Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification
The Nikon Coolpix A100 is one of Nikon's cheapest compact cameras with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it's priced at a low price of £69.99, and is available in a number of colours. The A100 features a 20.1-megapixel sensor and a wide-angle 5x optical zoom lens.
Nikon Coolpix A100 Features
The Nikon Coolpix A100 features a 20.1 megapixel CCD sensor, and a wide-angle 5x optical zoom lens, that is equivalent to 26mm to 130mm in 35mm terms. The camera is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and features a 2.7inch screen on the back. It's also compact weighing just 119g with the battery and memory card, and 19.8mm thin, with a metal front plate.
There are a number of scene modes making it easy to use the camera, but for those that want a little bit more control you can also set the ISO and white balance settings yourself, including custom white balance. Exposure compensation can be set from -2 to +2.
There are 8 creative effects, scene auto selector that automatically detects the scene, 16 manually selectable scene modes, a smart portrait mode (with skin softening, foundation makeup, soft, and vividness settings), and auto (program) mode where you can set the white balance, continuous shooting (on or off), ISO speed, and auto focus (AF) settings.
Video options allow you choose the resolution (maximum 720p, 25fps), set the autofocus mode to single or continuous, and switch wind noise reduction on and off. In the setup menus you have the option to apply a date stamp, switch electronic VR on or off, plus set the time and date.
In playback, there are 6 quick effects that you can apply by pressing the OK button, and the camera will give you a preview before you apply it. In the menus there are further options including Quick retouch, D-Lighting (Dynamic), Red-eye correction, Glamour retouch, Slide show, protect, rotate, small picture (Resize), and copy.
Key Features
- 20.1 megapixel CCD sensor
- 5x optical zoom lens, 26-130mm equivalent
- Electronic image stabilisation for stills and video
- 2.7inch 230k dot screen
- 720p video recording
- ISO80 - ISO3200
- 10cm macro
- Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
- Available in red, black, silver, pink, and purple (at certain outlets)
Nikon Coolpix A100 Handling
The Nikon Coolpix A100 has a half plastic, half metal body, and with a metal front the camera feels quite solid and well put together. The front of the camera is smooth, with just a few raised dots on the rear for your thumb, therefore we'd highly recommend using the supplied wrist strap to avoid dropping the camera. The buttons and controls are neatly laid out with clear labels and the buttons aren't too small, despite the camera being quite compact and the camera should be very easy to use even for beginners or children.
With a fairly limited number of options, the menus are clear and easy to use. The screen is quite low resolution, and the view can appear quite grainy at times, and wasn't very easy to see in bright sunlight. Viewing angles left and right are quite good, but aren't very good if you want to hold the camera above your head.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 250 shots according to Nikon / CIPA test results, when using the provided lithium-ion battery, which is reasonable for such a compact camera. If you want to shoot more, we'd recommend picking up a spare battery.
Speed - The Coolpix A100 isn't the fastest camera, and focus can be quite slow, particularly in low light. The camera can take a photo every 0.8 seconds when shooting in continuous shooting mode, which isn't very fast.
Nikon Coolpix A100 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Nikon COOLPIX A100 Lens test images
Camera Performance - Focus sometimes struggled when we were trying to take portrait photos in low light, which is a shame, as the glamour retouch, smart portrait, and other scene modes mean that the camera is geared towards portrait photos, and it would be good if the camera excelled at this, as we expect the target market is quite likely to take a lot of this kind of photo.
Noise is quite visible, even when the camera is using ISO80, and blue skies can show noticeable noise. Chromatic aberrations are also an issue, particularly towards the corners of the frame. Images are soft in the corners, particularly when shooting at the wide-angle end of the lens. Macro performance is reasonably good.
Exposure is reliable and the camera works well as a point and shoot, with good colour reproduction and saturation, and with bright punchy colours photos should look good when shared on social media websites such as Facebook.
Nikon COOLPIX A100 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - Detail starts to drop off at ISO200 to ISO400 and above, and to get the best results from this camera you are best sticking to the lower ISO settings. If you enable electronic vibration reduction (VR) then the camera will often use higher ISO settings, which results in less detail and more noise. This may not be too much of a concern if you aren't going to be viewing images at the full size. ISO3200 is available, but at a reduced resolution.
Nikon COOLPIX A100 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under tungsten lighting, and fluorescent lighting, as well as under mixed light. There are tungsten and fluorescent presets, as well as custom white balance but you shouldn't need to use these much as you get good results by simply leaving the camera on auto white balance.
Nikon COOLPIX A100 Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are a number of effects that can be applied when taking the photo, along with more effects that can be applied in playback mode. You can also use quick retouch, D-lighting, red-eye correction, and apply glamour retouch. There is a panoramic assist shooting mode that will stitch together photos for you, but results aren't great.
Glamour retouch lets you adjust face size, skin softening, foundation, glare, hide eye bags, enlarge eyes, whiten eyes, apple eye shadow, mascara, whiten teeth, change lipstick colour, and redden cheeks. The results tend to look good on the camera's small screen, but don't always look as good on the computer.
Video - The camera records 720p video at 25fps with mono sound, and optical zoom is not available while recording, only digital zoom, which looks quite blurred. With electronic image stabilisation switched off the video is quite unstable.
Value For Money
The Nikon Coolpix A100 is available for £69 from Argos. Which is a reasonable price, however, there are some competitors that offer more optical zoom, plus image stabilisation (IS), as well as built-in Wi-Fi.
Sony Cyber-shot W830, 8x optical zoom, optical Steadyshot, £69
Canon IXUS 165 IS, 8x optical zoom, £73
Nikon Coolpix S3700, 8x optical zoom, Wi-Fi, IS, £84
If your budget can stretch to the £100 mark then you can get a lot more camera for your money, and for some suggestions, have a look at more budget cameras in our Top 10 Best Budget Cameras 2015. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Nikon Coolpix A100 Verdict
Like the Nikon Coolpix A10, the A100 is a reasonable performer, with bright colourful photos, and a number of creative effects that can be applied when shooting or in playback. The camera is easy to use, and for sharing photos on social media website such as Facebook, the results should be good enough. However, it uses a lithium-ion battery so doesn't have the option of extending the battery life easily with spare batteries, and we weren't as impressed with the screen.
Due to the lack of image stabilisation and built-in Wi-Fi, the Nikon Coolpix A100 won't be for those that want to record video or share images straight to your smartphone. But for an easy to use camera that you can easily take with you thanks to the super compact size, then the Nikon Coolpix A100 does the job. If your budget can stretch slightly higher you can find a camera with more zoom, image stabilisation, and even Wi-Fi, with the S3700.