Nikon COOLPIX P330 Pro Reviews

High image quality, even better videos and competitively priced, but performance is a letdown

The Nikon Coolpix P330 pocket camera is capable of producing some truly outstanding images, but may be too slow for some shooters.

Still, there aren't too many other negative aspects to put you off the Nikon Coolpix P330. The price may have gone up slightly in comparison to last year's model, but the extra features and better image quality help to explain that away, and it's still quite a lot cheaper than most of its main rivals. It may have been overshadowed by the Coolpix A when it was launched, but the new Coolpix P330 is a great pocket camera in its own right for anyone looking to take control over the picture-making process.

The Nikon Coolpix P330 is a definite step forward compared to its predecessor, and it throws the P-series into the high-end compact camera mix. But it's also a game of two halves. Image quality is a step up the image quality ladder, the price point is very competitive and the new 24-120mm f/1.8-5.6 equivalent zoom is versatile. But it's performance that's the camera's ultimate letdown: we found occasionally inaccurate autofocus, sluggish menu access and slow file write times - which lock the camera out from use as the buffer clears - to be real drawbacks. These shortcomings don't amount to a total failure by any means, but are holding the P330 back. Polish up those elements, add a touchscreen, quick menu and manual focus ring and we'd have a winner. As it stands we like where the P330 has steered the series, but while it steps things up it's not leaps ahead in all the departments it should be. Good for the price, but short of the greatness we'd initially anticipated.

The Nikon Coolpix P330 updates the previous model with a lower 12.2 megapixel sensor, although with a larger sensor size, image quality is improved and the new 5x optical zoom lens provides a more versatile zoom range, from a wide 24mm equivalent. The camera has a large number of advanced options, and the camera speed is decent, so long as you're not shooting a large number of RAW files, as write times for this are noticeably slow. The relatively low price for this camera, which is likely to drop over time makes this camera an appealing option, particularly as it's capable of delivering good image quality and low noise in a compact package.