Nikon COOLPIX AW100 Review & Pictures

CMOS Waterproof Digital Camera with GPS and Full HD 1080p Video

The AW 100 is the first in Nikon’s new AW series of waterproof, shock-proof, cold-resistant compact digital cameras. It comes equipped with outdoor shooting features that include GPS support, an electronic compass and map display, and action control.

The Features:

  • Full 1080p HD movie*1 recording with stereo sound
  • HDMI connectivity (HDMI cable available separately)
  • 7.5 cm (3-in.) high-resolution 460k-dot (approx.) Clear color display
  • EXPEED C2 image processing engine16.0 effective megapixels
  • Back illuminated CMOS image sensor
  • Four advanced VR image stabilizing features*2
  • Easy auto mode
  • Smart portrait system
  • 19 optimized scene modes
  • USB charging via Charging AC adapter (supplied) or PC

The Teknomadics Review:

The Good: The Nikon Coolpix AW100 camera is pretty amazing. It is shock proof and waterproof, with a smarter SD card/battery compartment than most waterproof cameras I’ve seen. You have to twist and push down in order to open it, which makes an accidental popping-open accident unlikely (Doh! Kodak PlaySport!). The image quality is amazing for the video, recording in full 1080p HD. Not the best at action shots, but the photo quality is great otherwise and can capture great panoramas. There are lots of great settings to play around with as well.

The Bad: There is a bit of an annoyance if you are trying to see a picture after you’ve taken it “please wait for image to process.” It seems to take a lot longer than most cameras, so if you are trying to quickly see if the shot was good… you’re going to have to wait.

The only issue I can see affecting the longevity of this camera in extreme conditions is condensation. After being out all day in tropical weather, recording too long in the heat caused the camera lens to fog up. As a result images turned out with a blurred out spot, and the display screen seemed to also have issues with the humidity – a possible cause for alarm in the future.

Foggy picture after being in sun

Regular Picture before

  1. Thanks so much for this review. We’ve been shopping around for a few weeks and were looking at this one. You definitely test the limits out there in the tropics!

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