- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100
- Canon PowerShot G15
- Nikon Coolpix P7700
- Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
- Canon PowerShot G12
Rated 80% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)The rear of the P310 has a 3-inch LCD screen with an impressively high 921,000-dot resolution, providing more than enough detail for you to be able to determine whether you have a sufficiently crisp image.
Rated 90% by by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)Image quality is excellent, with a perfectly usable ISO range of 80-1600 and fast f/2.0 maximum aperture, albeit only at the wide-angle lens setting, making the S100 very well-suited to low-light, hand-held photography.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Nikon Coolpix P310 compared to the Canon Powershot S100
MP15.9
1/2.5"
Rated 80% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)Still, dual controls for setting the aperture and shutter speed is very rare on any compact, so kudos to Nikon for including both on the P310.
12 MP
1/1.8"
Rated 79% by by c|net (Nov, 2011)Given its size (and its relatively small sensor) it delivers excellent JPEG quality up to ISO 200, and photos remain quite good up through ISO 800.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 15.9 MP   | 20 MP |
Coolpix P310 by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)The Nikon P310 features a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, full manual controls, 1080p HD video recording, a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, a high-resolution LCD screen and 5fps burst shooting.
Powershot S100 by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 3.5Mb.
sensor size
Coolpix P310 by DPReview (Jun, 2012)f/4.9. Also worth noting is the fact that because of the small sensor size (It's 1/2.3 inch type), even when wide open, the lens doesn't deliver any significant shallow depth-of-field benefit (an f/4.9 aperture with a sensor this small is equivalent in depth of field terms to f/36.8 in full-frame 135mm terms).
Powershot S100 by Sheraz-A.-Choudhary (Nov, 2011)First off, I don't think it's fair to compare the s100 to DSLRs, APS-C, Four Thirds cameras.
wide angle lens
Coolpix P310 by DPReview (Jun, 2012)Wide angle shots fare better, with most images showing good edge-to-edge sharpness.
Powershot S100 by Sheraz-A.-Choudhary (Nov, 2011)* 24mm wide-angle is very useful for indoor photography.
aperture size
Coolpix P310 by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)*When the aperture value is set to f/1.8 (largest aperture), the fastest shutter speed is 1/1600 second.
Powershot S100 by DPReview (Dec, 2011)The function ring around the lens is a particularly effective control point, offering quick access to controls like shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
zoom range
| 0x | 5x | 5x |
Coolpix P310 by DPReview (Jun, 2012)Viewed from the perspective of the average point-and-shoot upgrader though, the P310 is a small, pocketable camera with improved ergonomics, that offers full manual control over exposure and gives decent if not exceptional image quality in a wide variety of shooting conditions.
Powershot S100 by DPReview (Dec, 2011)The Canon S100 is particularly well-suited to two types of photographers: compact camera shooters looking to upgrade to a similarly small camera with more control, raw mode and better image quality, and ILC photographers looking for a truly compact 'take anywhere' pocket camera with much of the same manual control as their larger cameras.
body size
103 x 58 x 32 mm
99 x 60 x 28 mm
Coolpix P310 by Joseph-Albanese--The-Joe-Show (Sep, 2012)Small, compact and slim enough to fit into the pocket of your jeans - you can tote this little fellow with you anywhere.
Powershot S100 by Sheraz-A.-Choudhary (Nov, 2011)But none of these competitors are comfortably pocketable-this means that the s100 has practically no competition for it's size as a truely pocketable semi-pro camera.
Performance Real world tests of Nikon Coolpix P310 vs Canon Powershot S100
battery life
230 photos
200 photos
Coolpix P310 by DPReview (Jun, 2012)Like the P510, its long-zoom sibling and some Samsung compact cameras, the P310's 230-shot (CIPA rated) battery is charged in-camera with its USB AC adapter; the battery can also be charged via a computer's USB port.
Powershot S100 by K-Gill (Nov, 2000)Quite simply, it is easy to use, and the battery life is better than most and it recharges fast.
max continuous shooting
Coolpix P310 by TrustedReviews (May, 2012)The headline continuous shooting speed is 6fps – however, if you select this frame rate you’ll only be able to capture five frames at full resolution, making it not entirely useful.
Powershot S100 by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)The normal continuous shooting mode offers a still quite impressive shooting rate of 2.3fps.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Canon Powershot S100
| Many more contrast-detection focus points | 99 | vs | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 more contrast detection focus points; Better autofocus in low light settings | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 921 k dots | vs | 461 k dots |
| Around 2x higher resolution screen | |||
| Create realistic 3D images | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Create 3D photos to view on a 3D TV | |||
| Significantly higher resolution | 15.9 MP | vs | 12 MP |
| More than 30% higher resolution; Capture more detail, good for large prints | |||
| Faster lens | f/1.8 | vs | f/2.0 |
| Around 10% faster aperture; Better in low light | |||
| Automatic panorama | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Stitches together multiple photos into a single ultra-wide view | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Feb, 2012 | vs | Sep, 2011 |
| Announced date 4 months later | |||
| Better macro lens | 20 mm | vs | 30 mm |
| More than 30% closer macro focus; Take great close-up photos | |||
| Slightly more photos per charge | 230 | vs | 200 |
| 30 more shots; Longer battery life | |||
Advantages compared to the Nikon Coolpix P310
| Much higher light sensitivity | 12,800 ISO | vs | 3,200 ISO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x higher light sensitivity; Avoid blur in low light situations | |||
| Shoots RAW | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Adjust white balance and exposure more easily in post production | |||
| Shoots video in 24p | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; For that film look | |||
| Includes a GPS | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Records the location of your photos automatically | |||
| Faster rapid fire | 10 fps | vs | 6 fps |
| Around 70% faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion | |||
| Shoots high speed video | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Create slow motion video | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 78.26% | vs | 75.65% |
| Almost the same | |||
| Longer long exposure | 15 s | vs | 4 s |
| Around 4x longer long exposure; Capture creative photos such as night sky movement | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Nikon Coolpix P310 | Canon Powershot S100 | ||
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 | Rated by 64 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Michael-Paluba (Apr, 2012) Rated 100% by by HAZ (Apr, 2012) Rated 80% by by K.-Shin | Rated by 109 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Dub_Head (Apr, 2001) | |
size
Nikon Coolpix P310 | Rated 80% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)You can easily carry the P310 around in a trouser or shirt pocket, as it measures 103.0 x 58.3 x 32.0 mm and weighs less than 200g with the battery and memory card fitted.
Nikon Coolpix P310 | Rated 80% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)The P310 feels quite solidly constructed yet at the same time lightweight, with a magnesium alloy chassis and similarly high levels of build quality that you find on Nikon's more expensive cameras.
Nikon Coolpix P310 | Rated 80% by by Photography Blog (Apr, 2012)Read our in-depth Nikon Coolpix P310 review to find out... The Nikon Coolpix P310 is a new pocket compact camera designed to appeal to the keen enthusiast photographer.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 2 | Canon PowerShot G15 2-way tie: Best macro lens |
 | 3 | Nikon Coolpix P7700 OK benchmarked shot to shot times |
 | 5 | Canon PowerShot G12 2-way tie: Best macro lens |
 | 6 | Canon PowerShot S110 Fastest to start up |
 | 7 | Nikon Coolpix S9300 3-way tie: Create realistic 3D images |
Unanswered Questions
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April 18, 2012
All Purpose people portraits to landscape vistas a few closeups, videos of baby
Long time Canon point and shoot user...currently using my old SD800 IS happily, but it is showing signs of age... I wish to replace it with best bang for the buck...
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