Nikon Z30 vs Nikon Coolpix S8100

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z30 and the Nikon Coolpix S8100, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z30 was introduced in June 2022 and Nikon Coolpix S8100 was introduced in September 2010. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z30 over Nikon Coolpix S8100.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Coolpix S8100 over Nikon Z30.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z30 and Nikon Coolpix S8100 have 3.0" screens with 1,040k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Nikon Z30 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Nikon Coolpix S8100 has a Fixed screen Nikon Z30 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Nikon Z30 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Nikon Coolpix S8100 features a 12.1 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 160 - 3,200.

Nikon Coolpix S8100 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Nikon Z30 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. Nikon Coolpix S8100 is equipped with Expeed C2 processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3968 x 2232, 3264 x 2448, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon Z30

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z30. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

Nikon Coolpix S8100 has an image stabilization.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Nikon Z30

Nikon Z30 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Nikon Z30

Nikon Z30 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon Z30 has a Micro HDMI and Nikon Coolpix S8100 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z30 comes with EN-EL25 battery pack with battery life of 330 shots and Nikon Coolpix S8100 comes with EN-EL12 battery pack with battery life of 220 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z30 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Nikon Coolpix S8100 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z30 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon Z30, and up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Coolpix S8100. Nikon Z30 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Nikon Coolpix S8100 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z30 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 209 focusing points and Nikon Coolpix S8100 has . Nikon Z30 has detection range from -4.5 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z30 ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z30 and ±2 range on Nikon Coolpix S8100. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z30 and exposure bracketing on Nikon Coolpix S8100.

Flash

Nikon Coolpix S8100 has a built-in flash. Nikon Z30 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z30.

Nikon Z30 body has dimensions of 128 x 74 x 60 mm (5.04 x 2.91 x 2.36") and Nikon Coolpix S8100 body has dimensions of 104 x 60 x 30 mm (4.09 x 2.36 x 1.18"). Nikon Z30 weighs 405 g (0.89 lb / 14.29 oz) and Nikon Coolpix S8100 weighs 180 g (0.40 lb / 6.35 oz).

Nikon Z30

Nikon Coolpix S8100

128 mm

74 mm

104 mm

60 mm

74 mm

60 mm

60 mm

30 mm