A little over a month after announcing the Coolpix B600 superzoom and the A1000 compact, Nikon has now released the full specs and confirmed US availability and pricing. The B600 features a 60x optical zoom lens, while the more pocket-friendly A1000 zooms out to 35x.
"Customers looking for a compact camera are seeking features smartphones simply cannot deliver, including amazing zoom and the low-light capabilities to capture the moments that matter most," said Nikon's Jay Vannatter. "The Coolpix A1000 and Coolpix B600 are the ideal tools to deliver just that, by providing the photo, video and optical power that users need to take their photography to the next level."
Sporting a roughly DSLR-like shape, the Coolpix B600 point-and-shoot's Nikkor zooms lens has a focal length range equivalent to 24-1,440 mm, with something called Dynamic Fine Zoom allowing photographers to expand the zoom ratio to 120x. At the other end of the zoom equation, snappers can get as close as 1 cm (0.4 in) to a teeny subject in macro mode.
The built-in vibration reduction system can compensate for camera shake by up to 3 stops, while the camera's 4-axis hybrid vibration reduction mechanism nixes blur during video recording. The capture of moving images tops out at 1080p Full HD at up to 60 frames per second though, which may disappoint in today's 4K camera landscape.
The B600 is built around a 16 megapixel back-illuminated 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor and Expeed image processing engine, offering continuous shooting of up to 7 frames per second a full resolution and light sensitivity of ISO125 - 6,400. The contrast AF setup makes up to 99 focus points available.
There's a 3 inch, 921k dot non-tilting, non-touch display panel around back. Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi are included for wireless image transfer and remote operation. And users can expect about 280 stills per charge of its Li-ion battery.
The Coolpix B600 will land next month for a suggested retail price of US$329.95.
The more expensive and more compact of the two new Coolpix releases is the A1000, which is also built around a 16 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor. This model's lens can manage a 24 - 840 mm equivalent zoom, which again doubles with the help of Dynamic Fine Zoom.
The 4.5 x 2.9 x 1.6 in (114.2 x 71.7 x 40.5 mm) compact features a 1,166k dot electronic viewfinder and 3 inch, 1,036k dot touchscreen display panel that can be tilted down by 180 degrees (rather than up, as with the Panasonic Lumix ZS80) for selfie framing.
The A1000 supports RAW format image capture for complete tweak control in post-processing image editing software, and can record 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) videos with stereo sound. Lens-shift vibration reduction helps with the effects of camera shake for photography, while Hybrid VR smooths out the bumps during movie recording.
Elsewhere, there's ISO100 - 6,400 light sensitivity, up to 10 frames per second continuous shooting, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi onboard.
The A1000 will also hit the shelves in March for a suggested retail price of $479.95.
