Nikon Coolpix P100

Resolution (6.43)

Resolution is always a challenge for a camera with the kind of extreme zoom offered here, but even in that context the Nikon P100 is distinctly disappointing, scoring significantly lower than other available ultrazooms.

Here again, the Nikon P100 takes a step backward from its predecessor, which was already a considerable step behind in the vital resolution category compared to the Canon SX1 and Sony HX1. More on how we test resolution.

Distortion (4.19)

The P100 starts at an unusually wide 26mm angle, great for getting lots of panoramic goodness into your shots (or squeezing in a group shot in close quarters), but you do pay a price when it comes to distortion. The 3.45% barrel distortion when shooting at the widest angle will be readily apparent in straight line curvature, particularly in foreground objects. Distortion is less extreme at the longer distances, but still higher than desirable at 1.50% pincushioning at the midrange and over 1% at full zoom. As shown below, distortion has gotten a bit worse since the previous-generation P90, and looks positively miserable against the 20x Sony HX1.

Sharpness (8.56)

Sharpness is at its best at the widest lens settings, but zooming out toward the high end of the telephoto range produces a lot of softness complete with readily visible image sharpening artifacts. You can use the images, but you can’t use them at large sizes, or crop them aggressively.

Chromatic Aberration (4.46)

Poor chromatic aberration performance completes the low-score resolution trifecta, as displayed in the color fringing shown in the same-size image crops below.

Quality & Size Options (8.58)

You have a nice range of image sizes at your disposal here, including the option to shoot in 3:2, 1:1 and widescreen 16:9 aspect ratios.

There are three JPEG compression settings; fine (1:4 compression), Normal (1:8 compression) and Basic (1:16 compression). The P100 does not support RAW shooting.

Image Stabilization (0.02)

The Nikon P100 optical image stabilization system intentionally ignores movement in the primary direction the camera is traveling (horizontal or vertical), and only compensates for movement in the other direction. In other words, if you’re moving the camera horizontally, it only attempts to compensate for vertical camera shake. We see this type of stabilization offered as an option on some cameras, but here it’s the only way to go, and that caused problems in our stabilization testing. If the system were implemented properly, it would have differentiated between panning around an axis and moving the entire camera from side to side. It didn’t, producing blurrier photos when stabilization was turned on than when it was disabled. More on how we test image stabilization.

Stabilization Comparisons
Nikon P100	Nikon P90	Canon SX1 IS	Sony DSC-HX1
Stabilization Off
Stabilization On