Pixiq

You know, Nikon has never released a rugged camera before? Well, not until today when it announced the AW100. Apparently, they’ve had to give it its own ‘AW’ series because it actually fits into all three of the categories they ascribe to Coolpix cameras (Life, Style, and Performance). So what can it actually manage, then? Just how rugged is it? Can I go skydiving with it? How about diving? Extreme ironing in the Sahara?

Well, I’m not sure about some of those, but it is waterproof to 10m, shockproof from heights of up to 1.5m and freeze-proof down to -10°C. And it does have built-in GPS, an electronic compass, and a world-map, so at least you and your pictures have less of a chance of getting lost.

It has a wide-angle 5x zoom lens, a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, and dedicated low-light mode, which will be pretty handy when underwater or on a tundra in the middle of the night. In fact, there’s even an underwater mode on it.

This next bit, I’m not entirely certain how it works, but it sounds rather good fun: it has an Action-Control button. Press it and you can change the settings of the camera by simply swinging the camera back and forth. Up a mountain and need to change something? Fab, swing your camera (without hurling it over the edge) and you don’t have to remove your gloves.

And there’s the Easy Panorama feature, which was seen on some of the other new models today, that takes 360° and 180° photos. You pan vertically or horizontally across a scene; the camera’s sensor takes a rapid burst of frames which it merges to create a panorama.

Fancy one for your next jaunt through the Amazon? Well, that’s fine if it’s after 8 September, when it’s released at a price around £330. You can get it in black (sleek), orange (ultra-visible), or, wait for it, camoflage!