Learn & Explore Tip of the Day

May 21, 2013

When shooting nighttime landscapes, use a low ISO (400 or below if possible) while working from a tripod. Open your aperture to F/4 or F/5.6. This will allow you to have a shot full of detail and of good quality. Remember that night shots need a subject, just like day shots.

May 20, 2013

Don’t forget to bring your camera to holiday barbeques so you can capture all of the fun. Take pictures of the food being grilled, games being played, as well as groupings of friends and family.

May 19, 2013

Wait until the camera has finished writing the photo(s) to the memory card (green light is off) before turning off the camera or removing the card. You can lose pictures if you do either before the camera has had time to download the file(s) from its internal memory to the card.

May 18, 2013

You should format the memory card in your camera on a regular basis. By using the camera’s built-in “Format” function, found in the menus, you lessen the chance of having card problems in the future. Doing so is better than just deleting the images using the camera or the computer.

May 17, 2013

When you’re at a parade take photos of the parade goers, especially your children and the looks on their faces. You’ll see a lot of smiles and excitement.

May 16, 2013

Take a self-portrait each day for a week or month (or a year). It’s harder than you think to take an attractive photo of yourself, and if you do it for long enough you’ll have an interesting series that shows how you’ve changed over time.

May 15, 2013

Everyone loves a parade. For more interesting photos, look for details like the band’s uniforms, a cheerleader’s colorful pom-poms or a bright red fire engine.

May 14, 2013

When shooting groups of five or more people, make sure you stagger them. Put tall folks in the back and the shortest ones in front. It may seem simple, but blocking out just one face can ruin a group portrait. Always tell them, “If you don’t have a clear view of me, the camera can’t see you.”

May 13, 2013

Posing a bride and groom for photos is sometimes difficult. Concentrate on close shots of just the two of them, with clean backgrounds. Then create a fun group shot having them in the center, with others gathered around them. Just make sure no one gets in front of them. After all, it’s their day.

May 12, 2013

Take plenty of photos during your Mother’s Day celebrations. Remember to print multiple copies, so everyone can have their own photographs of mom to cherish.

May 11, 2013

Use a polarizing filter to lessen or eliminate reflections from glass. This works really well on windows of stores or cars. But the trade-off is that your exposure will be a bit longer, as the light is cut down by almost two stops.

May 10, 2013

Capture the hustle and bustle of the city at night. Place your camera on a tripod and use a long exposure (slow shutter speed) to blur the movement of cars and people. Try shooting for about 10 seconds first, and then adjust creatively to catch the motion of the lights and the feel of the city.

May 9, 2013

Make a great team picture. Get the team together in front of a nice background—maybe the goal, the net or the team logo on the field or floor. Shoot the ordinary, and then let the kids have some fun, making faces or funny poses. That’s the one they will always remember.

May 8, 2013

Try shooting panoramas if you’re at a sport stadium, beach or park, for more interesting images. Some Nikon Digital Cameras have an Easy Panorama mode or a Panorama Assist mode, which make these photos easy to shoot.

May 7, 2013

When photographing animals of any kind—pets, birds in flight, animals at the zoo—try to zoom in as close as you can or use a longer lens to isolate the animal from its background. By getting a close-up view you have a greater chance of capturing a wonderful expression on the face of the animal, which will give you a more interesting photograph.

May 6, 2013

Want a unique video of sports action? Use the slow-motion mode that many Nikon digital cameras offer. By shooting the action faster than normal and played back at normal speed, your subject’s movements are slowed down and look more deliberate.

May 5, 2013

When celebrating Cinco de Mayo, take plenty of photos of the colorful decorations in addition to candid photos of everyone having a great time.

May 4, 2013

Change your white balance during a sunrise or sunset. Take your camera off auto white balance and switch to Cloudy or Shady white balance. This will add more strength to the reds, oranges and yellows. Auto White Balance tries to keep colors neutral.

May 3, 2013

To get a shot of someone at sunset, turn on your flash and place the person with the beautiful sunset behind them. With the flash on, they will be illuminated. With the flash off, they will be silhouetted.

May 2, 2013

Spend a day capturing images only in black and white. You have to look at the world differently to take a good-looking photo in black and white, and that will help sharpen your artistic skills.

May 1, 2013

May is National Photo Month! Celebrate by taking photos every day. Give yourself an assignment such as taking a self-portrait each day of the month, or photographing an object every day.

April 30, 2013

If your camera can capture images in both RAW and JPEG format, do so even if you don’t work with RAW images now. These RAW files have the highest image quality possible, so you can edit them years from now and be sure you’re getting the best looking image possible.

April 29, 2013

Set your Speedlight to Rear Curtain Sync. This fires the flash at the end of the exposure, not the beginning, and can create interesting streaks and effects in moving subjects. Experiment with the different flash modes your camera and Speedlight offers.

April 28, 2013

Pick a day and use a fixed focal length lens instead of a zoom (or only one focal length on your zoom, like 35mm). By practicing moving you and the camera to re-frame your images you’ll become more engaged with your subject.

April 27, 2013

If you are photographing out of the window of a plane be sure to keep from touching the window, walls, armrests or other parts of the plane. The vibrations caused by the engines are transmitted through the fuselage and can make your photos blurry. Instead, sit up in the seat and hold the camera as still as you can, close to the window.

April 26, 2013

Arbor Day, which celebrates the planting and caring for trees is celebrated across the USA at different times of the year. Some states celebrate in February while others celebrate the holiday in April, so we decided to celebrate it twice! Use this holiday to take some cool photographs of trees.

April 25, 2013

Frame your storm photograph before it happens. Remember that the sky is your subject, so dramatic clouds are what you’re framing for, and then you hope that lightning will happen in that space. Keep the horizon in the lower third of the frame with the sky the top two-thirds.

April 24, 2013

Shooting a lightning storm can be exciting. Use a tripod and set you camera to record a long exposure. With D-SLRs, 15 seconds is a good start, but you may have to use up to 30 seconds, or bulb setting (where the shutter stays open as long as you hold down the shutter button). Because you never know when the lightning will occur, keep shooting for best results. And don’t forget the tripod! Otherwise you’ll have blurry photos.

April 23, 2013

Try different kinds of framing with your flower shots. Instead of centering the flower, try placing it off to the left or the right of the frame. This will allow for you to be creative with the negative space (areas without the subject). Look for the patterns of other out of focus flowers in the background.

April 22, 2013

Celebrate Earth Day by taking photographs of nature, or of Earth Day Events in your neighborhood.

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Shed new light on your creativity with the fastest lens in a Nikon COOLPIX camera with its new, wide angle, f/1.8 maximum aperture Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens.

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Product Number: 26246

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Key Features

The fastest lens ever in a Nikon COOLPIX.

The COOLPIX P300 camera does justice to your photographic talents with a 4.2x wide angle, F1.8 maximum aperture NIKKOR glass lens. This is the fastest lens Nikon has ever designed into a COOLPIX camera—it offers a 24-100mm optical zoom range and impressive telephoto performance for razor-sharp images. Plus, its maximum aperture of F1.8 assures exceptional low-light results and minimum depth of field. This outstanding lens will showcase your skills whether you’re shooting portraits, panoramas, weddings, real estate, products, publicity stills, or any other challenging compositions—and will do so with still images or Full HD (1080p) movies. Simply put, this high-performance lens catches detailed images while displaying Nikon’s proud tradition of producing precision camera optics.

Manual control for the serious photographer.

The COOLPIX P300 allows photographers to stretch their creative limits with an impressive range of manual control. There’s a Mode Dial for quick and convenient control over select settings, including shutter/aperture/programmed and manual exposure. Exposure Bracketing automatically brackets exposure for three shots. And the ISO can be set as high as 3200 at full resolution to control image quality in low-light conditions or when shooting fast moving subjects.

The COOLPIX P300 also features several new in-camera special effects, including High-Contrast Monochrome for sophisticated black and white shots. Nostalgic Sepia adds character and mood or creates shots with an antiqued look. In-camera editing functions such as Quick Retouch, and active D-Lighting restore detail and contrast. This camera comes with several filter effects like Painting, Fisheye, Miniature, and Cross Screen. You can also control images with a creative slider that adjusts brightness, intensity and hue.

The COOLPIX P300 takes the guesswork out.

Every shooting environment comes with its own unique characteristics, and the COOLPIX P300 has intuitive features to help you master each one. It optimizes settings for up to 20 common scenes so you simply point and shoot. Turn on the Scene Auto Selector and the camera automatically recognizes the scene you’re in and selects the best one from among seven choices. With Nikon’s ingenious Easy Panorama Scene Mode, just pan in any direction and it will automatically detect the movement, then combine and assemble the various shots into one seamless 180 or 360-degree panoramic image.

Nikon knows that night and low-light shooting present tricky challenges. Advanced Night Landscape and the related Advanced Night Portrait are invaluable tools that eliminate the guesswork by shooting consecutive shots at fast shutter speed and composing them into sharp depictions of night scenes.

Advanced features for challenging conditions.

Its 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor provides superb image quality, high speed operation, and exceptional low-light performance. The back-illuminated CMOS lets you shoot true-to-life pictures with remarkable detail and color clarity. The COOLPIX P300’s four-way VR Image Stabilization is also a boon for handheld shooting. Custom optimized for this COOLPIX P300 model, Nikon’s exclusive EXPEED C2 processing engine enhances professional quality images.

You’ll also love Motion Detection’s ability to identify moving objects in frame, adjust shutter speed and ISO, and freeze the subject to create stunningly sharp photos. When activated, Best Shot Selector automatically records up to ten shots with a single press of the shutter and then selects and saves only the best image. The camera’s high ISO speed of up to 3200 with advanced noise reduction assures brilliant still images of dimly lit and fast moving photo subjects.

Full HD movie recording at 1080p

HD movies have become the standard for web posting, website design enhancement, publicity clips, and real estate property tours—or simply for capturing action that delivers so much more impact in high quality video. With the COOLPIX P300, you can shoot Full HD (1080p) movies while recording full stereo sound. The One-Touch recording button allows instant moviemaking, while the optical zoom control creates a variety of cinematic effects. You can even shoot slow and fast motion HD movie options for 15, 60 and 120 fps (reduced resolution). Viewing and sharing your movies is simple, too, with an HDMI-CEC output that allows in-camera playback or convenient hookup to an HDTV or computer.

Convenient features

Photo ops often arrive without warning, but your COOLPIX P300 is always ready with invaluable features like ultra fast start-up and autofocus—plus automatic High Speed Shooting that can capture up to seven shots in a second at full resolution. You can compose your shot using the large, three-inch LCD clear color display. This precision, 921,000-dot, ultra-high resolution screen produces rich detail and excellent contrast, and includes anti-glare coating for easy viewing of photos and HD movies.

Nikon’s Smart Portrait System offers useful tools that refine every shot. Smile Timer automatically releases the shutter when your subject smiles, while Face-Priority AF detects and focuses up to 12 faces at once. When activated, Blink Warning alerts you when a subject may have blinked and suggests a retake. The innovative in-camera Red-Eye Fix addresses the problem by correcting for red-eye while the camera is shooting. Uneven or ruddy complexions can also be corrected with Skin Softening, which smoothes skin tones at three different levels and can be applied while shooting or during playback. Your close up shots will also be enhanced by the COOLPIX P300’s Macro Shooting capabilities, taking clear, sharp pictures as close as 1.2 inches. And feel free to click away, as this COOLPIX has a 240-still shot capacity and comes with an EN-EL 12 Li-ion rechargeable battery.

LCD, Video and Photo Gallery images are for illustrative purposes only.

Specifications

Type

Compact Digital Camera

Effective Pixels

12.2 million

Image Sensor

CMOS

Sensor Size

1/2.3 in.

Total Pixels

12.75 million (approx.)

Lens

4.2x optical Zoom, NIKKOR glass lens

Lens Focal Length

4.3-17.9mm (angle of view equivalent to that of 24-100mm lens in 35mm [135] format)

Lens f/-number

f/1.8-4.9

Lens Construction

7 elements in 6 groups

Lens Zoom

4.2x

Digital Zoom

Up to 2x (angle of view equivalent to that of approx. 200mm lens in 35mm [135] format)

Vibration Reduction

Lens-shift VR

Autofocus (AF)

Contrast-detect AF

Autofocus (AF) Focus-area selection

Auto (9-area automatic selection)
Center
Face priority
Face priority tracking
Manual with 99 focus areas
Subject tracking

Focus Range

[W]: Approx. 1 ft. (30 cm.) to infinity
[T]: Approx. 2 ft. (60 cm.) to infinity
Macro close-up mode: [W]: Approx. 1.2 in. (3 cm.) to infinity

Focus Lock

Yes

Maximum Autofocus Areas/Points

Monitor Size

3.0 in. diagonal

Monitor Type

TFT-LCD with Anti-reflection coating

Monitor Resolution

921,000-dots

Monitor Frame coverage (shooting mode)

100% horizontal (Approx.)
100% vertical (Approx.)

Monitor Frame coverage (playback mode)

100% horizontal (Approx.)

Storage Media

SD memory card
SDHC memory card
SDXC memory card

Internal Memory

Approx. 90MB

Storage File System

DCF
EXIF 2.3
DPOF compliant

Storage File formats

Still pictures: JPEG
Sound files (Voice Memo): WAV

Movie

Audio file format: AAC stereo
Full HD: 1920x1080p / 30fps
Movie file format: MPEG-4 AVC H.264

Voice Memo Function

Yes

Image Size (pixels)

4000 x 3000 (12M)

ISO Sensitivity

ISO 160-3200
Auto (auto gain ISO 160-1600)
Fixed range auto (ISO 160-400, 160-800)

Lowest ISO Sensitivity

160

Highest ISO Sensitivity

3200

Exposure Metering

224-segment matrix, center-weighted

Exposure Control

Programmed auto exposure with flexible program
aperture-priority auto
exposure bracketing
manual
shutter priority auto
Exposure compensation (-2.0 to +2.0 EV in steps of 1/3 EV)
motion detection

Exposure Modes

Aperture-Priority Auto (A)
Manual (M)
Programmed Auto (P)
Shutter-Priority Auto (S)

Automatic Exposure Scene Modes

Yes

Scene Modes

Back Light
Beach
Black and White Copy
Close Up
Dusk/Dawn
Fireworks Show
Food
Landscape
Museum
Night Landscape
Night Portrait
Panorama
Party/Indoor
Pet Portrait
Portrait
Scene Auto Selector
Snow
Special Effects
Sports
Sunset

In-Camera Image Editing

Crop
D-Lighting
Filter Effects
Quick retouch
Skin softening
Small Picture

Exposure Compensation

± 2 EV in steps of 1/3

Exposure Lock

Yes

Exposure Bracketing

Yes

White Balance

Auto
Manual

Shutter

Mechanical and CMOS electronic shutter

Shutter Speed

1/2000-8 sec. (M mode)

Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution

Up to 7 shots at approx. 8 frames per second

Continuous Shooting Options

Continuous
Continuous H 60
Continuous H 120

Self-timer

Can be selected from 10 or 2 seconds duration

Built-in flash Range (approx.) (ISO sensitivity: Auto)

[W]: 0.5 to 6.5m (1ft. 8in. to 21ft.)
[T]: 0.5 to 2.5m (1ft. 8in. to 8ft. 2in.)

Built-in Flash Control

TTL auto flash with monitor preflashes

Built-in Flash

Yes

Interface

Hi-speed USB

Interface Data transfer protocol

MTP
PTP

Video Output

NTSC
PAL

HDMI Output

480p
720p
1080i

I/O terminal

Audio/video (A/V) output
Digital I/O (USB)
HDMI Mini Connector (HDMI output)

Supported Languages

Arabic
Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian
Polish
Portugese
Romanian
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukranian

Power Sources

One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12 (supplied)

Charging Time

4 hours (when using Charging AC Adapter EH-69P) (Approx.)

Battery / Batteries

Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12

Battery Life (shots per charge)

Nikon Rechargeable: 240 shots (CIPA)

Tripod Socket

¼ in.

Approx. Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth)

4.1 in. (103 mm) x 2.3 in. (58.3 mm) x 1.3 in. (32 mm)

Excluding projections. Method of noting dimensions and weight is in accordance with CIPA DCG-005-2009 guideline.

Approx. Weight

6.7 oz. (189 g)

with battery and SD memory card. Method of noting dimensions and weight is in accordance with CIPA DCG-005-2009 guideline.

Operating environment

Temperature: 0 to 40°C (32 to 104°F)

Supplied Accessories

Camera Strap AN-CP19
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12
Charging AC Adapter EH-69P
UC-E6 USB Cable
Audio Video Cable EG-CP16
Nikon ViewNX 2 Software CD

*Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area.

**Specifications and equipment are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.
***Refer to the product manual or the Compatible Lenses Specification for additional details.

LCD, Video and Photo Gallery images are for illustrative purposes only.

MH-65 Battery Charger$37.95

EH-62F AC Adapter$34.95

EN-EL12 Rechargeable Battery$37.95

UC-E6 USB Cable$10.95

AN-CP19 Strap$5.95

EG-CP16 Audio Video Cable$17.95

EH-69P AC Adapter/Charger$39.95

COOLPIX Black Leather Case$40.00

ViewNX 2

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LCD, Video and Photo Gallery images are for illustrative purposes only.

ViewNX 2

{%= nikon.tmpl_queue.add(function() { YAHOO.ksv.relatedProducts.normalizeProductTileHeight({ "id": "ProductDetail.ProductTabs.Software_product-list-4", "region": "product-details" }) }) %}

LCD, Video and Photo Gallery images are for illustrative purposes only.

COOLPIX P300 4.5 5 42 42

LOVE IT! I've had this camera for a while now and I LOVE IT. April 27, 2012

Best camera for a beginner/amateur like me. Although the megapixel and optical zoom is low when compared with the same price range but its image quality is very great Used it for light painting and exposure photos, great quality too! Having fun exploring it February 10, 2012

Excellent camera I am pretty happy with my camera. This is a compact camera, easy to carry everywhere, particularly for long trips. Manual setting are great for a small camera. I would totally recommend it! February 7, 2012

Very good allround performance although small sensor. As a hobbyst and owner of good compacts from Canon, Panasonic, Fuji, Olympus, etc., i was atracted specially by the fast lens of this camera. Noise is very low. The results are really very good in terms of sharpness, colour reproduction, etc. The possibility to take great pictures whithout flash is amazing - you can simply forget the camera has a pop-up flash. Overall is a very good allday camera, and turned in the last times my preferred, even against my excellent Canon S95. Only the zoom range could be a little larger in the upper end. January 24, 2012

Small package big results I bought this camera for only two reasons, it's size and it's ability to shoot in low light and it does those two things exceptionally well. I have other Nikon cameras with longer lenses and more functions, however they are larger and more of a burden to carry so I would find myself setting them down especially at social functions, however, this is where I wanted my camera the most but did not need a long lense . The P300 is not much bigger than a deck of playing cards and now I move my camera from my hand to my pocket so it is always with me when I want it. The P300 ability to shoot in low light is amazing and most of the time a flash is not needed which solves many red eye issues. December 26, 2011

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COOLPIX P300

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I wonder if you could give me an advise about this camera. I like it wery much but is it better than nikon L810 ? I can not decide which camera to buy

Jul 10, 2012 by

Adam

Serbia

on COOLPIX P300

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I would use it for capturing everyday life (macro, good zoom, great photos in every conditions), and I love to make profesionall pictures (photo art)...

I would appreciate your advise.
Regards,
Adam

1 week ago

Adam

Serbia

Location :

Serbia

Age: Under 18

Favorite Subject: Nature

Nikon Family: 0-1 years

Role: Serious passion, hobbyist

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You can use the comparison tool in our website in order to compare the specifications of our current cameras side by side to see which one will fit your needs within your price range.

Jul 11, 2012 by

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