PHOTO QUALITY. This 16-megapixel rugged and waterproof camera captured images with very good quality. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; very good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym; good for performance under natural light without a flash, such as shooting under an overcast sky.
FLASH. The Coolpix AW130 captured flash shots that were good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate most subjects that are closer to the camera, but had some problems with distant subjects. The flash also has very good, even coverage.
LENS. This camera includes a 5x zoom lens, bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has very wide-angle (24mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZER. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Nikon Coolpix AW130 powers up very quickly. It has a very short interval between shots, which can be important when shooting fast-moving or unpredictable subjects.
VIDEO. The Nikon Coolpix AW130 takes good video, at a quality like many in its class. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 30p or 60i. As for sound, it captures good audio in stereo.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. It has a rugged body. It claims to be waterproof. It has HDR (high-dynamic range) settings. It has a built-in GPS tagging feature.
