the Nikon COOLPIX AW120 Rugged Camera is an awesome example of being rugged doesn’t means it have to look rugged. in fact, the only hint that it is ruggedized is the black plastic band around the circumference of the camera, otherwise it looks pretty much like any point-and-shoot camera. the tough built of the AW120 offers waterproofing up to 18 meters (about 60 feet), shock-proof that shrugs off fall from up to 2 meters (six and half feet) height, plus coldproof to approximately minus 10 degree Celsius (14 degree Fahrenheit). it is of course, sealed against dust and sand, making this the go-to camera for adventure seekers and basically, another who is constantly paranoia about dropping the camera for no obvious reasons.
on the imaging aspect, it has a 16MP CMOS sensor, coupled to a wide-angle 24mm 5x zoom NIKKOR lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 which Nikon proudly claim to be fast enough for underwater and dark environment shooting. it also features macro photography as close as 1 centimeter and Dynamic Fine Zoom affording approximately 10x zoom which preserved the resolution when in digital zoom range. other key features include built-in WiFi for transferring stills to smart device as soon as they are taken, GPS with GLONASS for faster and more accurate positioning with precise location data recorded with the images, display of points of interest (POI), built-in electronic compass and world map, built-in pressure sensor that offers altitude, water depth, atmospheric and water pressure data, five-axis vibration reduction function, and finally, a 3-inch, 921k-dot OLED monitor with anti-reflection coating wraps up this outdoor shooter package.
the Nikon COOLPIX AW120 Rugged Camera cost $349.95 when it becomes available in March. this year, of course. the rugged camera will be offered in four colors: orange, black, blue and our all-time favorite camouflage pattern. though the latter, differs from its predecessor with a more ‘defined’ but larger camo pattern. actually, we’d prefer the previous version of camo, though.