Nikon COOLPIX B700 Digital Camera

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Product Specifications

20.2MP ¹⁄₂.3” BSI CMOS Sensor
NIKKOR Super ED 60x Optical Zoom Lens
24-1440mm (35mm Equivalent)
921k-Dot Electronic Viewfinder
3.0” 921k-Dot Vari-Angle LCD Monitor
UHD 4K Video Recording at 30p
Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC & Bluetooth BLE
ISO 3200, Up to 5 fps Shooting
Dual Detect Vibration Reduction
Raw File Recording
Supplied with: AN-CP21 Strap, LC-CP29 Lens Cap, EN-EL23 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, EH-73 Adapter, UC-E21 USB Cable

Product Description

Product Description Nikon COOLPIX B700 Digital Camera

From the Manufacturer

The power to capture and create. The first time you hold the COOLPIX B700, you’ll know it’s an exceptional camera. Its DSLR-style design, including a PSAM mode dial, puts key controls where you want them and feels great in your hands. The first time you zoom in with it, you’ll wonder if any shot will ever be out of reach again. Subjects barely visible to the naked eye come into tight focus, held steady by cutting-edge Vibration Reduction technology. Use that power to capture stunning 20.2 megapixel RAW images, 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) videos with stereo sound or 5 FPS high-speed sequences in nearly any light. Plus, the whole time you’re shooting, the COOLPIX B700 can be connected to a compatible smartphone through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for instant photo sharing and remote camera control. This is more than a compact camera–it’s a creative powerhouse.

Get closer to what matters 60x optical zoom, 120x Dynamic Fine Zoom Few shots are too far away for the COOLPIX B700’s NIKKOR Super ED glass lens. 60x optical zoom gives you super telephoto power, then Dynamic Fine Zoom, an enhanced digital zoom, effectively doubles that reach for a whopping 120x zoom. Dual Detect Vibration Reduction (VR) counteracts camera shake to keep your shots steady, and a 20-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor captures every detail, even in low light.

Always connected Unleash new possibilities with a compatible smartphone Install Nikon’s new Snapbridge app on a compatible smartphone or tablet* and unlock exciting new capabilities with the COOLPIX B700. Built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth low energy (BLE) maintain a constant connection between the app and your camera, so each shot you take automatically transfers to your smartphone or tablet for sharing, editing with photo apps or uploading to your favorite sites. You can even use the Snapbridge app to control your camera remotely!

Create movies like a pro 4K Ultra HD (UHD) videos with stereo sound The COOLPIX B700 is a serious movie-making tool. Create with the awe-inspiring resolution of 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160) and selectable 30p or 25p frame rates. Face-priority AF keeps focus where you want it, and 5-Axis Hybrid Vibration Reduction (VR) keeps videos tripod-steady. High fidelity audio is captured with a stereo zoom mic that changes directivity according to zoom operation. Record up to 8 minutes with the touch of a button, then quickly delete unwanted footage right in the camera. Save still images while recording or during playback, connect to an HDTV with an optional HDMI cable, set autofocus to operate only when a subject moves and much more.

Preserve every detail Shoot in RAW (NRW) format for maximum image control For those who want to preserve maximum image quality and have greater flexibility for editing images outside of the camera, the COOLPIX B700 supports RAW (NRW) image capture. Capturing in RAW format preserves all of the data captured by the image sensor, making it easier to adjust exposure settings, white balance, colors and other settings using photo editing software.

Enjoy the view 3.0-inch 921,000-dot Vari-angle LCD makes every photo and video look great The COOLPIX B700’s large, LCD display makes it easy to compose your shots or monitor your video recording. Reviewing and sharing your creations is a pleasure, too-every shot looks fantastic on the display.

Supplied Accessories AN-CP21 Strap LC-CP29 Lens Cap EN-EL23 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EH-73P Charging AC Adapter UC-E21 USB Cable US Warranty Card

Product Reviews

FINALLY Here!

I have shot thousands of photos w/ the Coolpix P600 over the years. I got this camera for the RAW feature and the added Megapixels.This is the same P600 body but in a Matte Finish and so a bit grippier.Uses the same battery, EN-EL23, and the same cards so I was good to go.After setting to RAW + F (fine), Image Size to 20 M and turning off the digital zoom I took it for a test spin.I’ll be using this primarily for birding so I started there.First impressions are Viewfinder is FAR better than the P600, Zoom is smoother and Auto Focus (you probably will not want to us Manual Focus as it’s a pain) is faster, VR (image stabilization) is KILLER!Single point Focus is dead on as you can see from the shot of a Sparrow buried in the rose bush.Full Zoom (not digital) is dead on crisp. The Cardinal was shot on a windy cloudy dark day in AP Mode (lighter Cardinal shots) and Bird Mode at about 50’. Hand held and braced. Cardinals at full optical zoom.So far I am VERY Impressed!If you are a Birder and Nature shooter you will LOVE this Camera!P600/610 on steroids.Haven’t used the Wi-Fi Snap Feature or Video yet so I can’t speak to that.

I SSSOOOOOO wanted to love this camera! But I’m disappointed… :(

Boy oh boy have I been waiting for this camera! As a previous owner and lover of the Nikon Coolpix P610 and a current owner of a Canon SX60 HS, I was dying for Nikon to remedy the main flaw of the P610 by adding RAW file capture to its successor. That’s really what the P610 was missing and almost the only reason I sold my P610 and got an SX60 HS instead. So the day Nikon announced the B700, my order went in at Amazon and I got to wait around for about half a year… :(I must put my review into perspective so people know exactly where I’m coming from. I have a lot of cameras that do all kinds of things. PNS (Point-And-Shoot), to waterproof, all kinds of DSLRs, pro bodies and glass, etc. I am NOT buying this camera to do a little bit of everything nor did I get it as a travel camera. I got this camera, as many others have/will, solely to shoot wildlife/nature at full telephoto, wide open aperture, preferably at base ISO of 100, with VR on, in full sunlight, shooting in RAW with the intent of post-processing later. Sure, I’ll shoot other things with it and not all my shots will be at the above settings. But that is why I bought it and that’s the primary aim of this review. I’ll start with a Novice Review followed by Pros & Cons assuming Advanced photographic knowledge, then Summary, then descriptions of my sample photos.NOVICE REVIEW:The main reason to consider this camera is because of its mega-telephoto lens! It certainly has a lot of reach! Unfortunately, I’m going to have to be a bit of a buzzkill here. At/near full telephoto, the VR (Vibration Reduction) simply is not good enough to truly eliminate camera shake. Make no mistake, this is a superb lens capable of razor sharp photos, even at full tele. But in real life, pointing and shooting (automatic modes) at full tele is going to yield somewhat sharp to straight-up blurry results. Ironically, this PNS camera requires advanced technique to actually harness the capability that is its main selling point; mega-telephoto.From full wideangle (24mm equiv.) to around 500mm-ish equiv. it will routinely capture super-sharp beautiful colorful images. JPEG compression (even JPEG FINE) is quite aggressive so pixel-peeping at 100% will be less than spectacular. But for making prints 18”x24”, JPEG Fine should easily work well enough.If 4K video is a main reason you’re getting this camera, think carefully about that decision. The B700’s 4K video, like its JPEGs, is overly compressed and sound is very hissy. So, watching on a Samsung SUHD TV wasn’t very inspiring. Quality 1080p video upscaled to a 4K TV will easily look better.There is a plethora of special modes. Star Trails should be a fun one and Selective Color is something I’ve always enjoyed playing around with. HDR is now buried in a Menu called “Backlighting.” Once you find and enable HDR, it works pretty well.This camera commands such a price because of its really really long lens and its ability to capture images in RAW format. If you don’t intend to shoot RAW (only good for post-processing in Lightroom or similar), then this camera’s predecessor (Nikon P610) is much better as it is very nearly identical, has built-in GPS and far superior VR and costs less. And if you’re buying this camera for the mega-telephoto, don’t. The VR just is not good enough to freeze at full tele. If you NEED this much telephoto AND RAW, consider the Canon SX60 HS. Or consider waiting until Canon releases the SX60 HS’ successor or until Nikon releases the P900’s successor. Otherwise, consider a much less expensive, and smaller(!) camera with fewer megapixels. 20MP is too many for such a tiny sensor and low-light/high-ISO performance suffers too much because of those unnecessary extra Megapixels.PROS:1) This lens really does have truly exceptional glass in it. Given proper disciplined technique, razor sharp (in the center) results are obtainable all the way through the zoom range.2) Bokeh is very pleasing. A very nice bonus at this price point.3) RAW files! I was pleasantly shocked to see that a 3-stop push from ISO 100 is virtually indistinguishable from proper exposure at ISO 800! Pushed 100 is just as grainy and noisy as properly-exposed 800, but not more, and color doesn’t shift at all. Very respectable usable latitude here.4) Continuous High frame advance seems REALLY fast! Seems much faster than the claimed 5fps.5) Having the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) automatically turn on and off when something approaches the EVF is very convenient. Though, the EVF sensor is too sensitive and activates at around 3 inches. ½ inch to 1 inch would be ideal.6) The grip is very well-shaped and textured. It’s as secure a grip as I’ve come across and DSLRs could learn from it.7) Very small and lightweight considering the extreme zoom range!8) The articulating screen will come in handy every now and then.9) Snapbridge makes instant GPS data transfer from phone to camera as simple as turning your phone’s GPS on. Far better than Nikon’s old Wireless Mobile Utility, but still not nearly as good as built-in GPS.10) Though tiny, the EN-EL23 battery has good capacity. I shot over 200 pictures, about ²⁄₃ RAW-only and about ¹⁄₃ RAW+JPEG Norm with about 30 flash pops and and a fair amount of photo reviewing and the battery still indicated full. Of course, it wasn’t truly full but even with true ¹⁄₃ remaining capacity, that’s solid. If you need more battery capacity than that, carrying a spare battery barely takes any space in your pocket or bag.CONS:1) VR is simply inadequate for full tele. Even with VR on, full tele is going to require shutter speeds of about ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ to achieve feather, fur or eye detail. Even on stationary subjects. Or flash will need to be used to eliminate blur. Unfortunately, flash is too weak to illuminate beyond about 6 feet or so at full tele at ISO 100, and that is just about minimum focus distance. VR will get you quite sharp results down to about ¹⁄₁₂₅ but prevents perfection. Turning VR off and tripod-mounting is the way to let this lens impress you at full tele, but that’s not practical for birds or any wildlife.2) ISO performance is poor at/above ISO 400 depending on your tolerance. Lightroom +10 Color Noise Reduction takes care of the color noise but luminance noise can take a good deal more work.3) While potentially extremely sharp and bright in the center, the edges and corners in particular are quite soft and the light falloff is noticeable.4) RAW file size is unnecessarily large. Each and every B700 .NRW file will be 32,283KB (32MB). Seems like uncompressed RAW. Even my 24MP D610’s .NEF files are generally only around 25MB and they have more processing latitude.5) ¹⁄₄₀₀₀ shutter speed is not available at longer focal lengths. At full tele wide open at F6.5 the fastest shutter speed is ¹⁄₂₀₀₀.6) OMG, no dynamic Auto Minimum Shutter Speed for Auto ISO that factors focal length??? Even worse is that the Minimum Shutter Speed you manually enter cannot be faster than ¹⁄₁₂₅! This means that Aperture Priority mode is unusable at full tele unless you’re well-braced and shooting stationary subjects with bright sunlight or flash at 6’.7) Reviewing photos is unbelievably inconvenient as zooming the image across the full screen is not possible from the one Display that shows EXIF data. So, after viewing the EXIF data, you must press Display twice in order to get to the right Display to properly zoom the review image. Then 2 more presses of Display to get back to EXIF. And there is about a second of lag each time you press Display. Repeat this process for every image you wish to review. Infuriating…8) The menu system is maddening! There is no Custom Menu nor is there a Quick Menu like Canon has for its Powershot cameras. When Nikon falls behind Canon in menus, there’s a huge problem…9) Changing Shooting Modes results in a graphic that takes up ¹⁄₃ of the screen and stays on for about 4 seconds and there is nothing that can be done about that.10) Focus points positioned on smaller distant objects tend to focus not on what they should. I use AF Area Mode “Manual Spot.” I put that spot on a face about 60 feet away at 500mm equiv. and it will focus on the background. Doesn’t matter where the spot is in the frame, it will miss very regularly.11) No AF-C (Continuous Focus). I cannot tell the difference between and AF-F and PRE-AF. They do the same thing as far as I’m concerned. But regardless of whether you choose AF-S, AF-F or PRE-AF, focusing will lock and stop when the release button is pressed halfway. Therefore, you will always have to either stab the release button (if you weren’t touching it) or release and then stab (if you were holding it halfway) when you wish to shoot. Then the camera will re-focus and then shoot. This is at best a ¼ second lag and that is an eternity at 1,440mm equiv. shooting wildlife. The workaround is to shoot in Continuous High release mode and routinely fire 5 shots in a “spray and pray” method. That’s about 161MB per burst and there will be tons of wasted shots and still very many missed shots.12) Phantom aperture closures. I don’t know how this happens but I often find that I’m shooting at F7.2 or some other F-Stop that is closed down often by more than a full Stop from wide open. I almost exclusively shoot in Aperture Priority and make it a point to stay wide open with this camera but somehow aperture keeps on stopping down. It is not like me, ever, to accidentally turn a dial. I suppose it’s possible that’s what’s happening here, but it doesn’t seem very likely at all. With ISO needing to be as low as possible, this is a big problem.13) No real filter threads. A 52mm filter can be mounted but the threads are barely biting and the filter is easily knocked off.14) JPEG compression is too high. But you should be getting this camera strictly for RAW (otherwise get the P610 for JPEG), so…15) On the first day I used the B700 I was trying to shoot something in Macro and the lens hunted back and forth and finally made a bad plasticky grinding sound (gears?) for a few seconds and then stopped. I power cycled and to date that has not happened again.16) No built-in GPS.17) No battery charger??? OMG! Charging via Micro USB plugged into the B700 (like you would a phone) and it is a painfully slow charging process. Nikon wants $45 for the MH-67P battery charger but you can get an aftermarket generic one for around $10 and you’ll need one.18) No hot shoe to use a real flash. The Canon SX60 HS has a hot shoe…SUMMARY:Breaks my heart to say, but I like using my Canon SX60 HS far more due to the vastly superior menus/accessibility and image review process. The SX60 HS also has better low-light performance/shadow detail and is about the same in terms of real life full tele RAW performance. If tripod-mounted with Stabilization off, the B700’s lens blows away the SX60 HS’, but nobody will ever shoot either of these cameras in this fashion. I have many gripes with the SX60 HS. Unfortunately even more with the B700. If the B700’s VR was as good as the P610’s, I would be willing to tolerate the many shortcomings of the B700, which in all fairness, are carryovers from the P610. Alas, this 6ish-month delay for the B700 wasn’t worth it to me and I’ll be returning mine to Amazon for a refund. I’m waiting for the Nikon P900’s and Canon SX60 HS’ successors. :(SAMPLE PHOTOS:Photo 1 & 2) Okay, so below you’ll see a full-face photo of my kitten and the eye photo is a tight crop taken from the same photo. It was shot handheld with VR on indoors about 10-feet (3m) from the subject, in RAW (.NRW), full telephoto 258mm (1,440mm equiv.), ISO 100, wide open at F6.5, ¹⁄₅₀₀, flash on, with -¹⁄₃ stop exposure compensation pre-dialed-in. The full-face photo is only slightly cropped as it was not quite centered. Both photos were downsized to 1440x1080 pixels for upload to Amazon. In Lightroom 6 my workflow was: Exposure +1.00 (It was totally underexposed to start with), Contrast +25, Highlights -20, Whites +10, Vibrance +20, Saturation +10, Orange Saturation +5, Green Saturation +30. Sharpening stayed at default value of 25, no image straightening, lens correction, vignette correction, noise reduction or chromatic aberration correction. I did a little extra work specifically to the eyes.Photo 3 & 4) Kahlua bottle was shot at full telephoto at ¹⁄₅ second, ISO 100, tripod mounted with VR off, and converted from RAW to 1440x1080 JPEG with no editing whatsoever, and then a tight crop from the center of the frame. I think focus was slightly off and that’s why it’s not sharper. Still, pretty good.Photo 5, 6 & 7) Contrary to my “wildlife in sunlight” style, the bedding photo is a test of Macro and high ISO. This was RAW, zoomed full wide at minimum focus in Macro Mode at ISO 3200, ¹⁄₂₀₀, wide open at F3.3. There have been no lens corrections or noise reduction actions. The inside of my 52mm filter can be seen sharply vignetting the corners. As the close-ups show, there is a fair amount of color noise in the brighter areas and a lot of color noise in the shadows. +10 Color Noise Reduction in Lightroom removes all color noise (I haven’t provided that sample).Photo 8) This “daisy” was shot through a window screen, hence the echoed image and soft dreaminess. It is very cropped down and represents only about ¹⁄₃ of the full frame. RAW, full tele, handheld with VR on, ISO 100, ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ F6.5, edited in Lightroom.Photos 9 & 10) Lazy cat… ISO 800 straight RAW conversion to JPEG; no editing at all. Highlights are clipping. The eye close-up is a straight crop from this frame.Photo 11) This lens suffers from flare and ghosting a little too often.Photos 12 & 13) Full frame of a tiare (Tahitian gardenia) and stamen/pollen close-up cropped from it. RAW, ISO 100, handheld VR on, F6.5, ¹⁄₂₀₀₀, full tele 1,440mm equiv. This is about as sharp as this lens can get at full tele with wide open aperture, handheld with VR on and no flash. As the tight crop shows, individual pollen grains are discernible though not super-well defined. Still, as I’m even critiquing it the way I would professional gear is great praise for this lens indeed! It’s just that it takes too much work to coax the best out of this lens at/near full tele and suitable real-life subjects will be rare and it will be luck that is the real reason for razor sharp shots at full tele.Photos 14 & 15) The green box with books behind it was shot at F5.3, ¹⁄₈ second in both photos and they are both tight crops representing about 10% of the full original size. The first shot was at ISO 100 and was 3 stops underexposed and then 3 stops were added back in Lightroom. The second shot was properly exposed at ISO 800 with no editing at all.Photo 16) Here is an example of the B700’s bokeh (the character of out-of-focus blur). This image is not cropped at all. 800mm equivalent (143.3mm actual), ¹⁄₃₂₀, F5.6, ISO 640, VR on I think. It’s really hard to shoot moving subjects with the B700 so I just spray and pray. This was my favorite of a 5-shot burst over the course of 1 second. The rooster isn’t super-sharp but that’s probably more the lack of fast enough shutter speed than poor focus or lens sharpness. This lens is very sharp when properly focused but this shot does reveal the softening at the edges and particularly in the corners. Remember, VR doesn’t freeze action, just reduces your own motion blur. And at 800mm, a moving rooster a couple yards away is a tough subject to lock. Anyhow… this shot is about the background, not the subject. The background fades away nicely, while leaving faithful texture. A Nikkor 85mm F1.4G would have just turned the background into what would look like light brown construction paper. I like the B700’s bokeh, but bokeh is a very subjective thing…

Zoomed in and snap on target (mostly)

First let me say that the B700 has some really nice glass. The zoom is incredible. However, the Nikon menus leave much to be desired. They are a bit confusing with a lot of modes and settings being buried in odd locations. Part of my frustration has to do with the fact I’m coming off the Nikon D5100 where most camera modes/functions are a LOT more “convenient” and intuitive. Another frustration and one that Nikon should be ashamed of is the viewfinder. It desperately needs a rubber eye-cup. The viewfinder currently sits behind a flat HARD piece of plastic and there is a cheesy square cut out to look through (COME ON NIKON!!!). If it’s bright outside the sun is gonna blind you because you can’t seal it out on the flat plastic, plus it’s just plain uncomfortable…..a bit of thought regarding comfort and usability would have been nice. Nevertheless, this camera is lighter than any of the pro body cameras and that is what I wanted. It’s easy to grip and use the zoom. The flash is adequate in close pictures but a hot-shoe would have been great……..or even a Bluetooth function to control an external flash. A cheap software fix that was ignored. Of course, many of the speed-lights today will trigger off the camera flash or can be controlled manually…………but that’s a pain. One other thing that is missing is a lens hood……….Nikon…………you know it needs it! Now I have to go by a cheesy rubber one.Let’s talk focus! There are several focus modes and most are spot on especially the single point focus. Nevertheless, personally I would have preferred the “manual focus” to be usable in all modes…..not an option but you can use it in M mode.. You can assign some functions (such as manual focus) to buttons on the camera which is helpful. I made the zoom on the lens act as manual focus. Which works perfectly……in M mode.The zoom truly is extraordinary! The pictures below (pic 1 - horses are in the distance over the hill) were taken at dusk and the subjects were almost ³⁄₄ of a mile away. I did not have a tripod and due to the low light (and my shaky hands) there was a small amount of digital noise. As you can see the camera can take acceptable pics at great distances. I did not use RAW mode in this instance but if you have a EXTREME PRO memory card (at least a Class 10 SDXC UHS-I Memory Card or you’re gonna have some REAL problems with this camera in video and RAW modes) then I HIGHLY recommend using the RAW + F mode. Yes, the files are large but the quality is astounding and batch editing is a dream! If you can’t afford Adobe products then check out Coral PaintShop Pro and AfterShot Pro………for less than $50 bucks each you can do almost anything Adobe Lightroom can do with RAW or JPEG files.As a disabled amateur photographer I have enjoyed being free from carrying 25lbs of lenses, speedlights, filters, batteries, and converters with me, but If your looking for studio quality pics out of the box with this camera then you might be better off with something else. Every camera takes time to get the feel of so I expect my pics (and the frustration with the wonky menus) to get better. For the money you can’t beat this camera!

Frustrating

I have yet to find a digital camera that takes pictures as well as my old Canon 35mm. I thought perhaps my problem was that most digitals are held out in front, so I got one with…

Five Stars

Great camera

Good Camera, Poor Software

I have owned Nikons since I was processing my own black and white film in a makeshift darkroom. I trust the mechanics and the lenses.

Don’t buy this camera (Updated…)

Okay, the lens is good. It feels like a well made camera but the Auto mode is worthless. This is a camera you’ll have to tweak and tweak to get pictures to look right.

Great for concerts!

I bought this camera specifically for concert usage. Anyone who has been to a concert know they don’t allow any “interchangeable lens” cameras into the show without press…

Great super zoom. This is a P900 beater!

Great P&S. Great optics, grip, features. And image quality is awesome for such a small sensor.Two issues:inadequate VR at the top end of the zoom.

Decent camera but mobile app is GARBAGE!

Since Nikon is one of the industry leaders I had high hopes for this camera. A quick breakdown of my findings. The good: The size is small and portable for travel, etc.

Great birding camera

My wife is a birder. She has a 30x Nikon pocket camera that works fairly well for birding. But, this 60x optical zoom is much better for that purpose.