I have been a big fan of Nikon cameras for many years - all my 35mm cameras are Nikon and my F90x and F5 are amongst my most favourite cameras. Like Nokia mobile phones, Nikon cameras are operate in a similar way - the Coolpix P6000 is no exception. This camera definitely owes much of it's heritage to the Nikon SLRs - both 35mm and digital - that have gone before it.Form factor
It was the form of the P6000 that initially drew me to it. It has a kind of retro appearance with a large knurled knob and a hot shoe on top. Very reminiscent of my FM2 (another Nikon 35mm favourite).
If you are looking for an ultra compact digital camera, this is NOT the one for you. I have an Olympus FE-300 which I use for work. It is a 12MB compact and fits easily into my bag without me noticing it. I use it for recording whiteboards during meetings etc. For this purpose, it works really well. However, it is just too slow to use on the move (I tried, unsuccessfully, to photograph an otter swimming underwater while at the Seattle aquarium recently - the delay between the button being depressed and the shutter firing made it just about impossible). The lack of a viewfinder does not help either.
The P6000 is small enough to fit into a large pocket and has a great solid "chunky" feel to it. It feels like an F5 version of a digital compact. The body is made of magnesium alloy and is covered in part by a coarse rubber grip (which probably explains the similarity with the F5!).
The good bits
It is a well designed camera. The layout of the controls will feel familiar to a Nikon SLR user. The command wheel is used to great advantage. The layout feels as if it really has been thoroughly thought through. For example, if you are in playback mode (viewing images) and half press the shutter button, the camera flips back into camera mode. Pressing the "Delete" key immediately after taking a picture will delete it without the need to go into playback mode. Although just small touches, these do make a difference to the overall handling of the camera.
Most of the camera's settings can be set manually and there are a features that you would not expect on a compact (e.g. real curtain sync, auto bracketing, manual focus). There are even a couple of user definable user modes that can be configured.
Power up. The camera seems to power up almost immediately and, in use, there is negligible delay between depressing the button and the shutter firing.
Lens. This works really well, particularly in macro mode. It could probably do with a slightly longer focal length (x4 optical zoom), but works well as is.
Picture quality. Both picture resolution (13MB) and colour rendition is absolutely stunning (which is probably what you would expect).
Face recognition. This works well in "portrait" mode and instantly detected faces. I could even get it to recognise a face from a print on my desk. See ?????. The camera focuses on the face, even if it is off centre.
GPS. This took a while, probably 30-40 minutes, to locate the satellites once it was initially powered up. But after this, it worked well. Obviously, outdoors will produce the best results, but it still managed to find a satellite signal while sat at my desk next to the window. It seems pretty accurate. However, when moving from location to location, it can take up to 10 minutes to locate the satellites. This gets a bit annoying after a while.
Power up. The camera seems to power up almost immediately and, in use, there is negligible delay between depressing the button and the shutter firing.
Lens. This works really well, particularly in macro mode. It could probably do with a slightly longer focal length (x4 optical zoom), but works well as is.
Picture quality. Both picture resolution (13MB) and colour rendition is absolutely stunning (which is probably what you would expect).
Face recognition. This works well in "portrait" mode and instantly detected faces. I could even get it to recognise a face from a print on my desk. See ?????. The camera focuses on the face, even if it is off centre.
GPS. This took a while, probably 30-40 minutes, to locate the satellites once it was initially powered up. But after this, it worked well. Obviously, outdoors will produce the best results, but it still managed to find a satellite signal while sat at my desk next to the window. It seems pretty accurate. However, when moving from location to location, it can take up to 10 minutes to locate the satellites. This gets a bit annoying after a while.
All in all a great little camera. Solidly built and really easy to use.
