Nikon AW120

Nikon AW120 is Nikon's Waterproof digital camera first released on February of 2014. It houses a 16 MegaPixel, CMOS 1/2.3" size sensor with a max resolution of 4608 x 3456.

Nikon brought out this model to update the earlier Nikon AW110 (Read Full Comparison) & afterwards brought out the fresher Nikon AW130 (Read Full Comparison) in an effort to replace this camera.

The AW120 ranks at #13 out of 75 in Waterproof cameras & over all #620 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. You should check our Advanced camera search to get camera results based on your customized criteria.

Here is a diagram of multiple factors used in the rating system.

The Nikon AW120 has a history of related digital cameras. Listed below, you can find all older and the latest models along with main features.

You can look at the AW120 from various angles in the gallery underneath.

Here is a shortlist of good and bad points of the Nikon AW120 based on factors that are typically considered necessary in a digital camera.

The sensor specification on the Nikon AW120 is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor is able to capture 4608 x 3456 pixels . The camera has Image Stabilization (Optical). Optical stabilization is more effective than digital stabilization since the latter can cause cropping.

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The CMOS sensor has 16 megapixels and delivers a standard ISO range of 125 to 6400. Unfortunately, RAW format is not saved therefore the user has less room to maneuver in post.

The image below illustrates the AW120's sensor size in comparison to other popular sizes. The AW120 sensor has a crop factor of 5.8 and is outlined in green.

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To get an understanding of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Nikon AW120 has a weight of 0.47 pounds (213 gr or 7.51 ounces) & the dimensions of the camera is 110mm x 66mm x 26mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.0"). The weight of typical Waterproof camera is 195 gr and the Nikon AW120 is very much the same when compared to various rivals.

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Listed below is a photo of the Nikon AW120 alongside a softdrink so you can get a sense of its size.

The top view directly below will highlight the button layout on the AW120.

The AW120 has got a built-in lens offering a focal range of 24-120mm giving it a 5.0 x zoom which is definitely not very good however it is going to be convenient in certain cases.

At it's widest 24mm, it has an aperture of f2.8 and that is pretty sluggish and not good for low light circumstances and you will find it hard to get good bokeh. You will probably also need to boost your ISO leading to noisy photos. For the long end, 120mm comes to f4.9 which is pretty slow and you might have to utilize slower shutter speeds.

The AW120 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes
• HDMI Yes
• GPS Yes

Digital cameras that incorporate NFC and / or Bluetooth support are able to be used wirelessly via smartphones. You can transfer images and at times adjust camera settings without connecting physically with the camera.

A few apps also provide a Liveview and hit the shutter if you are not near the camera. If the camera has a HDMI port, it can easily be attached to an external screen. Virtually all cameras will allow you to recharge the battery pack using the USB port.

The max video resolution on the Nikon AW120 is 1920 x 1080 and you can record in MPEG-4 and H.264 file format. 1080p resolution gives you an excellent balance for video quality vs file size but 1080p isn't going to leave you with any room to downsample. The body does not have a microphone and / or headphone port which means that you have got absolutely no control over the sound. It is perhaps best to look into a different camera if you want better sound for your videos.

Nikon AW120 provides weather proofing making it a fantastic option for use for challenging environments. This can be particularly handy any time you are uncertain about the elements you may face for outdoor photography.

The Nikon AW120 is equipped with a 3" fixed display having a resolution of 921k dots.

Please note that the display screen has no touch support.

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The View Finder details for Nikon AW120 are below:

• ViewFinder None

For bright outdoor situations that make the camera displays washed out and difficult to see, viewfinders will be quite helpful.

Nikon AW120 continuous shooting speed is 7.0 frames per second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/4000 sec.

Nikon AW120 has just in-built flash without external flash support.

Nikon AW120 has only Contrast Based Autofocus & lacks Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot quicker and precise as compared to Contrast Based focusing. The camera supports Face detection which is valuable for people photography.

It also comes with Tracking Autofocus for subjects that move. Nikon AW120 doesn't have manual focusing. Manual focusing mode can be good for low light occasions or you need to have more precise focusing control.

The battery pack (EN-EL12) on the Nikon AW120 is made to last for 350 images with respect to the CIPA requirements which is above average when compared to its category. The usual Waterproof camera battery life is 275. Olympus TG-4 has got the maximum (380) battery life for this range of cameras.

Listed below is a list of Waterproof cameras which have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Olympus TG-4
AW120 vs TG-4380 yesnono

Panasonic TS6
AW120 vs TS6370 noyesno

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Panasonic TS5
AW120 vs TS5370 noyesno

Nikon AW130
AW120 vs AW130370 nonono

Olympus TG-1 iHS
AW120 vs TG-1 iHS350 nonono

The following diagram indicates a summary of the Nikon AW120 for specific styles of photography. To understand more, check out the specific section below.

The Nikon AW120 gets a rating of 35 which is dreadful, and means the camera is just not appropriate to use for portraits. Shooting portraits favors greatly towards sensor resolution, support for RAW files plus the ability to utilize external lighting.

Getting a above average rating of 62, the Nikon AW120 is a fine pick to buy for street photography. A decent street photography camera provides a perfect balance of picture quality and portability.

A average sports photography rating of 51 indicates the Nikon AW120 is relatively adequate for taking photos of sports. A camera really should have very good autofocus plus continuous shooting for sports photography.

Weight is really important when getting a travel camera. Over-all, the Nikon AW120 gets a very good 69 as a travel camera which is a very decent pick to purchase for your journeys.

If you're looking to choose a camera for landscape photographs, the most vital aspect is going to be image quality. The Nikon AW120 with it's reasonable score of 48 for a landscape camera is reasonably acceptable amongst it's rivals.

A camera for vlogging ought to come with a moving display screen, mic port and preferably IBIS. Taking everything into account, the Nikon AW120 is just not appropriate as a vlog camera as it comes to a dreadful rating of 33.

If you are searching for replacements to the AW120, here is a range of the highest scored cameras which fall under the class of Waterproof.

The line graph down below will give you an overview of the AW120 versus it's highest scored rivals suggested earlier.

Here are a handful of other cameras you might look at as alternate options. To check out a extensive comparison, simply click the "compare" link.