For over ten years I have always owned at least one “pro-sumer” (the ones that have a black painted magnesium body, offer manual controls, and support the RAW NEF image format) level Coolpix camera. As a matter of fact I still have a Coolpix 8800, but I very rarely use it any more and have passed it on to my 10 year old son. He loves the long zoom and the fact that it does not weigh as much as my Nikon D300.
After the Coolpix 8800 was discontinued and inexpensive digital SLRs were introduced, Nikon stopped making the high end “pro-sumer” Coolpix cameras and left the compact “pro-sumer” market to Canon, Ricoh and Panasonic / Leica. That is until August of 2008 when Nikon introduced the Coolpix P6000.
Coolpix P6000 Main Features:
* 13.5 effective megapixels for high-resolution images
* 4x Zoom-NIKKOR lens with 28mm wide-angle capability
* 2.7-inch high-resolution wide-viewing angle LCD monitor with anti-reflection coating
* External flash and wide-angle converter lens options
* RAW file format support*1
* Optical lens shift VR image stabilization
* Wired LAN connectivity, my Picturetown
* Built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) unit records the location (latitude and longitude) of shots as “geotags”
* High-Sensitivity up to ISO 6400*2
* COOLPIX Picture Control for improved finishing flexibility
* Optical viewfinder
* High-quality materials and finish with magnesium alloy front panel
* Manual focus
* Wireless Remote Control ML-L3 for wireless shutter release
* Distortion Control
* Exposure Modes (P/S/A/M)
* Three Unique Nikon Image Innovations for high performance – Face-priority AF, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix and D-Lighting
*1 The RAW file format for Nikon COOLPIX cameras is compatible with Microsoft’s Windows Image Component (WIC) codec, allowing images shot in RAW format to be opened and edited in ViewNX (Windows version only), or in other applications that support WIC.
*2 ISO 3200 and 6400 are available only for image sizes of 3M (2048 x 1536) or smaller.
Nikon Coolpix P6000 Specifications:
Effective pixels – 13.5 million
Image sensor – 1/1.7-in. CCD; total pixels: approx. 13.93 million
Lens – 4x Zoom-NIKKOR; 6.0-24.0mm (35mm [135] format picture angle: 28-112mm); f/2.7-5.9; 9 elements in 7 groups; Digital zoom: up to 4x (35mm [135] format picture angle: 448mm)
Focus range (from lens) – 50cm (1 ft. 7.7 in.) to infinity (?); Macro close-up mode: 2cm (0.8 in.) to infinity (?)
Storage media – Internal memory (approx. 48 MB), SD memory cards*1
Image size (pixels) – 4224 x 3168 (13M), 3264 x 2448 (8M), 2592 x 1944 (5M), 2048 x 1536 (3M), 1600 x 1200 (2M), 1280 x 960 (1M), 1024×768 (PC), 640 x 480 (TV), 4224 x 2816 (3?2), 4224 x 2376 (16:9), 3168 x 3168 (1:1)
Vibration Reduction (VR) – Optical lens shift VR
ISO sensitivity – ISO 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 2000, 3200*2, 6400*2, Auto (auto gain ISO 64-800), High ISO Sensitivity Auto (ISO 64-1600), Fixed Range Auto (ISO 64-100, 200, 400)
Interface – Hi-Speed USB
Power sources – Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5 (supplied), AC Adapter EH-66 (supplied)
Battery life – Approx. 260 shots with EN-EL5 battery
Dimensions (W x H x D) – Approx. 107 x 65.5 x 42 mm (4.2 x 2.6 x 1.7 in.) excluding projections
Weight – Approx. 240 g (8.5oz.) without battery and SD memory card
Supplied accessories*3 – Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5, AC Adapter EH-66, USB Cable UC-E6, Audio Video Cable EG-CP14, Strap AN-CP18, Software Suite CD-ROM
Optional accessories – Battery Charger MH-61, Wide-angle Converter WC-E76, Adapter Ring UR-E21, Speedlight SB-400, SB-600, SB-900
*1 Not compatible with Multi Media Cards (MMC).
*2 ISO 3200 and 6400 are available only for image sizes of 3M (2048 x 1536) or smaller.
*3 Supplied accessories may differ by country or area.
Specifications are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer. August 2008
