Nikon’s CoolPix P80 – Best Point and Shoot ?

I have been ranting about the Casio EX-F1 as a cross between a fixed lens SLR and a video camera. The fixed SLR format may have some attractions – fit one lens on with a broad zoom range like the Casio with 36 to 432mm at f2.7 to f4.6 and then take away the need to have interchangeable lenses with the consequent carrying bulk and risk of getting dust on the camera sensor. Of course the Casio then raises the stakes by having an unbelievable combo of picture taking at 6MPixels 60fps(frames per second) or in movie mode HD1920x1280 at 60fps or 432 x 192 (600 fps). And the camera has a lot of smart features to manage this prodigious shooting capability. See here.

So the recent announcement of the Nikon CoolPix P80 available today at $400-500 with a 27-486mm f/2.8-4.5 zoom lens and 10.1Mpixel still images certainly garners attention. It is at least half the price of the Casio and nearly double the Pixel capacity – and slightly better zoom range and f-stop settings. But the CoolPix also packs image stabilization within the lens so users get 2-3 stop better fidelity. The autofocus system uses nine points not the 40-50 points in the Nikon D300 and D3 top end SLRs; but still better than my Canon XT 6Mpixel standby.

Also the CoolPix P80 takes images at 13fps and movie images but I cannot find the details on that(see if you can find them at the Nikon site here). So here is the trade-off, Nikon has a light, Fixed 18xZoom SLR camera with some movie taking capabilities and 10.Mpixel images at 13fps for $400 versus Casio EX-F1 with nearly the same Zoom Lens but ability to take HD movie at 60fps and 6Mpixel images at 60fps. Image quality yet to be tested on both cameras but sample images from both are fairly good. Will speed and movies and ability to take pictures in new ways sell at $1000? I will tell you my choice at the start of early summer.