that there is a noticeable drop off in picture quality at higher ISO speeds. Whilst pictures captured at ISO 50 were almost crystal clear, push the ISO levels up to 200 and above and noise levels begin to creep up.
Ease of Use
Obviously with its wide range of features it takes a considerable time to get to grips with everything the Nikon Coolpix 8700 has to offer. As I said at the start of the review the camera is aimed fairly and squarely at the photographic enthusiast. Having said that, for anyone who would like to develop their interest in photography then this camera should provide a very good starting point. Although there is little point in leaving the camera in fully automatic mode, as you would learn very little from this, there are a number of settings you can change when you get started, such as white balance and exposure compensation. Once you are up and running you can move on to using Aperture and Shutter Priority modes. This is where you set either the aperture size or shutter speed and the camera then works out the best setting for you.
For a camera with so many controls I found the menu system to be fairly straightforward and with the fast buttons and control dial on the top and side of the camera you could find in surprisingly easy to find your way around and get to know the Nikon Coolpix 8700.
Cost
You should expect to pay between £750 and £800 for the Nikon Coolpix 8700. That is a little more than some of its rivals with a similar specification such as the Canon Powershot Pro1, Sony Cybershot F828 and the Olympus C-8080.
Style
The style of the Nikon Coolpix 8700 is similar to that of a traditional SLR even though it doesn't offer interchangeable lenses. It is black and gives a very good feel in the hands. It's hardly likely to slip into your pocket unless you have one the size of a bucket and if you don't already have a camera bag I would strongly recommend either getting one or at least making sure it comes with a case, as my model didn't. To be honest when you are paying over £750 for a digital camera I don't think a protective case is too much to ask for.
Batteries / Memory Cards
Power is supplied to the Nikon Coolpix 8700 by a single rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the Nikon EN-EL1. This is supplied with the camera. It can also use a non rechargeable 2CR5 battery. External battery packs are also an option if you are looking for more power. Battery life is one of the things that could be better in fact as the Nikon Coolpix 8700 tends to run down the battery rather quickly.
Images are stored on either Compact Flash cards or on a Microdrive. It is worth noting that taking 8 megapixels shots soon fill up a memory card. As an absolute minimum I would suggest 128 megabyte cards, but even these get full very quickly indeed.
Conclusion
The Nikon Coolpix 8700 is an excellent addition to the ever growing range of digital cameras. The image quality really takes the eye and with an 8 megapixel capacity it is excels at producing large prints. If you are prepared to add an external flashlight and a couple of lens converters then you have a very smart, all round performer.
Obviously if you are looking for a camera just for holiday snaps and a few family portraits then this isn't the camera for you, but if you are looking for something to really get your teeth into then the Nikon Coolpix 8700 certainly hits the right spot.
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