Nikon S8100 or P300?

I was looking for an acceptable alternative to my DSLR equipment for situations where it is not possible to take these with for some time.
The following requirements you should fulfill:

- Compact and lightweight ('pocket camera')
- Best possible image quality
- HD video recording (Children)

Selection Process
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Because 1 point separated the Olympus XZ-1, the Nikon P7000, the Panasonic LX5 and Canon G12 ever made.
That I regard must therefore picture quality to accept more significant compromises, I knew.
This left the first Panasonic TZ10, the Canon S95 and the Nikon S8100.
The recessions regarding the TZ10 were very contradictory, so I focused ultimately on the S95 and S8100. The S95 (my friend) inspired me by the very good picture quality, but also she was removed from the list because they did not allow the zoom during video recording (essential if you want to take children).
Then came the announcement from Nikon that in March the S9100 and P300 are delivered.
Influenced by the negative recessions at home and abroad for the S9100 I ordered, however, but then a S8100, and a P300.

The S8100 is undoubtedly a very good compact camera, but the main reason why I have these sent back, was the enormous image quality difference for P300. Most striking was the difference in the Feather: For wide-angle shots turned out in S8100 a very clear sharpness waste to the edges, especially towards the corners.
Also noticeable was the better noise performance of the P300 in interior shots, which is certainly attributable to the much more intense, excellent lens of P300 (lower ISO values ​​with the same lighting possible).

Also with respect to the features the P300 has some crucial advantages for me:

- Zoom range is indeed only 4.2fach (S8100 10x), but starts at 24mm wide angle (30mm S8100) and goes after all, up to 100mm.
- Both cameras sometimes very good automatic settings (eg HDR in stage 1 gives good results), but also the P300 offers more manual controls over the key parameters (by the operator forth by the way very similar to the Nikon DSLRs, one feels at home immediately ).

This along with the image quality and the fact that the price difference between the two cameras is now only still relatively low, made my decision for the P300 very easily.

Following some Pros and Cons for Nikon P300 after 200 shots (mainly in P mode):

Pros
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- Ergonomics If I find the two command dials up and back succeeded; In addition, the P300 is very good in the hand (contrary to S95 of my acquaintance who works for me something 'slippery')
- Superb optical quality of the lens (light intensity, distinctness of image)
- In most cases, sharp images; very effective optical anti-shake
- Marginal only under high magnification blur noticeable in the corners
- Excellent color accuracy; Auto white balance works very well
- Exposure was adjusted always optimal in my opinion, hardly necessary corrections
- Distortions could not be ascertained for me
- Noise at normal magnification of interior shots as good as invisible, yet many details in the photos. ISO Auto I have however limited to ISO 400, which was by the fast lens no problem.
- Super high-resolution screen and high visibility even in bright
- Video recordings succeed very well, especially the camera allows the use of the zoom (which the S95 we know, does not speak). That I had to find a slight judder when playing, I attribute to the performance of my notebook, I've noticed the same phenomenon when playing the S8100 videos.

Neutral
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- Battery: more than 200 pictures and a 5 minute video (= acceptable initial performance of the battery)
- Design (is matter of taste), understated look

Cons
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- Location of the USB / HDMI connector on the bottom as well as the low quality of the cover of the terminals that do not match with the camera
- No available standard USB port

Overall, I can highly recommend this camera. With regard to the price / performance ratio, it is my opinion at the moment without competition.