Nikon releases sample photos shot with Coolpix A camera

by

posted Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 4:40 PM EDT

 
 

Just a day after Nikon announced its new Coolpix A, with APS-C sized sensor and fixed 28mm f/2.8 lens, the company has released a small handful of sample images, giving us a chance to pixel peep at this exciting new camera.

Nikon has uploaded ten images and a video file, all shot by acclaimed documentary photographer and photojournalist Doug Menuez. Of the photos, five can be grabbed at full size, and have full EXIF information. What you can see in these is the fantastic detail and sharpness that the lens exhibits. If you blow images 2 and 4 up to full size, you’ll get an eyeful of some pretty impressive texturing, and some extremely soft bokeh.

 
 

Here's what Menuez had to say about shooting with the Coolpix A on Nikon's site. "The COOLPIX A, to my pleasant surprise, is perfect for street photography, where discretion is critical," Menuez wrote. "It's small, quick and lightweight, yet delivers big, portfolio-quality image files." (No, not exactly an impartial endorsement considering where the quote is featured but still interesting to read a working professional's thoughts on the camera.)

Regarding Menuez' sample photos, it would have been nice to see some images with the lens significantly stopped down -- most were shot at f/2.8, f/3.2, or f/5.6 -- or at a high enough ISO for us to really pick apart the noise performance of the huge sensor that Nikon has managed to squeeze into such a tiny body.

 
Photo by Doug Menuez

What do you think? Are these images enough to convince you to drop $1100 on an the smallest ever APS-C compact camera? Is the 28mm f/2.8 lens flexible enough for you? Or are you going to wait for the reviews to come in before making that decision?

To see all ten of Menuez' sample photos (including five at full size) shot with the new Nikon Coolpix A, click here.

 
Photo by Doug Menuez
 
Photo by Doug Menuez
 
Photo by Doug Menuez