I’ll admit it, I have never been a big fan of carrying a camera with me all the time. I know I miss some shots, but I just don’t want to be burdened by carrying a big SLR everywhere I go. Besides that, I had my D3s stolen last year on a photo shoot, so there is no way I am leaving my car packed with camera gear everywhere I go. Point and shoot cameras are the right size, but I never felt like there was a camera with a high quality file and the advanced features I wanted in such a small camera. That all changed when I got the Nikon Coolpix P7000.
This little camera packs a punch. First off, it is so small I can carry it easily in a coat pocket. Bringing this camera on any trip or outing is not a problem, you don’t even know it is there. But what is the point if the image quality isn’t good? With the P7000, image quality is excellent. The camera produces a 10.1 MP file with RAW and jpeg file options that looks fantastic. I recently shot this camera in Acadia NP during a workshop and liked the image quality so much I didn’t even shoot with my larger SLRs the entire trip. But the P7000 doesn’t stop with fine image quality. This camera offers a lot of advanced controls, and if you are a Nikon shooter, operating the camera is very intuitive. All the normal shooting modes are offered, along with user presets for specific settings you can save. One feature I really like is the ability to easily change exposure using the exposure comp dial on the top of the camera. And my favorite feature of the P7000? I can use my wireless SU800 transmitter and shoot my SB900 speedlights off camera. The image above was taken using off camera flash. The P7000 also offers 720p HD video for video enthusiasts. If you are looking for a capable point and shoot that fits in your pocket, the P7000 is one option to consider.