The closest competitors to the Coolpix P6000 are the Canon PowerShot G10 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. The other cameras on the list don’t have the hot shoe offered by those cameras, but they still offer high resolution CCDs and manual controls. In the group as a whole, the Coolpix P6000′s battery life numbers are about 20% below average. Please also note that these numbers are derived with the GPS turned off. Using the GPS will dramatically reduce the P6000′s battery life.
I should point out two things about the proprietary batteries used by the Coolpix P6000 and all the other cameras in the table above. For one, they’re expensive — an extra EN-EL5 will set you back at least $22. Second, you can’t use an off-the-shelf battery to get you through the day when your rechargeable dies.
The battery is charged internally, via the included AC adapter. It takes about three hours to fully charge the battery. Do note that when you first plug in the camera, the My Picturetown upload screen will come up — you’ll have to cancel it to turn off the camera and start charging. You can get around this by turning off the Picture Bank feature in the setup menu. If you want to charge the battery outside of the camera, then you’ll need to pick up the external charger listed below.
