The Nikon Coolpix B700 updates the P610 and features the same 60x optical zoom lens, but upgrades the insides to offer a new 20 megapixel sensor, and 4K video recording. Wi-Fi and NFC is built-in and has been joined by low-power Bluetooth to enable low-power transfer of images to a smartphone or tablet.
Nikon Coolpix B700 Features
If the 83x optical zoom of the Nikon Coolpix P900 is too much, and you'd like a more compact ultra-zoom bridge camera, then the Nikon Coolpix B700 could be for you. With a 60x optical zoom lens, a vari-angle 3inch screen, built-in electronic viewfinder, Wi-Fi, 4K video recording, and manual controls the camera has a lot to offer.
The 60x optical zoom lens is equivalent to 24mm wide-angle zooming all the way to 1440mm at the telephoto end, in 35mm equivalent terms. This gives an impressive amount of reach, and the camera’s optical image stabilisation, which Nikon calls Vibration Reduction (VR), helps keep the image steady when shooting under low light or when using a lot of zoom. The lens can focus on subjects 1cm away from the front of the lens, giving the camera impressive macro capabilities. The lens features an f/3.3 aperture that closes to f/6.5 when the full optical zoom is used.
The camera features a vari-angle 3inch screen, plus an electronic viewfinder (EVF), which also has an eye-detection sensor so that the camera will automatically switch between the rear screen and EVF, when the camera is held up to your eye.
Inside the camera is a 20 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, capable of recording 4K video. 4K video resolution is UHD (3840 x 2160) and frame rates available are 30 or 25fps. You can record FullHD video at up to 60fps, and 720p video at 120fps, with video featuring stereo sound.
The camera offers Auto, P, A, S, Manual shooting modes, as well as numerous scene modes, and creative effects. You can also shoot raw images. A retouch menu is available in playback mode, so that you can apply effects after you have taken your photos.
Built-in Wi-Fi and NFC has been joined by low-power Bluetooth making it possible to transfer images to your smartphone using less power, as well as remotely control the camera (over Wi-Fi).
Key Features
- 20 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor
- 60x optical zoom lens, f/3.3-6.5, equivalant to 24-1440mm
- Dual detect Optical Vibration Reduction (VR), 5-stops
- 3inch vari-angle screen, 921k dot
- Electronic ViewFinder (EVF), with 921k dots
- 4K (UHD), 30p video recording
- ISO100 to ISO3200
- 1cm macro focus
- Raw shooting
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC
- 10fps continuous shooting (only 5 shots)
- Available in black or red
Nikon Coolpix B700 Handling
The large grip gives the camera the styling and looks of a small DSLR, and the patterned texture ensures you can maintain a firm grip of the camera. The rubberised thumb grip on the back is a nice touch as well. The camera feels quite sturdy, with a solid plastic body. The battery and memory compartment features a locking mechanism, and this too feels and looks well engineered.
The design has barely changed since the P610, but as the old saying goes “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” - however there is now a second function (Fn2) button on the back, in addition to the top function (Fn1) button. On the side of the camera is a button which releases the pop-up flash, just down from there on the lens is a lever which offers an alternative way to adjust the optical zoom, as well as a snap back zoom button that zooms the lens out so you can find your subject again if you've lost it.
The top features a mode dial - with a user settings mode so that you can save your favourite camera setup.
There is a dial to adjust shutter speed and / or aperture depending on which mode you are in. In manual mode you can use this dial, as well as the rear scroll wheel so that you can adjust shutter and aperture directly. The rear scroll wheel can be used for cycling through the menus. Surrounding this wheel is the d-pad to access exposure compensation, macro mode, self-timer and the flash.
The camera also features an eye-sensor so that it can automatically switch between the rear screen and EVF.The EVF is quite small, and doesn't match the screen for clarity, with blacks looks a little washed out.
The vari-angle screen means you can use it for self-portraits, or for monitoring video recording, when in front of the camera, and you can also turn it around to protect the screen.
The menus are clearly laid out, with each section getting its own main section logo, starting with the photo options, then the video options, etc. This makes it easy to change and find settings, however, the clarity could probably be improved if the menu sections were colour coded, rather than just being the same colour as each other.
Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth Features - NFC makes it easy and quick to setup a connection to a compatible Android smartphone. If you have an iOS device, then you can use Bluetooth to setup the connection. The camera no longer has built-in GPS, however you can use the Nikon SnapBridge app to add location data to images.
Battery life - Battery life is improved at 420 shots according to Nikon / CIPA test results, which is good, although extended use of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is likely to shorten the battery life of the camera, particularly when using Wi-Fi.
Nikon Coolpix B700 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.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Shutter Response | <0.05secs |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.125secs |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.25secs |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 3.5secs |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 1.4secs |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 2.0secs |
| Continuous Shooting - JPEG (shots before slow down) |
10fps (5 shots) |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | N/A |
| Continuous Shooting - RAW | 10fps (5 shots) |
The camera can shoot at 10fps, but for only 5 shots before shooting stops, when shooting JPEG or raw images. Focus is rapid, particularly at the wide-angle end of the lens, and shutter response is quick.
Nikon Coolpix B700 Sample Photos
Sample Photos - The Nikon Coolpix B700 gives images with good colour, particularly when shooting in bright sunny conditions, with bright saturated colours. The flash gives good results, with rarely any signs of red-eye. Exposure is reliable, and for more dynamic range you can use the "Active D-Lighting" option, or the backlighting / HDR scene mode.
Nikon Coolpix B700 Lens test images
Lens Performance - Macro performance is impressive, with the camera able to focus on subjects just 1cm away from the front of the lens. Images are softer at the telephoto end of the lens (particularly in the corners), but reasonably good at the wide-angle end of the lens, with images sharper near the centre of the image. Chromatic aberrations and purple fringing can be an issue when shooting images with high levels of contrast. There is some barrel distortion when shooting wide-angle, although there is minimal pincushion distortion at the telephoto end of the lens. Image stabilisation is quite impressive, keeping images steady even when using a lot of optical zoom.
Nikon Coolpix B700 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - As expected, noise is at it's lowest at ISO100, and the camera can produce a reasonably clean image. Even at ISO200 there isn't much of an increase in noise. Noise becomes more noticeable at ISO400, when viewing images at 100%. Noise becomes stronger at ISO800, with some colour degredation. At ISO1600 noise reduction becomes quite strong, although images may still be useful if used on the web and resized. ISO3200 is best avoided, due to high levels of noise, and low image quality. There are noise reduction options of High, Normal and Low, with the default being Normal.
Nikon Coolpix B700 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs quite well under tungsten light, mixed light and fluorescent light. This means you shouldn't need to use the presets. However if you aren't entirely happy with the results, then there are a wide range of WB options including: Auto normal, Auto (warm lighting), as well as the incandescent (tungsten) preset giving the option to adjust the warmth or coolness of the image +3/-3. The fluorescent preset has 3 options.
Nikon Coolpix B700 Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are numerous scene modes, with a number of effects available here (including backlighting and HDR). Under the "Custom" photo mode, there are 5 different options, and each of these has another 4 different choices. This means there are lots of different effects you can apply. The camera features an automatic panoramic mode, where you simply press the shutter release button and pan the camera from one side to the other. Results are reasonable, and well stitched together, although they are quite low-res.
Video - Optical image stabilisation is available when recording 4K (UHD) video, with electronic image stabilisation also available when recording FullHD video. You can choose between 30 and 25fps when shooting 4K video, and 30/60 and 25/50fps when shooting FullHD video. 4K video uses significantly more memory than FullHD video, recording at 62Mbps, so you'll need to make sure your computer is capable of playing back 4K video, and if you have a slow internet connection, then uploading video to sites like YouTube could be frustratingly slow. Image stabilisation does a good job keeping the video stable, and focus was also good when using the optical zoom.
Value For Money
The Nikon Coolpix B700 is available for £359 which makes it quite good value for money, for an ultra-zoom bridge camera with 4K video recording. Alternatives include the following cameras:
Panasonic Lumix FZ82, 18mp, 4K video, 10fps continuous, 3inch touch-screen, EVF, 60x optical zoom
Canon Powershot SX530, FullHD video, 5fps continuous, 3inch screen, no EVF, 50x optical zoom
Have a look at more ultra-zoom bridge cameras in our Top 10 Best Ultra Zoom Bridge Cameras. 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 B700 Verdict
The Nikon Coolpix B700 is an ultra-zoom bridge camera that offers 60x optical zoom lens, and 4K video recording. There are not many ultra-zoom cameras offering this much zoom, plus 4K video recording, there's currently this camera, and the Panasonic Lumix FZ82.
The Nikon Coolpix B700 is available for £359, whilst the Panasonic Lumix FZ82 is available for £329. Where the cameras differ is in the optical zoom, with the FZ82 offering a wide-angle 20mm equivalent (vs 24mm on the B700), and the B700 offering a longer telephoto reach, with a 1440mm equivalent (vs 1200mm on the FZ82).
If you're looking for a lot of optical zoom, in an ultra-zoom bridge camera, designed to "Do-it-all", then the Nikon Coolpix B700 does a good job of providing almost everything you could possibly want, including 4K video recording, a 60x optical zoom lens, a vari-angle 3inch screen, a built-in electronic viewfinder, built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth, manual controls, raw shooting, and more. Where the camera suffers is in image quality, with some images appearing soft.
However, if your plan is to share images straight to Facebook, then images should look good, thanks to good colour reproduction and reliable exposure. With a competitive price point, the Nikon Coolpix B700 is recommended.
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The Nikon Coolpix B700 offers a long zoom, a range of useful features, plus 4K video recording. |