Coolpix P80 and 18x Nikkor zoom

published : Thursday, April 10, 2008 | model : NIKON Coolpix P80

Theme : Digital Photography | Bridge cameras

Nikon Coolpix P80, like lost of bridge cameras, is based on an ambitious lens thanks to its optical range.

Nikon COOLPIX P80 Digital Camera

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349.00 $

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399.99 $

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348.99 $

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369.95 $

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397.99 $

Here, the P80 has a 18x optical zoom which is the equivalent of a 27-432mm (F2,8 - F4,4). The 27mm wide angle focal length will be most welcome for landscape or of group photography. The built of this Nikkor zoom consists of 14 elements divided into 5 groups and uses 4 aspherical lenses.

The objective is not optically stabilized yet, the Coolpix P80 offers a mechanical image stabilization: the sensor moves to balance camera shake. In the same way, a function called “High ISO” gives priority to high shutter speeds (through high ISO values) depending on the selected scene mode. We highly regret though, that no manual zoom ring has been implemented by Nikon's engineers on this little bridge camera. It would have been quite useful to switch from wide angle to tele mode in a second. Serious amateurs are very cautious about this king of missing details. Yet, the P80 offers a nice macro mode which allows focus as near as 1 cm of the subject.