Summary Nikon P300

Prices Price
Camera only $299
all P300 prices
Score Snapsort rank
Within its price range #3 of 4 Among similar cameras #12 of 14
details details
Specifications Key specs
Zoom Help 4.2x Screen size Help 3.0"
Aperture Help f/1.8 Screen resolution Help 921k dots
Wide angle Help 24 mm Movie format Help 1080p @ 30fps
see all specifications
Nikon Coolpix P300Nikon Coolpix P300

Replacement

Nikon has replaced the Coolpix P300 with the P310.

Nikon Coolpix P310
Nikon Coolpix P310 announced February, 2012
3D Takes 3D photos
Macro focus Better macro capability

Compare the new Nikon P310 vs the P300

reviewsWhat are people saying about the P300

"At 100%, even low ISO images look 'crunchy' due to noise reduction and sharpening"
dpreview.com | talking about the camera's iso-noise
"The P300's BSI (back side illuminated) CMOS sensor does pretty well in most shooting conditions and in normal use, image quality compares well to those of its peers with similar-sized sensors."
dpreview.com | talking about the camera's image-quality
"Build quality is very high, and the same standard of construction applies to the main control points."
dpreview.com | talking about the camera's build-quality

Videos

Pros

The Nikon P300 vs other recent pro digicams

Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/1.8
Movie format Full HD Help
1080p @ 30fps
Size Really small Help
Compact 103x58x32 mm
Thickness Thin Help
1.3"
Weight Very light Help
189 g
Lowest price Very inexpensive Help
$299.00
Wide angle Great wide angle lens Help
24 mm
Screen resolution High resolution screen Help
921k dots
Sensor type CMOS Sensor Help
Better in low light
Panorama In-camera panoramas Help
Stitches together multiple photos into a panorama
HDR In-camera HDR Help
Combines multiple exposures

Cons

The Nikon P300 vs other recent pro digicams

Zoom Below average zoom Help
4.2x
True resolution Lower true resolution Help
9.7 MP
Supports 24p No 24p movies Help
Missing that film look
Screen type Screen type Help
LCD
External mic jack Lacks an external mic jack Help
Limited to the in-camera mic
Battery life Shorter battery life Help
240 shots
Fastest shutter speed Slow shutter speed Help
1/2000 of a second
Longest exposure Short exposures Help
8 seconds
Supports RAW No RAW support Help
Less editing fidelity
Sensor size Very small sensor Help
1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm
Screen flips out Fixed screen Help
Less flexible
Announced Old Help
February, 2011
Light sensitivity (boost) Lacks boost light sensitivity Help
None
Viewfinder Can only preview photos on the screen Help
None
External flash No external flash Help
Less expandable
Popularity Not so popular Help
Among snapsort users

Appearance

front photo of the Nikon Coolpix P300back photo of the Nikon Coolpix P300angle photo of the Nikon Coolpix P300

Discussion What do you think about the Nikon Coolpix P300?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of this camera here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 25 comments

Niantiaulia (3:48 PM, January 17, 2012)
I bought this camera about 5 months ago and am so pleased with it. The picture quality is awesome an sharp, very great performance in the low light, no blur, no grain.  All my friends who saw the result love the camera!
 
AaBoy (2:27 PM, November 25, 2011)
I'm looking to buy a camera and I'm considering Nikon P300, Sony hx9v or Canon SX 230 HS. Wich should i buy? Or do you recomend another camera for about 280$?
 
Bekbeki (1:47 PM, October 23, 2011)
great camera!! i just bought it based by snapsort review...i tried it in low light situation and produce great picture..there's some little noise but overall its pretty good.
 
Duy Pham01 (10:18 AM, September 21, 2011)
Lol. Save bucks to buy camera to get yourself review.
 
DS (11:15 PM, August 14, 2011)
Interesting question: smaller high quality vs larger-but-inferior sensor? I tested the P300 vs S95 side by side at 1600 ISO. I cannot see and difference in noise or sharpness in an 8x10 print. Given that the small sensor is part of what allowed Nikon to make a faster, wider, and wider-range lens than the S95, the small sensor might be considered an advantage! I agree, the LX5 is a bit better, as it should be for $170 more!
 
monrheo (3:05 PM, July 10, 2011)
i have a canon s95 purchased last year, now i just recently purchased this first nikon pro-digicam (i'm a nikonese by the way) and had the opportunity of comparing them. Canon has this reputation of dominating the digicam market however, now that i'm able to compare both, i'd say nikon tore away s95. better low-light even with the smaller sensor (maybe because it's CMOS). better manual feel (good for manual hogs). there's just this little barrel distortion at 24mm but who cares? i can shoot nighttime hand-held! and.. awfully no raw...
 
naveen (8:13 AM, June 13, 2011)
hello out of this camera which one you would recommend: sony hx7v,nikon p300, nikon s9100,  aside i want a camera that can take great photos indoors and outdoors (low-light) but easy enough to carry around. Any opinions? thanks
 
Avatar for Mohammad Eldeeb Mohammad Eldeeb (9:56 PM, May 27, 2011)
Why did you give this camera low score in "Continuous shooting"?
I think this is an error
This camera can take up to 8fps in full resolution and more in smaller resolutions (up to 120fps)
 
R R (7:43 PM, May 26, 2011)
p100 vs p300 can't decide :(
 
Antonius (3:16 AM, April 10, 2011)
there are a full review at photographyblog. This is one of worst IMAGE QUALITY cameras from nikon. unnatural smoothy, grainy, excesive contrasty. I really like the nikon cameras, but this is an absolute bad camera.
 
Jim (3:58 PM, March 28, 2011)
I think it's a great camera! Well done Nikon!
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (3:07 AM, February 22, 2011)
We've fixed this up, thanks!
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (9:09 PM, February 21, 2011)
That looks like a mistake, thanks for pointing that out newplayer, we'll look into that and fix it up.
 
Newplayer (3:50 AM, February 20, 2011)
hi for some reason when you scored the individual points for the p300 under dots for the screen why did you give a very poor score of 0.9 when the screen has over 900k dots?
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (1:01 PM, February 17, 2011)
Hi Wowviewer, its hard to make predictions about cameras that aren't out yet :) If you do want great low light shots you really need a camera with a larger sensor, for example the Canon S95 or the Panasonic LX5.
 
Wowviewer (9:20 AM, February 17, 2011)
hello I was wondering which upcoming camera you would recommend: sony hx7v, hx9v, nikon p300, nikon s9100, lumix zs10. Specs aside i want a camera that can take great photos indoors and outdoors (low-light) but easy enough to carry around. Any opinions? thanks
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (7:03 PM, February 16, 2011)
Hi Danielle, have you seen our comparison of the P7000 vs P300?

Each have a number of advantages, I think the P7000 will have better image quality due to its larger sensor.
 
Danielle_nicole05 (5:41 PM, February 16, 2011)
good day! I need an opinion. Which is better p7000 or p3000. i had a look at specs for both. the important bit I am wanting within a camera is better/higher optical zoom in so when you do take a photo you have better images. But would it make a huge difference if you get the p3000 instead of p7000
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (1:01 PM, February 14, 2011)
Hi FakeSnapsort :)

We have the sensor size as 6.2x4.6mm, is that not correct?

How big is 1/2.3"? :) A lot of people like to quote sensor size as fractions, like 1/2.5". Snapsort "translates" the actual sensor size (6.2 x 4.6mm) into a fraction, but its not very precise, it groups all sensors into one of: 1/3.6", 1/2.5", 1/1.7", four-thirds, aps-h, aps-c, full-frame.
 
Snapsort (6:29 AM, February 14, 2011)
hey I think you got the sensor size wrong nikon itself reports differently see link
http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Compact-Digital-Cameras/26246/COOLPIX-P300.html#tab-ProductDetail.ProductTabs.TechSpecs
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (4:47 PM, February 10, 2011)
Updated.
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (4:47 PM, February 10, 2011)
Updated.
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (2:49 PM, February 10, 2011)
Looks like we got the sensor size incorrect, we were hoping it would be larger! We'll update it asap, thx.
 
Newplayer (9:01 AM, February 10, 2011)
everyone else reporting that the sensor on p300 is a 1/ 2.3
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (0:18 AM, February 10, 2011)
Thanks Frank, we'll get that corrected, there might be a couple other issues as we put up the specs before the official announcement.