Nikon Coolpix P2 review

Wireless is where it's at just now, and digital cameras are no exception.

Nikon has led the field with wireless image transfer using an optional bolt-on transmitter for its D2 professional-series camera since 2003, so it comes as little surprise to see the technology filter down to its consumer compacts, starting with the Coolpix P2.

This 5-megapixel camera supports the IEEE 802.11g standard by means of a built-in transmitter. This means you can wirelessly transfer digital photos from the P2 directly to an AirPort-equipped Mac or one connected to a wireless access point. For the latter, you need to know the relevant SSID (access-point name) and WEP code (password), or create a new computer-to-computer network. Happily, though, you can create up to nine separate profiles for each connection.

Installation really couldn't be easier for either method: we got everything up and running and transferred four 800KB Jpegs in less than 10 minutes to our PowerBook using a base station situated nearly 30ft away. Sadly, connecting directly to a Mac, even one equipped with the faster AirPort Extreme card, causes the P2 to switch to the slower 802.11b standard. You can choose to transfer images straight into iPhoto or use Nikon's supplied PictureProject.

Furthermore, you can include a printer connected to the Mac in one of the P2's device profiles to enable wireless printing directly from the camera. Or, if you prefer to print without a computer, an optional wireless adaptor is available for PictBridge-compatible printers.

Sadly, unlike its rival, Kodak's Wi-Fi EasyShare One, the Coolpix P2 can't email images directly, nor can it connect to hotspots, which is rather a lost opportunity.

Nevertheless, it does have some handy features - for example, you can set it up to automatically compare the photos stored on your Mac and those on your camera to prevent duplication during transfer. You can select the shots you do wish to transfer directly from the Mac, although this is the only feature you can control in this way.

The Coolpix is seriously compact, but it isn't quite what we would call a pocket camera, chiefly due to its large handgrip and bulbous lens housing. On the plus side, the battery is of the wafer-thin but long-lasting Lithium rechargeable variety, and the lens has a slightly wider than usual 3.5x range (36-126mm equivalent).

Unfortunately, there's no room for an optical viewfinder, which means you're stuck with the large, 2.5in transflective screen for composing your shots. This LCD uses sunlight to aid backlighting, but it's still difficult to set up your shots unless the screen is adequately shaded.

Overall, however, the P2 handles well and is easy to operate. Thanks to an icon-driven display, the menu is clear and concise. You select most shooting modes from the dial on the top plate, and although there's no manual exposure option, the camera boasts aperture-priority, program and auto modes, as well as more scene presets than you can shake a stick at.

Its response times won't exactly set the world alight, though: start-up and shot-to-shot times, and the 2.5 frames per second continuous-shooting mode with a five-frame buffer are pretty average.

The quality of the images captured by the Coolpix P2 is on a par with most of its rivals, with comfortably low noise levels and good white balance, but colours are a little muted. Distortion and fringing are minimal and images are pin-sharp.

In short, the Coolpix P2 hasn't made as much of Wi-Fi as it could have. Kodak's £450 EasyShare One is much more versatile, although it's let down by its higher price, large size, 4 megapixels and cumbersome handling. If you must have a Wi-Fi camera, then the Nixon Coolpix P2 is the one to buy; otherwise, there are better-value 5-megapixel cameras available.