Posted by Photo-John on February 22, 2016
For the past few years the most coveted compact camera has been Sony’s RX100. With great image quality, manual controls and a solid feature set, it’s the “point-and-shoot” every serious photographer wants in their pocket. Tonight, Nikon launches their own line of premium, 1-inch sensor compact cameras. Clearly designed to compete with the Sony RX and Canon G X high-end compacts, the new Nikon DL-Series of premium compact cameras combines a large 1-inch sensor, premium optics, 4k video and professional controls in a compact, competitively-priced package.
The Nikon DL18-50, one of Nikon’s two new premium poacket cameras.
There are three models in Nikon’s new DL premium compact camera line: two pocket-sized models, the DL24-85 and DL18-50; and a DSLR-style bridge camera, the DL24-500. As you may have surmised, the model names indicate each camera’s zoom range. The DL24-85 has a 24-85mm f/1.8-2.8 (equivalent) Nikkor optical zoom with 1:1 macro mode, 4x VR compensation, aspherical and ED elements, etc. The DL18-50mm has, you guessed it, a similarly spec’d 18-50mm f/1.8-2.8 Nikkor zoom lens.
Selfie-friendly tilting LCD display on the new Nikon DL18-50 premium pocket camera.
The DL cameras are built around a 20.8-megapixel “CX-format” 1-inch backlit CMOS sensor and powered by Nikon’s new EXPEED 6A image processor. They all share the same core features including 4k and high-speed (1080 120p and 720 240p) video recording, RAW shooting, high-speed hybrid auto focus with 105 phase detect and 171 contrast detect focus points, high-speed burst with continuous auto focus up to 20 frames per second (faster than any pro sports DSLR), built-in time lapse recording and an OLED touchscreen display. Because we all need to share everything immediately, the DL cameras all include Nikon’s SnapBridge Bluetooth connectivity.
The DL24-500 is a different animal from the two pocket cameras. It’s more of a DSLR replacement with a huge built-in zoom lens. However, a 21x 24-500mm f/2.8-5.6 zoom lens for a DSLR would cost you a thousands of dollars. And it would be huge. The Nikon DL24-500 camera gives you the control and much of the performance of a DSLR in a much smaller and more wallet-friendly package.
The Nikon DL24-500 premium bridge camera, which features a 21x optical zoom lens and a 20.8-megapixel CX-format sensor.
Based on my positive experiences with the Nikon 1 mirrorless camera system, which shares many of the same performance features, I have high expectations for Nikon’s new Nikon DL compacts. They should be solid competition for the Sony RX-Series compacts and the Canon PowerShot G7 X and G7 X Mark II. And they’ll be really exciting for photographers and videographers who want to capture fast action. The Nikon 1 system has amazing speed and auto focus accuracy so I expect the DL cameras to be outstanding action performers.
The pocket-sized Nikon DL24-85 and DL18-50 should be available in late April of this year (2016) and will sell for US $649.95 and $849.95, respectively. The DL24-500 bridge camera is expected I stores in mid to late March with a suggested retail price of $999.95. Nikon is also introducing an optional accessory DF-E1 electronic viewfinder for the DL24-85 and DL18-50. Pricing and availability for the viewfinder has yet to be announced.
