Nikon W300 4K Waterproof Underwater Digital Camera Review

I've used many of these point and shoot underwater cameras and I must say the 4K video quality of the Nikon Cooolpix W300 is by far the best video quality I have filmed in yet. The Nikon W300 is 4K camera but with a standard lens. This means that the footage will not have that annoying curved edges or bubble look of other 4K cameras that use a Fisheye or Wide Angle lens. I will touch on some of the great features of the Nikon W300 and why I think this is the best in it's class.

I think the main reason to purchase this camera would be for the 4K video. On land and underwater the quality of the 4K video is amazing. I tried the Olympus TG-Tracker 4K camera but after one day of filming the curved video footage was just unusable. So I decided to go with a standard lens 4K camera instead and if you don't need the camera for jumping out of an airplane or strapped to your motorcycle helmet you may want to pass on the GoPro, TG-Tracker or Sony because of the video distortion. Of course you sacrifice the smaller size of those cameras but in reality a standard size point and shoot camera is much more versatile in the long run. Unlike those smaller 4K cameras the Nikon W300 has a larger 3” view screen on the back, it has a flash and it has 5X zoom. It also takes good 16 MP photos and can also shoot in lower video modes like 1080p.

One note about filming videos in 4K. If you have a computer with anything less than an Intel i5 processor, the videos may play poorly on your computer. I am using an Asus Strix Rog computer with an i7 processor and the videos play beautifully and crisp on the 2K monitor. I also have a 4K iMac but the footage plays a little slow on that machine as it is a couple years old now. The editing software for 4K video can run you $100 and up so be aware of those factors before investing the extra money for a 4K camera. If you don't have a need to play the 4K footage opt for a standard 1080p camera as you will be better off in the long run. I couldn't play the 4K video smoothly on my 2 year old Intel i3 HP computer so just be aware of the drawbacks that filming in 4K creates.

Let me run down a few negatives of the camera for you. There is no viewfinder and truthfully you don't really need one in my opinion unless you are using a DSL camera. The tripod mount is plastic threads instead of metal and over time it will wear out (almost all of my other cameras with these plastic threads have worn out and no longer work on a tripod). The record button in on the camera face and not on top next to the on/off and photo button. Nikon does this with most of their cameras and to me it is inconvenient. My finger is already on top to turn the camera on and it would be nice to hit record without using my other hand. I may be nit picking a bit because this camera has so many great features and I can live with these drawbacks.

The battery life is good and it is better than my Fiji Film and Sony cameras and on par with my Lumix which uses a similar size battery. I have 2 extra batteries anyway so battery life is not a big deal. It focuses well in video mode and the 4K 30 frames per second footage is excellent. The sound quality is good also and you will hear very crisp audio from your recordings. It shoots good videos in low light also and there is a nice LED light you can activate to give yourself more light if needed. It has a compass and will tell you your longitude and latitude and well as your elevation. Something I probably will ever use but it is built in to the menu if you need it. The menu is a basic point and shoot menu and you can adjust a lot of the photo and video functions on this camera. But I go back to the main reason to own this camera, great 4K video without the Fisheye distortion.

Here are the Specs for you:

Effective Pixels (Megapixels)

16.0 million

Sensor Size1 / 2.3in.

Monitor Size 3.0 in. diagonal

Monitor Type TFT-LCD with Anti-reflection coating

6-level brightness adjustment

Storage Media

SD memory card

SDHC memory card

SDXC memory card

Movie

4K UHD 3,840x2,160/ 30p

4K UHD 3,840x2,160/ 25p

Full HD: 1920x1080/ 60p

Full HD: 1920x1080/ 50p

Full HD: 1920x1080/ 30p

Full HD: 1920x1080/ 25p

HD: 1280x720/ 30p

HD: 1280x720/ 25p

VGA 640x480/ 30p

VGA 640x480/ 25p

HS 640x480/ 4x

HS 1920x1080/ 0.5x

ISO Sensitivity

ISO125- 1600

ISO 3200, 6400 (available when using Auto mode)

Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution

Up to 5 shots at approx. 7 frames per second

Battery / Batteries

Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12

Approx. Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth)

4.4 in. (111.5 mm) x 2.6 in. (66.0 mm) x 1.2 in. (29.0 mm)

excluding projections

Approx. Weight

8.2 oz. (231 g)

with battery and SD memory card

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