Nikon Coolpix P80 review

Big numbers sell cameras.

More megapixels, longer zooms, larger screens - all these things look great on websites and on showroom tickets. Most aren't of any great significance in themselves, but the exception is zoom range. Ultra-zoom cameras let you frame subjects far more creatively, and can give a massive boost to your shooting.

Nikon has been quiet on the ultra-zoom front for a few years, but the P80 puts it back in the running. Its 18x zoom stretches from wide angle to extreme telephoto; only Olympus's SP-570 UZ betters it, with its 20x zoom. The P80's 10 megapixel sensor and 2.7 inch screen are impressive too, although all three specifications are matched by Panasonic's recently announced FZ28.

As usual, the qualities that separate the great from the good can't be found in the specifications, only in testing. The P80 fared well in some areas, such as handling and ergonomics. The rubber-clad handgrip felt secure and comfortable, the controls fell neatly under our fingers, and a command dial made it easy to adjust exposure settings. It's disappointing that ISO speed and continuous shooting are only available via the menus. Performance was acceptable, but only just. The autofocus took at least a second to lock onto subjects, which contributed to a four second wait to shoot from startup. Continuous shooting ran at 1.2 frames per second, but slowed to half that after 13 shots.

Image quality had its ups and downs. Our test shots showed flattering colours and plenty of detail in bright light. But higher resolution sensors are more susceptible to noise in low light, and Nikon's 10 megapixel chip struggled. The P80's digital processing did a good job of trying to hide the noise, and sharply defined lines were reasonably clean, but darker shades and subtle textures looked scruffy. Worse, focus deteriorated towards the telephoto end of the zoom, capturing no more detail in faraway subjects at its full 18x stretch than at its 12x setting.

There's not much seriously wrong with the P80, but neither is there anything to raise it above its competitors.