Nikon Coolpix A

Last year, Sony’s RX100 and RX1 demonstrated the demand for premium performance pocket cameras, positioned at midpoints between cheap point-and-shoots and full-frame DSLRs. Now Nikon’s continuing that march with an option of its own: Coolpix A ($1,100). Rather than picking a tiny or full-frame sensor to stuff in a compact frame, Nikon chose a DX format APS-C sensor with 16.2 Megapixels. And like the RX1, Nikon picked a prime rather than a zoom lens, fixing Coolpix A at a landscape-friendly 28mm-equivalent width. It’s very obviously designed to appeal to the prosumer user who wants a high-quality pocket option—something that produces much better images than any iPhone—but doesn’t want to pay crazy Sony RX1 prices.

Coolpix A’s technology choices are respectable—the 18.5mm all-glass lens promises “ultra-sharp” clarity and boasts a not terribly fast f/2.8 minimum aperture, enough to enable depth of field/bokeh in images, with a manual focus ring to help you compose your shots just so. Similarly, the sensor isn’t the highest-resolution or the largest Nikon has ever shipped, but rather a compromise capable of ISO100-25,600 range and saving 12- or 14-bit RAW image files. A 3” screen on the back provides traditional point-and-shoot composition, while optical viewfinder, flash, and Wi-Fi accessories will be sold separately. This is definitely a small camera to keep an eye on.

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Jeremy Horwitz

Jeremy Horwitz was the Editor-in-Chief at iLounge. He has written over 5,000 articles and reviews for the website and is one of the most respected members of the Apple media. Horwitz has been following Apple since the release of the original iPod in 2001. He was one of the first reviewers to receive a pre-release unit of the device, and his review helped put iLounge on the map as a go-to source for Apple news.