Nikon's new Coolpix cams: longest zoom, cheapest rugged

New entries to the Nikon Coolpix line include the P510 with a crazy-powerful 42X zoom lens, the ultra-slim S9300 with its own boast-worthy 18X zoom lens, and the amazingly low-priced shockproof and dustproof S30 geared towards active families (that is, those who tend to break their gadgets).

The P510's 42X glass optical-zoom lens stands out. With a focal length of 24mm - 1000mm, it surpasses competing super-zoom models from Canon, Panasonic and Sony. With such extreme magnification, the P510's advanced optical vibration reduction image stabilization is a must-have for shooting both stills and HD video, which users can record in full 1080p HD — with stereo sound.

The P510 also engages a 16.1-megapixel CMOS sensor to deal with low light situations and makes it possible to capture five images at full resolution in approximately one second. And with built-in GPS, photographers can geotag their journeys.

As you can see from the image above, it also comes with a 3-inch tilting vari-angle LCD screen.

It'll be available this month for $430 in black and red.

Those in search of a more slim design might find the 1.5-inch S9300 more to their liking. But inside this compact package is an 18X optical zoom glass lens with image stabilization and a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor. As with the P510, it records in full 1080p HD with full stereo sound and has built-in GPS.

It'll be available this month for about $350 in black, red and silver.

And then there's the point-and-shoot aimed at families, the S30, that is shockproof from a drop of 2.6 feet and waterproof up to 9.8 feet. It's on the other end of the P510 zoom with only a 3X wide-angle zoom lens, but it also has a 10.1-megapixel image sensor and HD (720p) video.

Also slotted for availability this month, the S30 will only set consumers back about $120, in white, blue and pink.