Nikon Coolpix A’s DxOMark review revealed

The Nikon Coolpix A has also been tested by DxO Labs engineers, according to the DxOMark standards, following the recent D7100 review.

Earlier this month, Nikon has officially introduced its first compact camera with an APS-C image sensor. It is called the Coolpix A and it sports a DX-format sensor, which is enough to put the camera alongside the DSLR “giants”, despite its small size.

Today, the DxOMark review of the Nikon D7100 has been revealed. The guys over at DxO Labs have confirmed that the new DSLR offers great image quality. However, it came on second place, following another DSLR camera from the Japanese manufacturer: the D5200.

DxO Labs tested Nikon Coolpix A’s DX-format sensor and the compact camera provided mid-range DSLR-like image quality.

Nikon Coolpix A specs reminder

The Nikon Coolpix A features a 16.2-megapixel APS-C DX-format CMOS sensor without an anti-aliasing filter. The optical low-pass filter is also missing from the D7100 and D800E among others.

Additionally, the compact camera sports a fixed Nikkor 18.5mm f/2.8 lens, which provides a 35mm focal length equivalent of 28mm.

Nikon Coolpix A has been put up against the Sony RX1. However, the latter’s full frame sensor paid off, when compared to the former’s APS-C sensor.

One of the best compact cameras, DxOMark says

Anyway, the Nikon Coolpix A managed to achieve an overall score of 80. Its portrait / color depth rating stands at 23.4 bits, landscape / dynamic range score at 13.8 Evs, while its sports / low-light valuation reached 1164 ISO.

This means that it is one of the best high-end compact cameras, according to DxOMark’s standards. The only small shooter better than the Coolpix A is none other than the ultra-expensive Sony RX1, which achieved a score of 93. However, the RX1 sports a full frame image sensor, so the outcome is to be expected.

Nikon Coolpix A fared better than most mirrorless cameras, such as the Sony NEX-6.

Superior to many mirrorless shooters

The new Nikon compact shooter is also better than a lot of mirrorless cameras, such as the Sony NEX-6 and Canon EOS M, which have achieved overall scores of 78 and 65, respectively.

Coolpix A’s performance is notable because the camera grabbed the same overall score as the older D5100 and D7000 DSLRs.

The Nikon Coolpix A is available for sale now at Amazon for a price of $1,096.95.