Nikon Coolpix P6000 Digital Camera

**Mastermind** · 24-03-2009

Nikon has enjoyed an enormous boost in popularity over the past year, which most photographers undoubtedly will have noticed. Nikon's digital SLR series is extremely successful, and not only for the professional. Both the entry-level model and the professional D3 have increased sales numbers, and Nikon seems to leap forward once again with the introduction of the Nikon D3x. This is all about DSLR cameras, which is quite striking indeed. The Nikon Coolpix camera series is a totally different call.

Nikon Coolpix compact cameras & digitale SLR cameras
The market share of the Coolpix camera shows a vast difference to that of Nikon’s digital SLR cameras. The figures are proof of the difficulty Nikon encounters when it comes to the compact camera segment. It seems that these segments are so separate that they hardly seem to affect one another, if even at all. Nikon revealed a strategy in 2007 which should increase sales numbers of the DSLR and compact cameras. The DSLR as well as the compact camera segment required growth. And here we are, two years later, only to see that the Coolpix camera has turned out to be the problem child.

Nikon P6000 with GPS, LAN and RAW support
In August 2008, Nikon introduced its flagship, the Nikon Coolpix P6000. Since this camera was considered to be the answer to the popular PowerShot G series, expectations were sky-high. Raw was absolutely required and a wide angle of a minimum of 28mm compulsory. The camera should offer extensive manual possibilities as well as be able to surprise the user. On paper, the specifications have interesting options; such as the integrated GPS and LAN support.

**Mastermind** · 24-03-2009

HANDLING & FEEL

The Nikon Coolpix P6000 body design retains the general dimensions of the P5100, except that it is slightly wider (9mm) to accomodate the extra built-in GPS Antenna. The handgrip and Mode Dial have acquired a rougher texture. The onboard flash now pops up. The Command Dial is slightly smaller and the Accessory Shoe has moved from the left top to center top. A small design change most people might not even notice is the "Nikon" name is now etched neater on the body, is slightly bigger, and adds to the overall professional finish.

The P6000 is relatively light and is medium compact, which means that it can be carried in a large trousers pocket, a coat pocket or a handbag. A magnesium alloy front panel provides the necessary strength to support the attachment of optional lenses to the body; to allow that, the lens ring screws right off. The 4x optical zoom retracts into the body with a convenient built-in lens cover.

As was the case for the P5100, the Nikon P6000 is attractive in its black body with a few silver and chrome accents. It has a handgrip that is covered with a new non-slip textured rubber and allows you to hold it very comfortably and securely. The angled shutter-release button, handy Command Dial, Mode Dial and well placed control buttons all contribute to make the P6000 intuitive to use.

Startup time has improved to about 1 sec. Shot to shot time (JPEG 13M Fine) is still a bit long at about 2.5 sec. (I took 4 shots in approx. 10 sec.). There is no practical shutter lag in good light. Autofocus is fast in good light though it will sometimes hunt in low-light.

It takes about 7 sec. to save a RAW file and so shot to shot time for RAW is about 7.5 sec. (4 shots in 30 sec.). You can process the NRW (RAW) image directly in-camera or in post processing using Adobe Camera Raw 5 and Photoshop Lightroom 2. Open-sourced RAW decoder DCRaw lists the P6000 as a supported format. SilkyPix Developer Studio 3.0 supports the P6000 in its commercial version. Aperture 2 has added P6000 support. Note that the NRW (RAW) file format is not [yet?] supported by Capture NX.