Nikon Coolpix P80 Review
Review Date: June 9th 2008
Author: Mark Goldstein
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 3Mb.
Noise
There are 9 ISO settings available on the Nikon Coolpix P80. Note that the image resolution is reduced to 3 megapixels for ISO 3200 and 6400. There is no discernible noise at the slowest settings of ISO 64 and 100, as you would expect, but at ISO 200 noise is already appearing. By ISO 400 it is very obvious, together with coloured artifacts and blurring of detail. ISO 800 is for emergency use only, whilst ISO 1600 and 2000 are virtually unusable. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 64 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 2000 (100% Crop) |
ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 6400 (100% Crop) |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little bit soft at the default sharpening setting, and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening levels using the Optimize Image setting if you don't like the default results.
Original
(100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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File Quality
The Nikon Coolpix P80 has 3 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
10M
Fine (2.45Mb) (100% Crop) |
10M
Normal (1.55Mb) (100% Crop) |
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10M
Basic (0.95Mb) (100% Crop) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Nikon Coolpix P80 handled chromatic aberrations fairly well during the review. Some purple fringing was present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
Example
1 (100% Crop) |
Example
2 (100% Crop) |
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Macro
The Nikon Coolpix P80 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is just 1cm away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Macro Shot |
100% Crop |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix P80 are Auto, Auto + Red-Eye reduction, Off, Fill Flash, Slow sync and Rear-curtain sync. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
Flash Off - Wide Angle (27mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (27mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (486mm) |
Auto Flash - Telephoto (486mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots. The Auto setting caused a tiny amount of red-eye, which the Red-eye reduction mode failed to remove.
Auto |
Auto (100% Crop) |
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Red-eye reduction |
Red-eye reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Nikon Coolpix P80's maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds, which is fairly good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 8 seconds, aperture of f/4.5 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Anti Shake
The Nikon Coolpix P80 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.
| Shutter Speed / Focal Length / Aperture | Anti Shake Off (100% Crop) |
Anti Shake On (100% Crop) |
| 1/8th / 155mm / f/4.5 |  |
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| 1/2th / 27mm / f/8 |  |
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Overall Image Quality
The Nikon Coolpix P80's image quality is above average. The Nikon Coolpix P80's main drawback in terms of image quality is noise, with the relatively slow speed of ISO 200 showing some noise, particularly in shadow areas. The noise gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 200 to ISO 400 and finally the virtually unusable ISO 800, 1600 and 2000 settings. The Nikon Coolpix P80 dealt with chromatic aberrations a little better, with purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 10 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera, but you can change the in-camera sharpening level if you wish. The night photograph was fine, with the maximum shutter speed of 8 seconds allowing you to capture just enough light for most situations. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with a little red-eye and good overall exposure. Macro performance is excellent, allowing you to focus as close as just 1cm away from the subject at the wide-angle lens setting. Anti-shake is an essential feature on a camera like this and one that works well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or using the telephoto end of the zoom range.
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