HambliDesign

Oh, I've waited for this day. The day Nikon delivered legit HD video. Not only does the P100 deliver full 1080p video in H.264, it shoots 120FPS bursts, and goes with a 10MP CMOS sensor for better low-light performance. Yeah.

It is a superzoom—26x (26mm-678mm), which is a little shorter than what Fuji or Olympus dropped over the last couple of days—which I'm admittedly prone to disliking, but there's a lot here in what's easily Nikon's flagship point-and-shoot.

It's the first Coolpix to switch to CMOS, cutting back to 10 megapixels to deliver hopefully better low light performance, along with built-in HDR processing. And, Nikon's first ever camera to do 1080p video, which I was told is in H.264. Hot shit, 'cause it makes me hopeful to see that in their next DSLRs. Also excellent: You can actually zoom while recording video, something of a rarity in these parts. It shoots fast too: 10FPS at full res, and up to 120FPS bursts (but only at 1.1MP, bleh).

The Fuji HS10 outguns the P100 on paper: Longer zoom, at 30x; same promise of excellent low-light performance thanks to an optimized 10MP CMOS sensor; 1000FPS slow motion video and 1080p like the P100. But, the P100 costs $100 less, running $400 when it hits in March, so it's a tough call 'til we see how they actually perform.