Nikon Coolpix 8800

We define superzooms as cameras with a 10x or greater zoom. We define the enthusiast models as the all-in-one cameras at the high end of the price scale that can create very large images and give the shooter a lot of control. Until recently, these two segments were very cleanly delineated. But not anymore, thanks to Nikon's 8-megapixel Coolpix 8800, an enthusiast camera with a superzoom lens.

At $1,000 street, the 8800 is far more expensive than any superzoom, and it's even on the high end of the enthusiast category that includes such cameras as the Konica Minolta DiMage A2 and the Olympus C-8080. Still, we wanted to see how it stacked up against more typically consumer-oriented superzooms. The answer? Quite well. Vibration reduction, razor-sharp pictures, and great daylight shots make this a keeper. On the down side: It's big and heavy, we didn't like the flash much (luckily, it has a hot shoe for an external flash), and it's slow. Still, the images speak for themselves, and make this a very good camera for anyone with deep enough pockets—though not for shooting action, given its sluggish recycle times.

The 8800 is built around an enormous f/2.8 to f/5.2 8.9-mm to 89-mm (35-mm to 350-mm, 35-mm equivalent) 10X zoom Nikkor ED glass lens. The barrel of the lens is a bit smaller than that of the Panasonic Lumix FZ15 and FZ20, but the lens extends to nearly 6.5 inches from the back of the LCD to the end of the lens, nearly 1.5 inches longer than the FZ models. We wish the maximum aperture at max telephoto was a little larger (compared with the f/2.8 the Panasonic FZ cameras can maintain all the way to 12X zoom).

The chunky, magnesium-bodied 8800 weighs in at a hefty 1.5 pounds, but is surprisingly well balanced. The camera has plenty of manual controls, though some are awkwardly placed. We liked the big, protruding EVF (none of the superzooms have an optical viewfinder, which we'd prefer). We also like the swiveling LCD, but, at 1.8 inches, it feels skimpy in such a large, expensive camera. The lithium-ion battery is good for taking up to 240 images, according to the CIPA standard, which is reasonably good.

We applaud the camera's image stabilization technology, which Nikon calls Vibration Reduction (VR). VR detects camera movement and compensates for it by moving a VR lens inside the camera to keep the image sharp. VR operates in two modes. Normal mode operates only when you take the picture, and its intelligence detects the difference between intended motion (such as panning) and unintentional movement (camera shake), correcting only the latter. Active mode operates continuously, and is useful for shooting in conditions where you're being bounced around and can have trouble even framing the shot on the LCD, such as when shooting from a moving car on a bumpy road. VR worked very well in the field, enabling us to take handheld shots at least two stops faster than without it. VR is effective in all kinds of shots, including Best Shot Selector, video, and macro modes.

For its part, Best Shot Selector takes 10 images in succession and discards all but the sharpest one, and BSS AE mode records ten shots and keeps only the best exposed one. Among the camera's many other useful features are in-camera red-eye fix and D-lighting, which can fix images that have shadow areas that are too dark. For example, a strongly backlit image whose foreground is underexposed can be fixed; the shadowed areas are lightened in camera without affecting properly exposed areas. Both original and modified images are saved to the camera's Compact Flash card. The camera can shoot video at 640-by-480 pixel video at 30 frames per second, but only for 60-second clips.

In testing the camera turned in some impressive results, but speeds weren't among them. The Nikon's 4.8-second boot time wasn't the worst (the Panasonic FZ15 and FZ20 both broke the 5-second mark, as did the Pentax MX4) but its 4.4-second recycle time between flash pictures is only fair—the FujiFilm FinePix 5100 needed just 1.3 seconds between shots. Compare this with another 8MP enthusiast camera, the venerable (and comparably priced) Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom, which has boot and recycle times of just 1.5 and 1.9 seconds, respectively.

The 8800 aced resolution and pixel-transition tests, scoring 1,700 average lines of resolution and a razor-sharp 1.75 percent pixel transition. Both scores beat the consumer-oriented superzooms handily, and give the Olympus C-8080, which scored 1,775 lines of resolution and 1.9 percent pixel transition, a run for its money.

The 8800's daylight still life was bright, clean, and appealing, with great detail throughout the dynamic range. The image is crisp and well exposed with very good contrast throughout. We noticed minor color fringing and a few sharpening artifacts, but no significant noise. The flash still life left more to be desired. It was evenly illuminated and extremely sharp with good detail, but it was significantly underexposed and, not surprisingly, dull and blue. If you want to get the most out of the 8800, consider purchasing an external flash, which should correct the problem. In real-world testing the flash often performed quite acceptably, though shots were still more likely to be shifted toward blue.

The 8800 is a big, expensive camera. If you're looking for a point-and-shooter for casual shots, it probably isn't for you; serious enthusiasts, however, will love the images it produces, if not its speed.

Benchmark Tests
Click here to view the Nikon Coolpix 8800 benchmark test results