Just a few thoughts after a week of limited use.I wanted a point & shoot camera that would fit in my pocket to carry at all times. I am a pro photographer but don't want always to be hauling a bag of heavy DSLR's around. But the camera had to have the following:-
1. Small and well made.
2. 24mm equivalent lens at the short end. Didn't care much about the tele end so 120mm was more than enough for my needs.
3. Need WiFi connection so could fire and view what camera was seeing from my cell phone or tablet.
4. Needed RAW file format.
5. GPS nice addition but not the most important thing for me I could live without it.
Well the P330 has all the above and I can tell you that can be hard to find in a small point and shoot (I consider the Canon G15 too big and besides I have a G11).
Noise levels seem low at 400 ASA I have not tested at higher ISO's but hardly ever use them. In Photoshop CS6 the noise in a blue sky looked good and with noise reduction applied it then just about disappeared. I have the noise set to LOW in the camera as didn't want to softern the image although that may not happen with this camera. There is a LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH setting for noise.
I found setting the aperture hard to figure out as I kept mis-reading the book. In Apperture Priority or Manual the aperture is set by turning the 4 way controler on the back of the camera and I was pressing different sides of this wheel.
The ON/OFF button is flush with the top of the camera body so it is best to turn on or off the camera by using a finger nail tip rather than the pad of the finger. It is designed this way (I guess) to stop the camera being accidently turned on or off during use.
Images seem sharp and what you see on the view finder (no viewfind eyepeice) is what you get as far as exposure goes.
I put a 64GB SanDisk 45MB/sec card in it and that works fine. Thats about all I can contribute for now. I am sure more detailed reviews will appear shortly. But I'm happy with this well made and good looking camera.
Oh, I do have one issue with Nikon. There appears to be only the limited VIEW NX2 software (that came on CD with the camera) to convert the cameras RAW files (NRW format, not NEF) into TIFF or JPEG. I think Nikon could have updated CAPTURE to co-inside with this camera launch. It does not even appear to be included in the next Adobe Camera RAW conversion update for Photoshop. Too many RAW formats nobody can keep up apparently even the camera manufactures. That's as of today April 2, 2013.
Correction: As of today April 4, 2013 Adobe have just released Camera RAW update 7.4 and included the NRW format used by the Nikon P330yea!!! It appears to see the camera as the Nikon P6000 but looks to be making the corrections OK. My earlier information was incorrect. Life just got a whole lot better for NRW shooters, which is the only way to go for serious picture takers. JPG's are fine for snapshots.
New Update June 14, 2013: Adobe just added the P330 to their ACR lens corrections a few days ago (around 6/7/2013). I took the camera to Thailand and used it daily where it replaced DLSR's and tripod some days unless I was planning something serious. I set the ISO to Auto, something I would not do for serious photography but liked the results better than flash, which is unpredictable for quick pickup and shoot pics. I know many would disagree and that's OK but as a pro I find I have to take several shots before the flash lights the subject just right, unless you get lucky. I have a very high regard for this little dude. Of couse it's not perfect what is?. It may not be your personal first choice but with its W/A lens (24mm on 35mm camera) and slips into pocket unnoticed, I'm just glad I laid my money down.
I debated the Canon S110 and Nikon P7700 but ultimately decided to choose the P330 due to its size and positive leaning initial reviews/previews. This camera is constructed well. Some don't like the finish or material feel, but I'd like to push back and say that the whole body of the camera is well designed and feels quite solidly built. My only gripe is the battery door, but I'm willing to bet that Nikon ensured that it would survive most situations thrown at it. I like that the camera is simply a box, it looks like a camera with no frills, no gimmicks. It functions like this as well.
Nikon menus are familiar to me and they are well appreciated when it comes to basic electronic usage/knowledge. The logic is good, and it just plain works. The display is bright and can be seen under sunny conditions when used. The buttons and dials deliver a satisfying click-feedback. The rubber grips on the front/back provide a lot of comfort and confidence for one handed shooting. This camera is a lot smaller than what I expected, and that's a great thing because that's why I bought it!
Auto-mode seems well acquainted for people and landscape shots in decent lighting. Go in close and try macro out, you'll need to help it by setting the auto-focus to close shooting. Immediately, the camera will become a macro master in this mode. The burst mode is fast and quite impressive. My overall impression of the speed is very good considering the size of the camera. I remember when point and shoots simply couldn't take decent pictures due to their shutter speed (or lack of). You can select a shutter speed that exceeds any allowance of light entrance, to me, that's impressive.
The flash is very intense and quick, mostly good for those situations where there is no alternative light source and you're taking a picture of a medium range subject. I actually found that in most cases, it wasn't needed at all. The camera lens takes up a lot of work for lower light situations. This makes me appreciate the fact that the flash is opened by a mechanical switch, because it helps me decided whether or not its needed, instead of the camera making a bad decision for me.
Video is impressive and the VR really improves any jellies that might come about. I'm impressed by the quality and autofocus. Really excellent stuff, Nikon.
Overall, this camera is really great for someone who appreciates DSLR quality but doesn't want to haul all their gear with them all the time. Would highly recommend so far.
Buy Nikon COOLPIX P330 12.2 MP Digital Camera with 5x Zoom (Black) Now
This is going to be a long review but before I start, I don't want to scare anyone.. this camera is not hard to use, anyone could use it.However, I want to emphasize how this camera could satisfy a most hard core photographer among us, even those who shoot in manual and RAW modes.
This review is from a photography enthusiast. I am a hobbyist, not a pro, but I am serious about my hobby. I own cameras like the Nikon D600, D5100, Olympus m4/3 system and their excellent e-pm2. I've owned Canon DSLRs and SLRs, even their tiny ELPH 300, I've started with photography in early 90s, with a 35mm Nikon FM2 camera.
Let's start with the reason why anyone serious about photography would buy this camera. The word is: size. If you're looking for image quality, value, control, feel.. DSLRs, m4/3 cameras have that. But what they all lack is the ability for you to put the camera in a pocket and always have it on you. But would it be possible to still retain some of the control "big" cameras offer even in a tiny pocketable point and shoot camera?
I started my search for an advanced point and shoot few months back and everything led me to the Sony's excellent rx100. But something kept me from pulling the trigger and getting it. Maybe it was the $650 price tag. And it's not that I couldn't afford it, but I wanted something I wouldn't have to baby. If I dropped it, I wouldn't be too upset about it. Something in a small package that could give near enough decent pictures bigger cameras can produce and give me the control that I want.
I have not considered many Canon options, just because I am not a fan of the Canon UIs. I have owned multiple Canons in my life and they were all fine cameras, it's just not my preference. So keep that in mind, there may be a Canon camera out there that may suit you better, I just haven't considered it for personal (and subjective) reasons.
I have however considered cameras from the following manufacturers: Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Fujifilm and Ricoh. After a lot of deliberation I came down to the following choices.
Sony:
rx100, pound for pound champ, point and shoot. Huge image quality from a tiny camera. Not without its issues. Sony UI is not the most intuitive to me. Battery life may be of a concern, however ~300 shots is plenty for me. It is slightly bigger than the Coolpix P330 and like I explained slightly more than I wanted to spend.
Panasonic:
Lumix LX-7. Great camera. This was the closest contender. I handled one actually from a friend who owns one. Camera feels solid, I thought it felt better than Coolpix P330. It is bigger as well though. This was the main concern, as well as the issue of a lens cap. Although the latter has a solution in form of a foldable lens cap that can be obtained for ~$10. Fantastic Leica lens as well. There was even a recent sale of this camera at $300. Similar sensor size as the P330 and without any scientific tests I am assuming should be capable of similar if not better picture quality properties as the P330.
Since size was the main criteria for the pick, here is the reference comparaison tool that I used to drive my decision:
I have received the camera few days ago and have put it trough its paces. I mostly shoot in manual mode on my DSLRs but I do like Aperture Priority as well on my smaller cameras. I exclusively shoot RAW, as I enjoy post processing and the flexibility RAW files provide in post. I would have been happy with just the ability to disable noise reduction but having RAW is so much better. On the topic of Noise Reduction. I am not a fan of it, I don't like how it tends to turn images into mush. I would much rather have noise, and convert the image to black and white if the noise was an issue. I find it quite annoying that point and shoot cameras or smart phone cameras don't have a way to disable noise reduction.
Pros:
Size. This camera is not only tiny and easily fits in my pockets, it is also very light. (I've uploaded an image of the camera next to my D600 for size comparaison)
Relatively fast lens (good low light performance). f/1.8 at the wide end, similar to the rx100 in aperture.
RAW support. It is so nice having this. This means you can rescue badly exposed images and manage the tonal quality not possible with jpegs.
Manual Exposure: ISO, shutter speed, aperture size are all easy to adjust. If you want to get creative and do some light painting you can. The camera even has a Neutral Density filter option. Haven't had a chance to test it yet.
1/1.7" sensor and low megapixel count. Bigger than the 1/2.3" sensor size which ships in most point and shoot cameras, combined with lower than average megapixel count. Means, photo cells on the sensor can gather more light, resulting in better low light performance (less noise). I am getting relatively low levels of noise at ISO 800, and ISO 1600 is better than expected. I commend Nikon for electing to go with a low megapixel sensor despite the trend of "more megapixel the better" marketing nonsense!
The screen is nice and bright.
If you're a Nikon shooter, you'll feel right at home with the settings menus.
Flash. Nikon has long been known for great Flash implementations. I feel the Flash provided is great. And I have achieved great results with it.
All this combines and creates a sum of a very capable advanced point and shoot camera. The image quality I am getting has exceeded my expectation. The pros I have listed far outweigh the cons I am going to list. Most of the cons are not serious flaws, and should be considered there because of the tradeoff of creating such a small camera with these capabilities.
Cons:
Sluggish AF. There is a 4 second delay after you take a photo in RAW mode. During that time you can't shoot an image, but you can't even get a focus lock either. This is the most annoying of the flaws. Since there is no buffer, this means that if you miss the shot, you're done.
UI can appear sluggish at times as well.
The big unmarked dial to the right. I feel it's somewhat underutilized, it often doesn't do anything depending on which mode you're operating in. Yet it's a nice dial, with a decent tactile feel. I think it's a bit of a missed opportunity here as it could have been programmable. Since I only shoot in AP mode, I don't get to use either top dials much, and I like dials. I would much rather use it, than the dial on the back around the OK button.
On/Off button, probably the biggest flaw, and it's maybe just an issue with my copy of the camera. But there is a tactile disconnect between the click sound you get when you click it and the camera actually getting the signal to turn off or on. After you push the button you have to push even more for it to register your command. Since it's a pocket camera, I'd rather have it be little harder to turn on by accident though. The lens extending in your pocket could be awkward, so it's not that big of a deal I guess.
FN button operation was unintuitive to me. I am used to designating its function in the menu and then just using that function with it. But FN actually lets you pick a different option which I feel takes away from the usability of the function. Can't complain much though, I am glad to have this option at all on a point and shoot.
Lack of a stand alone battery charger. I think a camera in this category should have this. Even my ELPH 300 had this, and it's a category below the P330.
Build quality feels ok. But just ok. People complain about the battery/sd card door, but I don't have an issue with this. The battery door is spring loaded and metal. Not sure what the issue is. I appreciate how light the camera is.
Another missed opportunity I think is with the flash. I think it could have been bouncable. Like the rx100 has a small flash which can be tilted upwards to bounce the light off the ceiling, or a side in portrait holding position. This is nitpicking though. A business card does the trick.
In conclusion: Anyone looking for an advanced point and shoot camera cannot go wrong with the Nikon Coolpix P330 in my opinion. The camera punches above its weight in the current market.
edit: couldn't link to the actual camera size comparaisons since Amazon doesn't allow it. Google camerasize website if you want to compare for yourself.
edit: It looks like the free software that ships with the camera Nikon NX2 automatically corrects lens distortion when developing RAW files. I have removed the following item from the list of Cons to reflect this, but will keep it in the review in case anyone runs into this:
" Lens distortion. This is not really a con, since you can't really expect corrective lens elements in such a small zoom lens. When shooting jpeg, this is corrected by the camera. But when you shoot RAW you get the actual data sensor sees. And from this you can tell the vignetting and the lens distortion is quite pronounced. This is easily correctable in post processing software like Aperture or Lightroom. Currently Lightroom doesn't have a profile for the lens, but manual correction works ok for the time being. It's something to keep in mind for all of us RAW shooters. And hopefully Adobe will add the lens correction profile for this camera in the future."
EDIT UPDATE 2:
After taking the camera out for shooting over the weekend. I have realized it is not the most responsive of cameras. In fact Auto Focus can be quite stubborn about not locking focus and I have missed quite a few shots due to shutter lag and general sluggishness. I feel as an advanced compact the camera should be more responsive, because what good are all the features if you miss the shots? I am going to knock a star of my review for this reason.
Read Best Reviews of Nikon COOLPIX P330 12.2 MP Digital Camera with 5x Zoom (Black) Here
After my Sony RX100 went back for repairs (under warranty) for the second time, I bought this as a backup camera. For about half the price of the Sony it does an excellent job. Image quality is sharp. The litmus test is low light with no flash and it still excels. Both boot and focus times are very good. RAW capabilities exist but WiFi unfortunately is an option. I have always shot in Auto mode to date as well. Basically this is the same size as the Sony, half the price but definitely not half the image quality. Having both cameras now, I would not spend the extra cash for the RX100. If you're looking for a compact camera as your primary or DSLR backup in this price range I recommend the Nikon.Want Nikon COOLPIX P330 12.2 MP Digital Camera with 5x Zoom (Black) Discount?
If you had a P300 you were probably very happy with it. P300 always took very good low light photos, but there was a lot of noise processing, making pictures somewhat soft. P330 with a larger sensor and options to regulate noise reduction help make photos even better. I was not near US so I couldn't buy the camera from Amazon, I bought it in Hong Kong.... for about $20 more. I also considered Olympus XZ-10, as they had it available in Hong Kong. It is a nice camera, but I found some sample pics on the internet that raised concerns about quality of daytime pics in bright light. So I chose to stay loyal to Nikon and I don't regret it. I haven't had too much time to test it fully, but so far I am impressed with speed of focus, excellent macro, great low light capability. Only thing I would trade is GPS for a function ring on the front. Build quality is fantastic. Overall, especially for the price and compactness, a great pocket camera.I did notice some comments regarding the power button. I have no fingernails to speak of, and I have zero problems turning the camera on. Yes, you have to give it a solid press... it is a mechanism to prevent the camera from turning on in you pocket by an accidental press (your finger will go on the power button when you pull it out of the pocket), possibly breaking the lens. There is a slight lag in the first set of menus, but once you get in the menu there is no lag, in any case that can be resolved by a firmware update. I think the quality is great. Camera turns on quickly, playback is instant. No issues. In the end, in this segment people are in it for the compactness & picture quality. I think this camera delivers great value for the price.
I just found this link so I wanted to add it It may help with the decision. I am glad I chose the P330.
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