Underwater adventures in a snap
The new Nikon Coolpix AW 130 lets you take incredible shots of the deep
A RUGGED compact digital camera that is waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof, the Nikon Coolpix AW130 is exactly what Thailand’s diving and snorkelling enthusiasts have been waiting for.
It supports photography both in freshwater and seawater to a depth of 30 metres for up to six minutes meaning you can capture those colourful fish and coral that always catch the eye.
The AW130 is equivalent to JIS/IEC waterproof grade 8 (IPX8) and JIS/IEC dustproof grade 6 (IP6X).
And it’s also shockproof – at least within limits. Nikon says the AW130 has passed its in-house drop test from a height of 210 cm onto 5 centimetre-thick plywood in compliance with MIL-STD 810F Method 5165-Shock test.
But the manufacturer also notes that if the camera falls, the impact may affect its waterproof performance.
The camera can be used in snow too, as it is freezeproof to minus 10-degrees Celsius.
The AW130 features a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor and 24mm equivalent Nikkor glass-lens with 5x optical zoom. At the widest-angle, the lens is bright with an f/2.8 aperture.
The AW130 has been equipped with several functions for assisting underwater photography.
These include an altimeter and depth gauge that allow you to check the atmosphere pressure and the altitude or water depth of the current position on the screen.
The displayed values are recorded to the captured images and can be imprinted on the images by using the data imprint function in the playback menu.
The camera also has an electronic compass that can be displayed on the shooting screen. This displays the north, east, south and west in 16 cardinal points. The direction measured by the electronic compass can be imprinted on the image, again using the data imprint function.
To allow you to compose photos underwater more easily, the AW130 uses a large, Wide Viewing Angle OLED display with a 6-level brightness adjustment. You will probably have to use the full level of brightness underwater.
To help you capture steady shots underwater, the AW130 comes with Hybrid VR (Vibration Reduction) and also helps you focus underwater thanks to Target Finding AF that quickly determines your intended subject and puts the focus the subject.
The AW130 has an underwater scene mode that can be selected manually or with the Scene Auto Selector.
Designed to be tightly sealed before lowering into the water, the battery and memory card are encased in a chamber with a lid that locks with a push button.
The camera has a built-in GPS chip for recording location data when it is used underwater.
With the built-in GPS, the AW130 is a true travel camera. The AW130 records the exact location of each shot you take, so you can follow the path of your adventure and your shots along the way.
You can then share your journeys on Google Maps, Google+ and other social networking sites. Or you can use the downloadable Nikon View NX2 software to display the photos on a map.
The camera can also function as a GPS navigator with built-in mapping and Electronic Compass with Points of Interest (POI) information. The GPS file on the camera can also be downloaded from Nikon website and updated.
The camera is easy to operate. Apart from the Scene Auto Selector Mode, it also boasts a full Auto mode.
The mode selector button is on the back of the camera, making it easy to choose Scene mode, Special effects, and Shot movie show.
The Scene mode lets you manually select one of 20 scene modes, including Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Beach, Sunset, Underwater, Backlighting, Close-up, and Easy panorama as well as Night landscape.
The Night landscape has two submodes –handheld and tripod. The handheld Night landscape is very useful for capturing beautiful and sharp light. Once you press the shutter button, the camera will take a series of photos and combine them into a single image.
The Special Effects mode has eight fun special effects from which to select including Soft, Sepia, Selective colour, Pop colour and Toy camera.
The Smart Portrait mode is fun to use especially for women. You can use it to take a picture with a glamour retouch function to enhance your subjects’ faces.
The Smart Portrait mode lets you simultaneously apply multiple effects and adjust the amount of effects.
The effects include Skin softening, Foundation makeup, Soft, Vividness and Brightness.
During the test, I was able to capture beautiful, sharp and clean shots with the Auto mode.
We tested the camera at the Vana Nava Hua Hin Water Park and captured beautiful, sharp and clean shots underwater.
Like most new cameras, the AW130 has built-in Wi-Fi with NFC function that allows it to be connected to a smartphone in a snap to share photos to the phone or a tablet for uploading to the social networks of your choice. You can also use a smartphone or tablet to control the camera.
Nikon Coolpix AW130 has a suggested retail price of Bt13,490.
>>Image sensor: 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor
>>Lens 5x optical Zoom, NIKKOR glass lens with equivalent focal length of 24-120mm and f/2.8-4.9 aperture
>>Autofocus: Contrast-detect AF
>>Focus-area selection: Centre, Face priority, Manual with 99 focus areas, Subject tracking, Target Finding AF
>>Shutter Speed: 1/1500-4 sec.
>>Sensitivity: ISO 125-1600, ISO 3200, 6400 (available when using Auto mode)
>>Exposure Metering: Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot
>>Exposure Modes: Auto, Scene, Scene Auto Selector, Short Movie Show, Smart Portrait, Special Effects
>>Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution: Up to 5 shots at approximately 7 frames per second
>>Storage media: SD, SDHC, SDXC memory card
>>Monitor: 3-inch OLED with Anti-reflection coating, 6-level brightness adjustment in 921,000 dots
>>In-Camera Image Editing: Crop, Data imprint, D-Lighting, Glamour Retouch, Quick Retouch, Red eye reduction, Small Picture
>>Interface: micro USB, HDMI micro, Wi-Fi, GPS
>>Battery: Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12 (about 370 shots)
>>Approx. Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth): 110.4 mm x 66.0 mm x 26.8 mm, excluding projections
>>Approx. Weight: 221 g with battery and SD memory card
