Front
The front of the P3/P4 is molded aluminum, curving gently toward both the right and left side for an easy handgrip. On the left side of the camera – from the user’s perspective – is the camera’s 3.5x Zoom-Nikkor lens, which extends when the camera is powered up and then pulls back so it’s flush with the body when powering down or in sleep mode. Below the lens to the right, from the user’s perspective, is a small round microphone. Above the lens to the left is a long rectangular flash housed in an oval hole of recessed aluminum. In the top center of the camera is its tiny porthole-like focusing light, resembling an optical viewfinder. The middle right of the front of the camera has the Nikon logo in white. Below that is the Coolpix P3/P4 logo in white and then below that, “VR” in red.
Back
The back of the P3/P4 is nearly as Spartan as the front, with a zoom rocker on the upper right hand side and a small menu button below. Below the menu button is a multi-controller and then two additional small buttons for playing back and trashing images. The rest of the backside of the camera is taken up by a 2.5-inch TFT LCD display housed in a raised aluminum frame. On the top of the frame is the Nikon logo in black.
Left Side
The left side of the camera is also rounded smooth aluminum with a small chrome lip on the top for the WiFi antenna, in the case of the P3. Two bolts on the left side of the camera lock in the antenna in a chrome housing. Below the housing on the bottom of the left side is a small speaker for playing back sound in movies.
Right Side
The right side is evenly finished aluminum with a port for USB and A/V in/out and a tiny recessed lug for the strap.
Top
The top right of the P3/P4 has a raised chrome housing for the smaller power button and larger steel shutter release button. A multi-controller wheel is in the center for the various scene modes and settings, including WiFi on the P3. On the left side of the top is small button to activate the VR feature and the raised chrome housing for the WiFi antenna on the P3
Bottom
The bottom of the camera has a sliding door on the right side for the optional SD memory card and battery and a tripod mount.
