Nikon Coolpix P7700 Review

Overview

The Nikon Coolpix P7700 is slightly different than the previous version of the camera, the P7100, released in 2011.  Probably the most significant change is that the newer camera uses a 1/1.7 inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor, for better low light image quality and faster continuous shooting speed, compared to the 1/1.7 inch CCD sensor of the older camera.  Other important changes are that the newer camera has an LCD that's fully articulated rather than tilting only, though it lacks the previous version's tunnel viewfinder.  The Coolpix P7700 has an improved video mode that can record in 1080p and can record at up to 120 frames per second, for slow motion video.  It retains the older camera's 7.1x optical zoom (28-200mm, 35mm film camera equivalent), but has a wider aperture throughout (F2.0-4.0 compared to F2.8-5.6) which further improves its low light image quality.  Like the older camera, the Coolpix P7700 can also shoot in RAW mode.  It has a hotshoe for a separate flash and inputs for a remote control, a stereo microphone and a GPS, all of which are available separately.  While the Coolpix P7700 does have an auto mode it's not given much emphasis as the camera is obviously geared towards the more advanced photographer.

The Nikon P7700 is available for around $450.

Build and Design

The Coolpix P7700 has a very solid body which weighs almost 14 ounces (392 grams) including battery and memory card.  It's mostly metal, with plastic dials, a rubber-coated hand grip and a three-inch LCD screen which can be turned face-in while the camera is not being used.  Its dimensions are 2.9 inches (72.5mm) high, 4.7 inches (118.5mm) wide and 2.0 inches (50.4mm) thick.  Its lens protrudes about 3/4 of an inch when the camera is off.

The camera comes with a lens cap (which is not tethered to the camera), lithium-ion battery, battery charger, neck strap, USB cable, AV cable, Quick Start Guide and two CD-Roms, one of which contains the full version of the manual and the other Nikon's photo organizing software, ViewNX2.  The camera is available in black only. 

Ergonomics and Controls

Although the Coolpix P7700 is not a small camera, it has a rubberized grip on the right side which, along with the thumb rest at the camera's rear, makes it comfortable to use with one hand.  The lens is large, compared to the size of the camera, due to the relatively large size of the camera's sensor.  The lens contains a removable ring, which allows for the addition of a filter.  A lens hood can be attached to the lens ring.  The front of the camera also contains a combination self-timer/auto focus assist lamp, two pinholes for the stereo microphone and an infrared remote receiver.  There's a popup flash that's activated by a small switch at the camera's rear.

The top of the camera contains a hotshoe for adding a separate flash, an on/off button that's flush to the surface and a shutter button with the zoom control wrapped round it.  The rear of the camera is dominated by the large, three inch diagonal, 921,000 dot LCD in a 4x3 aspect ratio.  The LCD fully articulates to allow viewing from all angles.  Nikon recommends that the LCD be turned inward when the camera is not in use and the camera will not turn on when the LCD is in that position.  The camera contains three covered ports - one for a GPS, another for a microphone and a third for a USB cord and an HDMI plug.  The camera's bottom plate contains a metal tripod socket and the battery/memory card compartment covered by a solid, plastic door.  The camera can use SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards.

The Coolpix P7700 is clearly constructed with the goal of putting as much control as possible in the hands of the photographer, as it has a host of buttons and dials.  There are programmable function buttons at both the front and top of the camera.  The top plate contains a main control dial, with selections for auto, program, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, movie, custom movie settings, scene modes, effects modes and three user-defined settings.  There's also a quick menu dial that allows access to image quality and size, ISO, white balance, auto bracketing, menu customization and image control.  A third dial controls exposure settings.  In addition, there are two knurled command dials that can be used for navigating both the quick menu and the main menu.  The rear of the camera contains buttons for display, exposure/focus lock, playback, delete and menu activation, plus a circular menu control dial.  After a short learning curve I found the extra level of control to be very useful.  Curiously, the Coolpix P7700 does not have a dedicated movie button, which is present in almost all compact cameras and even in many DSLRs.

Menus and Modes

The main menu is activated by pressing the menu button, though the available selections depend on the mode selected on the main control dial.  The quick menu dial activates the shortcut menu, which augments the selections on the main control dial.  Various menu functions can be programmed to be called up instantly by the two function buttons and the three user-defined settings on the main control dial.

Here are the shooting modes on the main control dial: 

• Auto Mode:  The camera selects basic settings, leaving only minimal control for the user.  Menu options are limited to settings (including vibration reduction, which is Nikon's version of optical image stabilization).
• Program Auto Mode:  The camera selects most settings but different combinations of aperture and shutter speed can be chosen by rotating one of the command dials.  Menu options add a shooting menu with many different settings, including a built-in ND (neutral density) filter, which will reduce the amount of light coming into the camera, distortion control, active D-lighting which preserves details in high contrast shots, and a continuous mode which gives the user numerous continuous shooting options from single shots to up to 120 frames per second (at a reduced resolution).  An interesting continuous mode option is a "best shot" selector which will take numerous shots of an image and preserve the sharpest one.  There is also an interval mode, in which the camera can be programmed to take a shot every 30 seconds, one minute, five minutes or 10 minutes.

Active D-Lighting Off                                                     Active D-Lighting On 

• Shutter Priority Mode:  Allows access to all camera functions, including shutter speed, except the camera will set the aperture.
• Aperture Priority Mode:  Allows access to all camera functions, including aperture, except the camera will set the shutter speed.
• Manual Mode:  Allows access to all camera functions, including shutter speed and aperture.
• Movie Mode:  Can record movies at various resolutions from VGA (640 x 480) to 1080p (1920 x 1080) and at different frame rates from 15 fps (at 1080p) through 120 fps (at VGA).  Maximum movie length is 29 minutes or until the recording uses 4GB.  Wind noise reduction can be turned on.
• Custom Movie Mode:  Allows setting the aperture and shutter speed, focus mode (auto or manual) and effects mode (see below) during movie recording.
• Scene Mode:  Can be set to various scene modes including auto scene selector (camera selects the most appropriate scene mode), portrait, landscape, sports, night portrait, party, beach, snow, sunset, dusk/dawn, night landscape (camera takes continuous shots and combines them), close-up, food, museum, fireworks show, black and white copy, backlighting, panorama (easy panorama by sweeping the camera or panorama assist by "stitching" individual pictures together), pet portrait and 3D.

        Night Landscape 

• Effects Mode:  The camera can be set for nine special effects while shooting.  These include creative monochrome, painting, zoom exposure (create dynamic pictures radiated out from the center by zooming from wide angle to telephoto after the shutter is open and until it is closed), defocus during exposure (create pictures by varying focus slightly until the shutter closes), cross process (create images with an unusual hue by converting a positive color image into negative or negative color image into positive), soft, nostalgic sepia, high key and low key.

Creative Monochrome                                                  Painting

Cross Process                                                             Soft

Nostalgic Sepia                                                            High Key

Low Key

Display/Viewfinder

The Coolpix P7700 lacks the small, tunnel viewfinder that was in previous versions of the camera.  While the viewfinder was not accurate it was useful on sunny days when it's hard to view even an excellent LCD screen.

The three inch LCD of the Coolpix P7700 almost makes up for the loss of the viewfinder.  It's an extremely sharp screen with 921,000 dots of resolution in a 4:3 aspect ratio with an anti-reflective coating.  It can be set to five levels of brightness.  I found that it displayed sharp images, realistic colors and, when set at the maximum brightness level, was visible in even in sunny conditions.  The fact that the LCD is fully articulated adds greatly to its usefulness.  It permits you to see the screen whether the camera is held above your head, low to the ground or on the side.  Once you experience it, it's hard to go back to a fixed screen.