While Nikon continues to grow their Coolpix sales, you have to wonder if Nikon is making the right decisions in their product line.
Nikon's brand reputation comes from the pro side of things: best technology, best handling, best image. The Coolpix designs of late reflect almost none of that: mediocre technology, mediocre handling, poor images.
Let's consider the P300. The one full frame image Nikon shows on their site at the moment is horrendous. It shows almost no detail in an underexposed image, and overwrought noise processing that adds that liquid paint look to areas that do have detail and edges. I'll make you a wager that if we could get the actual raw data for that image that we could process it better. Of course, Nikon foreclosed on that option by not offering raw storage capability on the camera, so we'll never know.
But "no raw" isn't the only bad decision that's getting made. The P300 hits f/4.9 at 100mm. The Panasonic LX5 hits f/3.3 at 90mm. To the uniniated consumer that Nikon is now preying on, the f/1.8 versus at f/2 at the other end looks significant. It isn't. Meanwhile, at their telephoto ends, the cameras are more than a stop different, and with these small sensors, that's generally very important when it comes to image quality.
Meanwhile 240 images on a fully charged battery seems low, too, especially since Nikon has once again gone to the "battery charger optional" route (you charge the battery in the camera by plugging the camera into the AC adapter).
The pano sweep feature added to many of the Coolpix models, including the P300, works decently enough, but 560 pixels? Really? This pretty much restricts the output to Web use, as it's not enough to print even 2" high panos on a high-end inkjet.
There's a difference between "“market accepts” versus “market wants.” The market has been accepting the Coolpix models, mostly because they're heavily advertised and discounted. We currently have B&H selling the Coolpix S3000 for US$92, for instance. There's not a lot of margin there, so the manufacturer starts thinking "we'll make it up in volume" and pushes harder. Yet the market wants better products, not more of the same crap, iterated in new colors and with a bit more sensor and lens. Over time, it'll get more difficult to make the market "accept" the Coolpix line, as the megapixel and lens pushes on top of mediocore designs start to lower the brand perception. It's a losing battle, and it means continued eroding prices and profit margins.
It's long past time for Nikon to fix the problem, at least for the P series cameras. Coolpix P1, P2, P3, and P4? Swings and misses. Coolpix P5000? Swing and a miss. Coolpix P6000? Foul ball off the end of the bat. Coolpix P90 and P100? More swings, more misses. Coolpix P7000? Fouled to the backstop. Coolpix P300 and P500? Strikes nine and ten. Five years later the inning's over. Time to fire the manager, hit the free agent market, and try fielding a different team.