Phone cameras are fine, but not for serious shutterbugs

The Nikon P1100 goes further than any superzoom bridge camera around, but only for its niche users

- Tushar Kanwar

At a time when the category of fixed-lens compact cameras are all but wiped out of existence by the juggernaut-esque charge of the smartphone brigade, there is one last bastion that's still standing. Bridge cameras like the latest Nikon Coolpix P1100 (Rs 83,695)—a successor to the wildly popular P1000 launched seven years ago—deliver the convenience of a point-and-click with jaw-dropping "less telephoto, more telescope" levels of zoom, sans the sheer bulk of big lenses that sends many photographers premature into physiotherapy sessions! Yet, in an age of computational photography and rapidly shrinking mirrorless cameras, does anybody need a camera like this?

Now, while it may be classified as a compact camera, both by definition (fixed, non-removable lens) and by Nikon, there's nothing compact about the P1100. It's shaped like a digital SLR camera, down to a chunky hand grip and plenty of dials and controls strewn all over. There's a fully articulating 3.2-inch rear screen, although it's oddly dated in not being a touchscreen, and there's a 2,359-dot OLED electronic viewfinder to compose shots. The P1100's hefty dimensions are made even more so by the presence of a big lens that dominates the camera even when fully retracted. At nearly 1.5kg, you will not forget it's slung over your shoulder, or when you hold it up for use, although Nikon has got the weight distribution and ergonomics just right for a camera this size. Using the P1100 with a tripod or a monopod is highly recommended, if for no other reason but to be able to rest the camera in between shots.