Australian Camera — May-June 2017

The rear panel houses a 3.7 cm LCD monitor screen

which maybe small, but is very handy for framing.

Separate buttons are provided for video start/stop and shutter release.

When pressed, both automatically engage the appropriate shooting mode.

Battery compartment is also

home to the microSD format

memory card and the camera’s

connection ports.

Double locks on the battery/

card compartment door prevent

any nasty little surprises.

The inside of

the battery

compartment’s

door has a

substantial

rubber gasket

so the KM

170 can be

taken down

to ten metres

without

needing

marine

housing.

1919

ON TRIAL NIKON KEYMISSION 170

of this size so there’s only two

other external controls – a shutter

release for taking stills and a stop/

start button for recording video.

Having separate releases for stills

and video is very handy and both

buttons, as it happens, are actually

reasonably well-sized – as are the

menu keys – so driving the KM 170

with a gloved hand shouldn’t be

quite such a challenge as it can be

with miniscule controls.

Unlike a number of rival models,

the KM 170’s bodyshell is fully

waterproofed without the need

for an additional cover, although

one is available as an optional

accessory should you wish to

extend the maximum depth

permissible from ten metres to 40

metres. The sealing also provides

dustproofi ng plus there’s shock

protection for drops of up to two

metres and insulation to permit

shooting in sub-zero temperatures

down to -10 degrees Celsius.

What this means is that the Nikon

actioncam is very well protected

for any on-land applications without

needing a housing, and down to

ten metres is likely to be suffi cient

for many underwater excursions.

Consequently, the camera stays as

small and light as it can be in these

situations and there’s always direct

access to the menus. To guard

against any unfortunate accidents,

the cover on the compartment for

the battery and memory card is

double latched with bright yellow

fl ags which are hard to miss if

either is unlocked. The cover

itself is lined on the inside with

a substantial rubber gasket and,

logically, the compartment also

houses the camera’s USB and

HDMI ports.

Like most actioncams, the KM

170 uses a microSD memory card

which is now available with storage

capacities up to 256 GB. The

battery is Nikon’s EN-EL12 lithium-

ion pack – as used in a bunch of

Coolpix S series models – and here

it’s good for 250 shots or around

60 minutes of video recording.

Because of its many other

applications, spares are readily

available both from Nikon and third-

party brands. Recharging is via the

camera’s micro-USB connector and

the cable is supplied among the

kit of accessories that also comes

in the box... including a wireless

remote controller and a selection

of mounts.

The 2.4mm f2.8 lens is

equivalent to a 15mm in the 35mm

format so it gives an ultra-wide

angle-of-view of 170 degrees. It’s

mated with a 1/2.3-inch CMOS

sensor with a total pixel count

of 12.71 million and a sensitivity

range equivalent to ISO 100 to

1600. JPEGs are captured at
      3840x2160 pixels and 4K video is
      recorded in the Ultra HD (UHD)
      resolution which, of course,
      is also 3840x2160 pixels. This
      naturally means that still images
      are captured at the 16:9 aspect
      ratio. UHD footage is recorded at
      25 fps or 30 fps – you can switch
      between the PAL and NTSC TV
      standards – while the Full HD
      1080p speeds are 25, 50 or 100
      fps (PAL), this last setting enabling
      4x slow-motion sequences.
      Additionally, HD 720p can be
      recorded at 200 fps which gives 8x
      slow-mo. There are also time-lapse
      and ‘Superlapse’ modes – with the
      latter still images saved from the
      recorded movie and automatically
      stitched into fast-motion movie
      (with the choice of 2x, 4x, 6x, 10x
      or 15x speeds).

IN CONTROL

Electronic image stabilisation –

Nikon again uses its “Vibration

Reduction” label – is available

when recording 2K footage, but

obviously not with 4K as the whole

sensor area is being used here so

there’s nowhere to shift the image.

The focus is fi xed from 40

centimetres to infi nity, but the

inherent depth-of-fi eld at this

focal length makes it largely

unnecessary anyway. Exposure

control is programmed, but with

access to +/-2.0 EV compensation

and the auto white balance

correction is supplemented by

presets for daylight, cloudy,

tungsten lighting and fl uorescent

lighting. There are three picture

presets – for varying colour and

contrast – namely Standard,

Vivid and Monochrome, plus an

underwater mode which adjusts

the colour balance accordingly.

YOU MIGHT

WONDER WHETHER

NIKON IS ARRIVING

AT THE ACTIONCAM

PARTY A LITTLE

TOO LATE, BUT IT’S

ACTUALLY THE FIRST

OF THE BIG PHOTO

BRANDS TO ENTER

THIS MARKET.

CamMayJune17_018-025 NikonActionCams.indd 19 13/04/2017 9:55 AM