The Urge To Share Just Got A Little Stronger - Nikon KeyMission 170

Weblog columnists are a bit of a menace - I know - I write three of these things every day and I would shy away from myself at cocktail parties. I'd be afraid that I would either start riding a hobby horse to dominate conversation or that I would be secretly watching me to see if I could get some copy for the column...

It's not bad character - it's the desire to share that does it. And this desire to share is the basis of the action-camera photographer's work. They want you to see what they are doing. And to be fair, sometimes it is worth looking at.

If you are an action person you now have the new option of the Nikon system action cameras. Today's blog is for the Nikon Key Mission 170. Make what you will of the name, the actual camera is a remarkable thing. And that said at a point where we have seen action cameras for years by other makers.

The Key Mission 170 is basically box-shaped, but does not need an additional bulky housing to waterproof it down to 10 metres. It is good to go out of the box. The makers do provide an protection lens for underwater hazards, though, so they may know more about the dangers you are going to get into than you do...

The camera is remarkably easy to use in the field. Two buttons on top - one for stills and one for video. three buttons at the back to navigate the menu system. And a separate hand controller to let you separate yourself from the device if you are at another point of the surfboard, yacht, or sailplane.

The necessary waterproof door with big yellow seal has twin locks clearly defined by orange warning panels - you should not be able to mistake what is happening and open the back at the wrong time.

There is a dedicated ball head mount and a snap-off release that glues to flat surfaces. I should not wonder if there were not other mounts in the offing - these sort of cameras generate ideas.

There is an integral LCD screen on the back you can see your results while you are still out there and make sure that you are bringing back the footage you need.

You'll be able to do real-time seamless sharing of your experiences too, with the Nikon SnapBridge 360/170 app that will be available for iOS and Android. The camera does a variety of video types, including 4K.

Note that the case construction of these little cameras is superb, as is the quality of the optics.

Now there are more new Nikon action devices in our stores. We'll be featuring the next one soon. In the meantime come on down and see what they look like - summer is coming fast and the water calls...

Nikon KeyMission 170 is at both Camera Electronic stores. 230 Stirling St and 2/324 Murray St, Perth. See our extended December trading hours here

See the Nikon KeyMission 170 on our online store