Camerahoarders has published a new comparison review between Nikon P7700
and Olympus XZ-2
. The reviewer has managed to categorize each of these models as being ideal on different occasions. Check this review out!
Their conclusion: Olympus Stylus XZ-2 is a camera I would choose for urban, street and people shots. It focuses faster than Nikon and has better shot-to-shot performance. This is especially important in urban areas where nothing seems to stay still in these modern times. Touch LCD is another big plus – it allows user to focus and take the shot very fast and without the hassle of focus point change what is especially important for street shooting.
On the other hand, Nikon Coolpix P7700 might be the perfect nature and landscape companion. Its 200mm lens allows us to zoom on the distant details or valley landscape. Side-tilting LCD is especially practical for vertical macro shoots. Slower shot-to-shot time is not an issue here; the mountain is not going anywhere for the next couple of millions years. Instead, it forces you to slow down and think how to frame your shot, resulting in better images. The whole point of going to nature (in my opinion) is to relax and slow down, not to shoot 10fps and run around like a wild goat on steroids.
Source: http://camerahoarders.com/nikon-p7700-vs-olympus-xz-2-review/
Think about if for a second. The P7700 in nature without option for EVF viewfinder is almost ludicrous. Granted the longer focal length is a huge plus. Bright scenes are hard enough to deal with, but have you tried using a camera like the P7700 on snow? I’ve had an LX3 and LX5. The 3 was almost impossible to work with on snow (not necessarily winter either). The LX5 with viewfinder (while a fairly lame one) was a huge improvement. The XZ-2 has options for viewfinders, Nikon has decided it is of no value and declined to offer the option. You can’t test these cameras in a limited set of locations and declare they are ideal for everywhere. There are many thousands of happy climbers and backpackers out in the mountains all year long who would appreciate not having to hide under the brim of their baseball cap in order to see the LCS screen. Just sayin.
Gotta admit EVF on these compacts are a nice option to have. I had that LX5 + EVF combo at one point too. Unfortunately, when I switched LX5 to S100 and GX1 into E-M5, I sold the EVF, not realizing that I will be back to LX7… Oh well.