Nikon Coolpix P7800 review – Noise, resolution and sensitivity
Image: Brightening shadow areas on shots that are taken above 1600 will introduce a considerable amount of noise
The P7800 offers an ISO sensitivity range of ISO 80-3200 in PASM modes, which is extendable to ISO 6400 using the H1 high ISO setting. In auto modes, the ISO range is ISO 80-1600. Luminous noise is only slightly visible between ISO 80 and ISO 400. Any setting between this shows only a comfortable level of luminance noise that does not detract from the image unless significantly magnified. Thankfully, the P7800 has an automatic ISO setting that will allow sensitivity to peak at either ISO 200, ISO 400 or ISO 800. Until ISO 800, the P7800 performs better than most cameras with a similar-sized sensor and resolution. Beyond ISO 800, fine detail starts to smudge and this gets progressively worse as the ISO sensitivity is pushed higher. This deterioration culminates at ISO 3200, at which point in-camera noise reduction produces smudges with solid edges.
The lens does suffer from some purple fringing in expected areas – mostly on high-contrast edges close to highlight areas, such as branches against a bright sky. It’s surprising that this is not removed in-camera in JPEGs. Some curvilinear distortion is also a problem in the form of barrelling at the widest and pincushioning at the telephoto end. However, there is a menu setting that allows the user to correct the distortion, and it can also be done via the in-camera raw-processing menu.
These images show 72ppi (100% on a computer screen) sections of images of a resolution chart, captured using the 6-42.8mm lens set to 60mm at f/5.6 . We show the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the better the camera’s detail resolution is at the specified sensitivity setting.
