Tao I should mention, I have been totally spoilt by the IQ of my D800
I now ether use that, or like you, an iphone

That is sad to hear.

Just curious, as everyone has different thresholds, which features or quality shortcomings are you missing or does it not fulfill your needs or desires?

I have a G11 that has sat on my desk and only been used a few times in the last year. I found the X100 to fill it's spot and use it almost every day. The size is larger, focal range shortcomings, but it gave me the controls and IQ I was looking for. I did use the G11 for a year constantly though and it was just big enough that it didn't fit in pockets well. I have thought about picking up a pocket cam but now I just use my iPhone for when I don't want to carry anything.

Well I have had my P7100 for 6 months and hardly use it at
it does not the features or the quality of , even an entry level, DSLR and it is too big to carry all the time

Well I have had my P7100 for a month now and getting used to it
I can't understand why Nikon have not produced a user friendly instruction book
The biggest disappointment is the f 2.8 lens rapidly becomes f5.6 as soon as you zoom

compared to a DSLR it takes ages to focus, may be I need to try manual focus

It works well with an SB600 and a bounce diffuser

And the Fuji X10 actually looks like a camera. I would love to find a reason to get one but with a X100, G11, & D300 I really can't justify anything else. Looking at getting my G11 converted to IR and sell my D50 IR. Maybe then.

I did play with a P7100 and had an extra card on me and played with the images when I got home. They are quite nice and well beyond a compact. I like the new updated body with the controls as well. It's a good camera for sure. Nice to see Nikon start to compete in this area of the line up with Canon.

If the P7100 is anything like the P7000 I had, then good image quality is a given. Reviews seems to say that the bugs that the P7000 had (which led me to sell it) are mostly fixed (other than slow RAW recording). Considering the price of these high end compacts (LX-5, G12, P7100, X10), I'd rather have m4/3s. I think the main reason the Fuji X10 costs more than the others is that it is made in Japan, out of mag alloy, rather than plastic. The X10's lens is also faster throughout the zoom range, which might be another reason.

Calumet are quoting £435 bit I got a grey import for about £100 less

casperwb said:
at least for bjrichus sake.

Casper - thanks for the concern, but you don't have to worry about *MY* wallet.

At least I won't be buying one.

sevencrossing said:
I have had my P7100 for 2 days now

Like mos compacts, if you set it to fully automatic, provided you are in the right place at the right time, it takes stunning photographs. In bright sunshine with sun behind you, the results are excellent , even shooting straight into the sun ,the results are better than I expected, low level lighting, with no flash, are quite acceptable

As with all Nikon Products, the instructions have been written by lawyers

I am used to a D700 and the controls and settings are completely different
any one know of a good instruction book or video

has the price dropped

let us know, did you get a good deal

at least for bjrichus sake.

andrews said:
Now I have to ask isn't this a Nikon forum? Not that I think Nikon's are always better but there's something to be said for familiarity of menus and control placement. If you shoot a Nikon DSLR you can pick up the P7000 without any instructions and use it.

I have had my P7100 for 2 days now

Like mos compacts, if you set it to fully automatic, provided you are in the right place at the right time, it takes stunning photographs. In bright sunshine with sun behind you, the results are excellent , even shooting straight into the sun ,the results are better than I expected, low level lighting, with no flash, are quite acceptable

As with all Nikon Products, the instructions have been written by lawyers

I am used to a D700 and the controls and settings are completely different
any one know of a good instruction book or video

NSXType-R Really? I'll have to say a year ago when I was in the market for an advanced compact camera, I looked at the G12 and the Panasonic LX5 and they're both fine cameras. I really think the differences are minor but neither blows the Nikon out of the water. The Fuji X10 well you can't even get it yet and well its specs don't make it sound that much better. By “that much” I mean $200 better than the P7100 or $325 better than the P7000.
Oh yes and the S95, a good camera is just in a different class, smaller, lighter, less controls. It’s a shirt pocket compact.
Now I have to ask isn't this a Nikon forum? Not that I think Nikons are always better but there's something to be said for familiarity of menus and control placement. If you shoot a Nikon DSLR you can pick up the P7000 without any instructions and use it. The G12 just wasn't comfortable in my hands. If 2 cameras are similar in function and quality, I'll always go with the Nikon. Now if image quality or price is that much better I'll jump ship! But I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

The Camera I really want and/or want Nikon to copy is the Fuji X100.

I do hope R8R is right, Love my P7000 but a firmware update would be sweet!

Released today - pre-order at Adorama $699. The whole package IMO blows away every Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, & Oly.

TaoTeJared said:
[...]The new Fuji x10, at $700 is certainly hitting that threshold for a advanced compacts. There is a ton of high end items (lens, diaphragm, viewfinder, OIS, lens coatings, etc) in that camera that go beyond any of the advanced compacts today hence the higher price. Their focus recently have been to focus on quality and the people who are willing to pay for it.

$700? The leaked Promaster catalog (and a couple of other things I saw online, which, for all I know, might've used the same leak as their source) were saying $600. I'm hoping for the latter, obviously (though right now, I'd be happy just to see image samples from the camera).

NSXType-R said:

Quite possibly it'd be the Fuji just for the nice looks and traditional dials.

Nikon still can't make a Coolpix that I want.

I'd suggest actually picking up a P7000 in a store (or the P7100 when it comes out) and fiddle with it for a bit. The dials, buttons and wheels are well placed and the camera is easy to use. The menus can be laggy but overall it's a great camera. (especially for what they are going for now...)

One possibility: Nikon will do what they did with the D70. After the D70s was out for awhile they released a firmware update to the D70 that, (aside from the larger LCD), essentially turned it into a D70s.

I bet once the P7100 has been selling for a bit we'll get one more firmware upgrade to the P7000 that will bring it up a notch.

bjrichus said:
...the price is too high for what it is and that "this is a pure case of paying because it says Nikon on it."

If that were the case then why are all the rest of the cameras in the advanced compact category when released cost this much? That statement can only be true if no one else's prices are significantly lower. Leica is an example of paying for a name with it's compacts.

If you have used any of these cameras in this class, as has many other voices in this thread, you would understand why there is a premium price. The new Fuji x10, at $700 is certainly hitting that threshold for a advanced compacts. There is a ton of high end items (lens, diaphragm, viewfinder, OIS, lens coatings, etc) in that camera that go beyond any of the advanced compacts today hence the higher price. Their focus recently have been to focus on quality and the people who are willing to pay for it.

The thing is the P7100 costs almost as much a Fuji X10 does. And honestly I have no reason for the crazy telephoto that the P7100 has.

If I were to drop that much money on a super point and shoot, it'd be a dead heat for me between the Fuji X10, Pannasonic LX5 and the Canon S95.

Quite possibly it'd be the Fuji just for the nice looks and traditional dials.

Nikon still can't make a Coolpix that I want.

I think most of you miss the point on price. Nikon will get the highest price they can for any product. So the price will rise or fall depending on sales and if it isn't profitable to manufacture it will go away. I'd wait, the price will fall. You can get the P7000 for about 375 right now and it's pretty much the same camera. I have one and love it. Calling it a point & shoot is like calling my D200 a point & shoot, I can set it to P and shoot away. My P7000 has just as much or more ability to manually control the settings. I’d also say there are few cameras that compare in the price range, certainly the G12 but if you shoot Nikon it hard to jump ship. Canon controls are all funny.
Like I said love my P7000, would like the P7100 but there’s not enough added value to upgrade now.

The G12 doesn't have the same lens. That's the big difference and advantage of the P7000/P7100 in my opinion.
I have the P7000 and I just love it because: 1) it gives great photos, 2) it's a perfect "take anywhere camera", and 3) it has an optical viewfinder (Yes I know it's only 80% but you get used to that very quickly, the same we all did with all these "good old days" compact 35mm film cameras which had similar types of viewfinders).

Now, if you just wait 3 months, you'll get the P7100 for a lot less than the price quoted today. :)

TaoTeJared, I suspect tcole has highlighted a good point we all tend to overlook; that of the brand name and it's pulling power, irrespective of price.

I agree with tcole that the price is too high for what it is and that "this is a pure case of paying because it says Nikon on it."

To my eyes, it's a G12 copy.

It's not Nikon's fault that people want something for nothing.

Its all about choices. You choose not to spend that much, so you don't get that much. It's like buying a large bag of apples but telling the checker that you will only pay them the price for two - and then you walk home with only two apples and not whole the bag. If you only want two apples in the first place, don't gripe about the price of the bag.

Personally I think the M4/3 are way over priced. If one wants the same basic features, focal range, flash, dials, color bit depth, Manual Controls, etc - you can't walk out of the store for less than $1000 and the IQ is not that much better than these. I think the $400-$500 range and 50% less than M4/3s is a great price for what you get with it.

Many P&S are way over priced but the build quality and manual controls are worth a lot in my book. Most P&S drive me insane with the lack of controls I want over the image.

I like Fuji also. X100 with me every day and now I am really anxious to see what the X10/X50 will be. Might be time to offload the G11.

I don't think it is even a matter of people wanting the camera, but the price is just too much for what you are getting. I think this is a pure case of paying because it says Nikon on it and not because it will be a superior camera. At least when I spend the money on a dSLR it is somewhat justified. I know I am going to get "better" pictures then I would with a P&S, but why would anyone pay $500 for a soso P&S? IMO There are much better Fuji cameras out for $350 or less. I loved my Fuji P&S.

NikoDoby... Understood. We'll keep it short.

TaoTeJared... I think the release price underlines how wrong Nikon are with this camera. Perhaps 3 years ago it would have been good as a new release, but this is an update to the P7000, not well specified and overpriced.

Lets use Pixel pitch (as per your other post) as a measure and this is clearly not a quality or performance camera (even if it is a P series).

As to business... IMO Nikon wants another bite at the wallet of Coolpox users who are after something else but are not brave enough to actually get something "good" or can invest more in what amounts to nothing more than a top of the range P&S. For them it's about having something a little bit bigger/better than a $100 pocket rocket.

As I said in my blog post, "Nothing to see here, move on people..."

bjrichus, have you even NOT suggested a 50%+ cut in prices for anything released? ;)

If you know anything about business then you know prices are what they are, and are certainly not arbitrary on material goods.

Looking at it, I was thinking it was a good price for what it includes, if the IQ holds up. Tons of button/dial/tactile controls are not cheap to add to a camera. The fist camera I have seen that I might actually think of replacing my G11 with.

I'm sure the sensor will be in another smaller camera with-out the controls for much cheaper.

$499.99 MSRP

I think the price will fall quickly on this one, maybe not to the $300.00 and surely not down to $200.00, but it should be in a range that makes it afordable.

my take is that is kind of big to carry around in your pocket, and there are some very good cameras out there that can fit in your pocket.

For someone moving up and this is your only camera, and, you do not want a DSLR, this is mighty appealing, however as a second or walk around camera for someone who owns and uses a DSLR, well maybe not, or,............. maybe so.

different strokes for different folks.

We had the same discussion on the P7000 price when it came out. And I suppose we'll have it again when the P7200 comes out in eight months. There are also threads on whether point & shoot cameras are still revalent at $500 dollar price when up against EVIL cameras. Do a search.