Nikon has unveiled new point and shoot digital cameras today. The first of the new digital cameras is the Coolpix P7000 aimed at the enthusiast shopping in the high-end of the point-and-shoot segment. The camera has a wide-angle lens with 7.1x optical zoom with a 28mm to 200mm range. The lens uses optical Vibration Reduction and has two ED glass elements. The lens also uses the new Nikon EXPEED C2 image processing system.

The CCD in the P7000 is a 1/1.7-inch 10.1-megapixel unit. On the back of the camera is a 3-inch LCD with 920,000-dot resolution. The camera also features an integrated ND filter and has an ISO range of 100 to 3200 that is expandable to ISO 6400 equivalent. Other features of the camera include a D-Lighting system that ensures images look natural and provides better photo results in sharp contrast environment with lots of shadows.

The camera will sell for $499.99 and can shoot movies in 720p resolution at 24fps. It can store still images in JPEG or RAW formats. A glut of automatic modes are featured to make shooting easy and the camera can shoot 0.7 images per second continuously. DPReview went hands-on with the P7000 and notes that the camera looks more like the Canon G11 than previous P-series cameras. The P7000 lacks a few features the P6000 it replaces had like GPS and wired LAN connectivity.

Nikon has also released the Coolpix S80 digital camera with a 3.5-inch multi-touch OLED screen on the rear. The S80 is a thin camera at 17mm deep and sports a 14.1-megapixel sensor with a 5x optical zoom lens that has stabilization. The touch screen lets the user focus on a specific section of the image by touching it on the screen and the screen can be used to apply filters to the images on the camera.

Mark Pekelharing, Product Manager Consumer Products at Nikon Europe said, “The S80 demonstrates Nikon’s commitment to lead the touch screen camera category. The chic, slim style and high-quality screen allows you to interact with your images with ease whilst its high-speed performance captures the perfect shot quickly and in clear definition. Providing substance as well as a unique sense of style, the S80 is the perfect camera for the fashionable photographer.”

The S80 can record video at 720p resolution with 30fps. The aperture range of the lens is f/3.6-4.8 and the image stabilization is lens-shift vibration reduction. The camera has 17 built-in scene modes and stores images to SD/SDHC cards. The camera measures 3.9-inches x 2.5-inches x 0.7-inches and weighs 4.7 ounces with the battery and memory card. The MSRP for the S80 in Europe is £329.99.

Nikon also recently unveiled a new entry-level DSLR camera called the D3100.