Coolpox P330: A slightly more enthusiast-friendly compact camera

When Nikon announced in 2011 its "enthusiast compact," the Coolpix P300, groans were heard 'round the Web when the company unveiled the 1/2.3-inch sensor -- smaller than that found in most cameras considered serious compacts. Two generations later, Nikon seems to have finally rethought that decision; the Coolpix P330 incorporates a bigger 1/1.7-inch sensor, though now it's of the backside-illuminated type that I find doesn't generally deliver top-notch photo quality. Nikon also added raw support to the line, another essential for advanced shooters.

Now the P330 seems like a stripped-down version of the P7700; although it retains the GPS capability of the P310 (which Nikon says will remain on the market), the P7700's lens has better specs and it has an articulated LCD. The P330's lens starts out with a fast aperture but I'm betting it hits f5.6 pretty quickly, which would be frustrating. That said, it's coming in at an interestingly aggressive price, which looks like the tradeoff for the slow lens.

Here's where it sits relative to relevant Nikon models:

And here's how it stacks up against some relevant competitors:

The P330 looks like a formidable competitor for the more expensive Canon PowerShot S110, with its similarly weak lens, unless you're wedded to Wi-Fi and a touch screen. The rest of its competitors, while more expensive (a gap which isn't as big for street prices), have better lens specs, and in the case of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC- RX100, likely a much better sensor.