Six new Coolpix cameras, including 60x ultrazoom Nikon P600; Wi-Fi equipped Nikon P340 enthusiast compact

 

 

With the photography-focused CP+ tradeshow in Japan just a week away, Nikon has today taken the wraps off six new Coolpix fixed-lens cameras: the Nikon P600, Nikon P530 and Nikon S9700 ultrazooms, Nikon P340 enthusiast compact, rugged all-weather Nikon AW120, and the affordable, lifeproof Nikon S32. All six cameras are slated to ship in the US market either later this month, or in March.

The 16-megapixel Nikon P600 (US$500; February) sets a new watermark for zoom reach in the Coolpix line, with a whopping 60x optical zoom lens. With SLR-like styling, the P600 boasts both an electronic viewfinder and a tilt/swivel LCD monitor, provides priority and fully manual exposure control, and includes built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. You can find much more on this model in our Nikon P600 preview.

 

The Nikon P600 ships in two color schemes, including an eyecatching black-and-red combo.

The Nikon P530 (US$450; February) is a little more affordable, and shares much of the same feature-set including a 16-megapixel backside-illuminated images sensor. It has a less far-reaching lens, though, and drops both the built-in Wi-Fi and the articulated LCD. Unless you feel you wouldn't need these features, the P600 strikes us as being the more interesting of the the two. If you plan on doing all your shooting through the viewfinder and you're not a social networking fan, though, take a look at our Nikon P530 preview for more details on this model.

More experienced photographers looking for a pocket-friendly, fixed-lens model will gravitate towards the 12.2-megapixel Nikon P340 (US$380; March), which sports a 1/1.7-inch sensor that's larger than those in most fixed-lens, compact cameras. It's a follow-up to last year's Coolpix P330, and in place of that camera's GPS receiver, the newer model has built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. It also now has click-stops on the control dial around the lens barrel, boasts 10% better battery life, and is just a touch lighter. Read our Nikon P340 preview for the full story.

 

The Nikon P340 replaces the P330's GPS receiver with a built-in Wi-Fi radio.

The 16-megapixel Nikon S9700 (US$350; February) fits most of the zoom range of the P530 into a much smaller package. It forgoes a viewfinder in the quest for a more compact body, while its lens is quite a bit dimmer and has only three iris blades, but that's the price you pay for a long-zoom body that will fit in a pocket. In other respects, though, it manages to pack in most of what its more expensive and bulkier sibling offers -- and occasionally, to beat it, as with its whopping 329MB of built-in memory and 300-shot battery life. Read our Nikon S9700 preview for more details.

 

The affordable Nikon S32 is more rugged than its looks -- or pricetag -- might suggest.

The Nikon AW120 (US$350; March) is also a 16-megapixel model, but it differentiates itself by being the most rugged of the group. Specifically, the AW120 is waterproof to 59 feet, shockproof to 6.6 feet, and freezeproof to 14°F. In other respects, it's pretty straightforward -- there's a stabilized 5x optical zoom lens, a three-inch Organic LED display, and a design that focuses more on ease-of-use, forgoing features like manual or priority control. More details on this lifeproof model can be found in our Nikon AW120 preview.

And finally, we come to the most affordable of the bunch -- the Nikon S32 (US$130; March.) This, too, is a rugged camera -- but not to the same degree as the AW120. Think of that model as the one you'd take skiing or scuba-diving, and this one as the one as the camera for a day trip to the beach. It's waterproof to 33 feet and shockproof to five feet. Features like a low-res 2.7-inch LCD monitor and smaller-than-average sensor make clear that the primary focus here is a low pricetag. If that fits the bill, you'll want to read our Nikon S32 preview.