Nikon's 2016 AA-powered budget compact — 16MP CCD, 26-130mm equiv 5x zoom, 720p video, not the APS-C Coolpix A.
The Nikon Coolpix A10 was a budget compact announced in January 2016, launching Nikon's short-lived entry A-series alongside the A100 and A300. Despite the name it has nothing to do with the enthusiast APS-C Coolpix A of 2013 — the A10 effectively continued the AA-powered L-series recipe at a launch price of around £60, in black, red, silver and white.
A 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD sits behind a 5x optical zoom spanning 26-130mm equivalent at f/3.2-6.5. Sensitivity covers ISO 80-1600, video records at 720p HD, and the rear 2.7-inch LCD has 230,000 dots. The plastic body measures 96x59x29mm and weighs about 160g, storage is on SD cards, and two AA batteries supply power — one of the last new cameras sold with AA cells.
As one of the final CCD-based compacts Nikon made, the A10 has picked up interest from the retro-digicam crowd as well as buyers wanting a dead-simple camera for kids or travel. Operation is fully automatic with scene modes; the slow telephoto aperture and electronic-only blur reduction mean it is happiest outdoors in daylight.
Because it sold until late in the compact era, clean boxed examples are common and cheap. AA power removes battery-obsolescence risk entirely and SD cards are current, so the checks are simple: lens extends without error, flash fires, screen unmarked, battery contacts clean. Beware listings that confuse it with the premium Coolpix A — the price difference is large and the cameras share nothing but a letter.