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What the Nikon Coolpix B700 Brings to the Table
The Nikon Coolpix B700 is a superzoom bridge camera built for people who want a massive zoom range without carrying a bag of lenses. It packs a 60x optical zoom (equivalent to 24 to 1440mm in full-frame terms), shoots 4K UHD video, records RAW files, and connects to your phone via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi through Nikon’s SnapBridge app. The electronic viewfinder (EVF) and 3-inch vari-angle LCD give you flexible framing options whether you’re shooting in bright sunlight or at waist level.
If you’ve used other Nikon Coolpix models before, our guide to the Nikon Coolpix L330 covers the basics of the Coolpix interface.
Initial Setup and Menu Walkthrough
When you first turn on the B700, the camera walks you through language, date/time, and time zone settings. Once those are done, take a minute to go through the menu and adjust a few defaults.
Under Shooting Menu, set Image Quality to Fine JPEG if you want the best quality without dealing with RAW files, or switch to RAW + Fine if you want maximum flexibility in editing. Set Image Size to the full 20.3 megapixels (L size). Turn on Vibration Reduction and set it to Normal for handheld shooting (switch to Active when recording video while walking).
Under Setup Menu, consider enabling AF Assist Lamp for better focusing in dim environments. Set Digital Zoom to Off unless you really need to reach past 1440mm, since digital zoom degrades image quality noticeably.
Shooting Modes: From Auto to Full Manual
The mode dial on top of the B700 offers the standard set of shooting modes.
Auto Mode handles everything for you. The camera picks focus, exposure, white balance, and ISO. It works fine for casual snapshots, but you give up all creative control.
Program (P) lets you shift the aperture and shutter speed combination the camera selects. It’s a step up from auto because you can override individual settings while the camera keeps the exposure balanced.
Shutter Priority (S) gives you control over shutter speed. This is the mode to use when photographing birds, sports, or anything moving quickly. Set a fast shutter speed (1/500s or higher) to freeze motion, or slow it down (1/30s or lower) for creative blur effects like flowing water.
Aperture Priority (A) lets you control depth of field. The B700’s small sensor means background blur is limited compared to DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, but shooting wide open at the telephoto end (f/6.5 at full zoom) still separates a subject from a distant background reasonably well.
Manual (M) puts you in charge of everything. This is useful for tricky lighting situations where the camera’s metering might be fooled, like shooting the moon or fireworks.
Getting the Most From the 60x Zoom
The B700’s zoom range is extraordinary. At 24mm on the wide end, you can capture a wide scene. Push the zoom lever all the way to 1440mm and you’re pulling in subjects that look like distant specks to the naked eye. Bird photographers, planespotters, and wildlife watchers will find this range genuinely useful.
But shooting at extreme zoom magnifies every vibration. Handholding at 1440mm is possible, but you need to help the camera. Keep Vibration Reduction on. Brace your elbows against your body or lean against a wall. Use the fastest shutter speed the light allows, ideally 1/500s or faster. If available, rest the camera on a tripod, monopod, or even a fence post.
The B700 has a Snap-Back Zoom button on the side of the lens barrel. When you lose your subject at high zoom (which happens constantly), press and hold this button to temporarily zoom out so you can reacquire the target, then release it to snap back to your previous zoom level. This feature is a lifesaver for tracking moving subjects.
Flash Modes and Settings
The B700 has a pop-up flash that needs to be raised manually before it fires. Press the flash release button on the left side of the body to flip it up.
Available flash modes include Auto (camera decides when to fire), Fill Flash (fires every time regardless of ambient light, great for reducing shadows on faces outdoors), Slow Sync (combines a slow shutter speed with flash to capture both the subject and a dimly lit background), and Red-Eye Reduction (fires a pre-flash to contract the subject’s pupils before the main flash).
You can adjust Flash Compensation from -2 to +2 EV through the shooting menu. Dialing it down to -0.7 or -1.0 often looks more natural than full-power flash, especially for portraits where you just want to fill in shadows without blasting the subject with light.
RAW vs. JPEG: When to Use Each
The B700 can save images as JPEG, RAW (NRW format), or both simultaneously. JPEG files are processed in-camera with sharpening, noise reduction, and color adjustments baked in. They’re ready to share immediately and take up less space on your memory card.
RAW files save all the sensor data with no processing applied. They look flat and dull straight out of the camera, but they give you much more room to adjust exposure, white balance, and color in software like Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, or the free Nikon NX Studio. If you accidentally underexpose a shot by a stop or two, a RAW file can often be rescued. A JPEG in the same situation would show noise and banding when you try to brighten it.
For everyday shooting, Fine JPEG is perfectly good. Switch to RAW when you’re shooting in tricky light (sunrise, sunset, mixed indoor lighting) or when you know you’ll want to edit carefully later.
4K Video Recording
The B700 records 4K UHD video (3840 x 2160) at 30 frames per second. It also records 1080p at 60fps for smoother motion and slow-motion options. Video quality is respectable for a camera in this class, with good detail and color in daylight conditions.
One limitation: during 4K recording, the camera applies a slight crop to the frame, so you lose some of your wide-angle coverage. Optical zoom is available during video, but zoom smoothly because jerky zoom movements are distracting to watch. The camera’s stereo microphone picks up zoom motor noise at high gain, so consider an external mic for serious video work.
Video clips are limited to about 29 minutes per recording due to file size constraints. For long events, you’ll need to restart recording when the camera stops.
SnapBridge App Pairing and Transfer
Nikon’s SnapBridge app connects the B700 to your phone via Bluetooth, with Wi-Fi kicking in for larger transfers. The initial pairing can be fiddly. Go to the camera’s Network Menu, select SnapBridge, and start pairing. On your phone, open SnapBridge and follow the prompts. If Bluetooth pairing fails on the first try (which it often does), delete the camera from the app, restart both devices, and try again.
Once connected, SnapBridge can automatically transfer 2-megapixel versions of your photos to your phone in the background as you shoot. For full-resolution transfers, you initiate them manually through the app. You can also use your phone as a remote shutter, which is handy for group photos or tripod-mounted shots.
Macro Mode and Close-Up Shooting
The B700 focuses as close as 1 cm at the widest zoom setting. That’s close enough to fill the frame with a coin. Enable Macro Mode through the shooting menu or the quick-access button on the back of the camera. At longer zoom settings, the minimum focus distance increases significantly, so for true macro work, stay at or near the wide end of the zoom range.
Macro shots benefit from a tripod and the self-timer (set to 2 seconds) to avoid camera shake when pressing the shutter button. Natural window light or an LED panel gives better results than the built-in flash for close-up subjects.
