Nikon Coolpix AW100

16.10 Megapixels	5.00x zoom	3.0 inch LCD

Nikon Coolpix AW100 Overview

Posted: 08/24/2011

The Nikon AW100 takes the company's Coolpix line in a new direction, staking a claim in the increasingly hard-fought market for rugged shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof digital cameras. The Coolpix AW100, like many of its competitors, is clearly aimed at sporty, outdoors types who want a camera that will stand up to the same abuses to which they're willing to subject their own bodies, in the name of living life to the maximum. That's not the only market, however. Rugged cameras like this also prove popular with--if perhaps slightly overengineered for the needs of--families with children (and indeed, sometimes adults) who're prone to accidentally damaging delicate modern electronic devices, as well as those who want a camera that will suffice for occasional snapshots at the seaside, swimming pool, or ski slope.

In the case of the Nikon AW100, the environmental protection allows use underwater at depths of up to 33 feet, shock resistance capable of withstanding a drop of five feet, and freezeproofing suitable for use at temperatures as low as 14°F. Unlike some of its competitors, Nikon doesn't supply IEC/JIS, IPX, or MIL-spec ratings to describe the test conditions for compliance, but on paper at least, the level of sealing and environmental protection looks impressive. The AW100's suitability for outdoors types extends beyond just offering a body that can hammer in tent pegs (metaphorically speaking, anyway--we'd probably bring a hammer along if you're planning on setting up a campsite)!

Of particular note, Nikon has included a built-in GPS receiver that allows images to be tagged with the latitude and longitude at which they were captured, and the photographer's route to be logged even when the camera isn't in use. The route, along with the capture locations of images, can then be reviewed on a map using the included Nikon ViewNX 2 software, on Nikon's myPictureTown website, or in compatible third-party software such as Google Earth. The AW100 also offers an internal map display function, and an E-compass mode that allows the photographer to get their bearings using the LCD panel.

One of the more unusual features--although we have seen something similar in the past--is a function that allows you to assign a particular setup such as a scene mode to be recalled automatically by shaking the camera, letting you make the settings change without removing gloves.

Moving on to the AW100's imaging features, it's based around a 16.0 effective megapixel, 1/2.3-inch type, backside illuminated CMOS image sensor, and an EXPEED C2 image processor. Backside-illuminated sensors place their circuitry on the rear (non-illuminated) side of the chip, leaving more space on the active side available for light-gathering, and thereby increasing sensitivity. The Nikon AW100 offers sensitivities ranging from ISO 125 to 3,200 equivalents, with everything from ISO 125 to 800 equivalents available to an Auto ISO function. Total resolution of the AW100's 1/2.3-inch type imager is 16.79 megapixels.

The Nikon AW100's 0.9-inch thick body includes a Nikkor ED-branded 5x optical zoom lens with image stabilization, offering everything from a useful 28mm-equivalent wide angle to a moderate 140mm telephoto. Maximum aperture varies from f/3.9 to f/4.8 across the zoom range. There's also a 4x digital zoom function which provides an effective 560mm-equivalent telephoto when combined with the optical zoom, although like any digital zoom this extra reach will come at the cost of significantly reduced image clarity, since the camera is essentially just taking the center of an image shot at the camera's maximum optical zoom level, then scaling it up to full resolution and making some educated guesses as to the missing data (with more to guess as the zoom level increases). By default, the Nikon AW100's lens can focus to just 20 inches (50 cm) at wide angle, and 40 inches (1 m) at telephoto, but a macro mode enables focusing as close as just 0.4 inches (1 cm) in the wide angle position. A bundled adapter allows use of 40.5mm threaded filters with the AW100.

The rear panel of the Nikon AW100 offers up a 3.0-inch TFT LCD panel with a resolution of approximately 153,000 pixels (460,000 dots, with each pixel comprising adjacent red, green, and blue dots.) The AW100's screen has an anti-reflective coating, and a five-level brightness adjustment.

An Easy Auto mode recognizes various scene types, then configures the camera appropriately. The AW100 also includes Nikon's Smart Portrait System, which includes a variety of ease-of-use functions such as In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, Face-Priority AF, Face Priority AE, Smile Mode, Blink Warning, Skin Softening and Pet Portrait.

The Coolpix AW100 offers not only still-image capture, but also a high definition 1080p (aka Full HD; 1,920 x 1,080 pixel) video capture, which includes stereo sound. The AW100 allows use of the optical zoom lens during video capture, enabling consumer videographers to better follow their subject as recording continues. You can also record slow-motion movies at 60, 120 or 240 frames-per-second, and fast-motion movies at 15 fps. (The resolution for these isn't specified.)

Images and movies are stored on Secure Digital cards, including the higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC types. The AW100 also includes approximately 83MB of available internal memory, enough to capture a few of the most important shots, should you accidentally leave your flash card at home. Catering to transferring of images and movies to a computer, the Nikon AW100 offers a USB 2.0 High Speed data connection. Power comes from a proprietary EN-EL12 lithium-ion battery pack, rated for approximately2150 shots on a charge, to CIPA testing standards. An optional EH-62F AC adapter is available for longer shooting sessions, if a power point is convenient.

The Nikon Coolpix AW100 has dimensions of approximately 4.4 x 2.6 x 0.9 inches (110.1 × 64.9 × 22.8 mm) excluding projections, and weighs 6.3 oz. (178 g) including battery and SD memory card. The product bundle includes one EN-EL12 battery pack and charger, both USB and video cables, a filter attachment, camera strap, and ViewNX 2 software CD-ROM.

The Coolpix AW100 will be available in the US market from early-September 2011 in black, blue, and orange versions. Pricing is set at approximately US$380.