I'm a semi professional photographer, been working part time at it since the 90's and needed a long zoom solution for vacation photos. I have a Canon 100-400 L lens and thought about coupling it with one of my APS-C bodies and a 2x teleconverter but something about carrying all that gear for photos with little to no commercial viability didn't appeal to me. This camera came up a a warehouse deal with an additional 15% off for Amazon Prime day and so I thought I'll get it considering I'm going on vacation to Yellowstone and could use an the extra long zoom reach.
To put the camera to the test I took the obligatory moon shot but then I took a short trip. I visited a local wild life ranch and cavern here in San Antonio area called Natural Bridge Wild Life Ranch and Natural Bridge Caverns. In the wild life ranch I snagged a shot of a Zebra which I sold four copies of in a week just by word of mouth - so much for no commercial viability.
Wildlife Ranch photos here:[...]
Cavern Photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1675684126085238.1073741885.1535609413426044&type=1&l=2f0cb6c5a6
It was a lot of fun to play with the camera, the zoom reach is beyond expectation and certainly has a bit of a WOW factor to it. The fact the camera has manual modes is a bit of a misnomer since the shutter and aperture range you're allow to play with are not the full spectrum but a very limited set, for example, when zoomed in you can open all the way up to f6.5 or stop all the way down to f8.0. Ideally with an inexpensive lens I'd have liked to stop down to f11 to ensure edge to edge sharpness. Do to this limitation I ended up using full auto and adjusting the scene selection as well as using exposure comp for almost every shot.
As one might expect this kind of zoom range makes it easy to induce camera shake but the camera does a reasonably good job of suppressing it. For example, shooting at 1/500 of a second and zoomed to 2000mm yields a sharp image about 1/3 of the time. During shooting I was constantly pixel peeping to see if focus was sharp which it usually wasn't so the solution is to take lots of shots, bracing, holding breath, leaning on something (I brought a mono pod into the caverns). Shooting with it on the wide angle is great if you're not using flash (flash was too powerful and no flash settings, could possibly fix with a napkin or post-it over the flash), zoomed all the way out the P900 provides a nice f2.8 aperture which is faster than some of the competition in the range with smaller zoom lenses.
Back at the computer it was disappointing not to have Raw files to work with. The jpgs were highly compressed and I suspect highly processed in camera to compensate for the inexpensive lens. My first test shots at home made me adjust the in camera processing to add one more notch (you can add up to three) of both contrast and saturation. None the less there is a stop or two of additional range in processing the images in Adobe LR. Highlights and shadows were unrecoverable when completely blown out something my 5D has probably spoiled me on. In the end I think I threw out 1/5th of the shots and about 1/10th of remaining were worth talking about (see links). Like I said before, the solution to the shortcomings of the camera are to take multiple shots of the composition and subj. you want. Honestly I think if I had used my APS-C body and teleconverter I wouldn't have fared too much better and the time spent taking extra shots with the P900 would have been spent catching my breath carrying an additional 5lbs of gear; not to mention shaking the cramps out of my hand.
---Summary---
Pros:
Zoom Reach
Relative portability
Value considering the lens is unique
Cons:
Small sensor size
compression noise
ISO noise even at relatively low ISO (I was trying to keep it at or below 800)
high rate of poor shots
Slow to respond after taking multiple shots (serious problem if you intend to do bird watching)
And not such a con but a note, there are better options out there in this price range if you're not looking the occasional bird photo or moon shot.
I teetered on the edge of returning it but in the end it does provide unique shots at a price that doesn't hurt that bad. So if you can find a deal you're probably going to be very happy with it.
Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell yes - gotta try this zoom, it's insane and worth the shortcomings especially if you have a little skill (or just patience) and can work at overcoming them.
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This Item  Nikon COOLPIX P900 Digital Camera (Black) |  |  |  |  | | |
| Price | $525.00 | $698.00 | $869.95 | $796.95 | -12% $619.00 List: $699.99 | -9% $725.00 New Price: $796.95 |
| Delivery | Get it Jun 3 - 4 | — | Get it as soon as Tomorrow, May 10 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it May 16 - 20 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Zoom | ||||||
| Image stabilization | ||||||
| Auto focus | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Sold By | Chumdog LLC | Jerry's Photo | Green's Camera World | Amazon.com | Willoughby's Established 1898 | PIXIBYTES |
| display type | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| display size | 3 inches | 3.2 inches | 3.2 inches | 3.2 inches | 3 inches | 3.2 inches |
| lens type | Wide Angle | zoom | NIKKOR lens with 83x optical zoom | Zoom | Wide Angle | Zoom, Telephoto |
| zoom type | Automatic | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Digital Zoom, Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom |
| shooting modes | Scene auto selector, scene, special effects, smart portrait, auto mode and more | Macro | Manual | Landscape, portrait mode, close-up, party/indoor, backlight, night portrait, food, fireworks, night landscape, dawn/dusk, sports mode, sunset | Aperture Priority, Auto, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority | Automatic, Underwater, Night Portrait, Shutter Priority, Landscape, Aperture Priority, Movie, Panorama, Portrait, Macro |
| connectivity tech | USB, HDMI | Wi-Fi, USB | HDMI | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS | HDMI, Bluetooth, USB | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS |
| video resolution | FHD 1080p | 2160p, 1080p | 4K UHD 2160p | 4K UHD 2160p | 4K UHD 2160p | 2160p |
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Customer Review: Great bridge camera - incredible zoom
Lon J. Seidman
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Nikon COOLPIX P900
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Super Zoom Captures Up-Close Footage Of The Moon
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Reviews with images
Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell yes!
I'm a semi professional photographer, been working part time at it since the 90's and needed a long zoom solution for vacation photos. I have a Canon 100-400 L lens and thought about coupling it with one of my APS-C bodies and a 2x teleconverter but something about carrying all that gear for photos with little to no commercial viability didn't appeal to me. This camera came up a a warehouse deal with an additional 15% off for Amazon Prime day and so I thought I'll get it considering I'm going on vacation to Yellowstone and could use an the extra long zoom reach.To put the camera to the test I took the obligatory moon shot but then I took a short trip. I visited a local wild life ranch and cavern here in San Antonio area called Natural Bridge Wild Life Ranch and Natural Bridge Caverns. In the wild life ranch I snagged a shot of a Zebra which I sold four copies of in a week just by word of mouth - so much for no commercial viability.Wildlife Ranch photos here:[...]Cavern Photos here:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1675684126085238.1073741885.1535609413426044&type=1&l=2f0cb6c5a6It was a lot of fun to play with the camera, the zoom reach is beyond expectation and certainly has a bit of a WOW factor to it. The fact the camera has manual modes is a bit of a misnomer since the shutter and aperture range you're allow to play with are not the full spectrum but a very limited set, for example, when zoomed in you can open all the way up to f6.5 or stop all the way down to f8.0. Ideally with an inexpensive lens I'd have liked to stop down to f11 to ensure edge to edge sharpness. Do to this limitation I ended up using full auto and adjusting the scene selection as well as using exposure comp for almost every shot.As one might expect this kind of zoom range makes it easy to induce camera shake but the camera does a reasonably good job of suppressing it. For example, shooting at 1/500 of a second and zoomed to 2000mm yields a sharp image about 1/3 of the time. During shooting I was constantly pixel peeping to see if focus was sharp which it usually wasn't so the solution is to take lots of shots, bracing, holding breath, leaning on something (I brought a mono pod into the caverns). Shooting with it on the wide angle is great if you're not using flash (flash was too powerful and no flash settings, could possibly fix with a napkin or post-it over the flash), zoomed all the way out the P900 provides a nice f2.8 aperture which is faster than some of the competition in the range with smaller zoom lenses.Back at the computer it was disappointing not to have Raw files to work with. The jpgs were highly compressed and I suspect highly processed in camera to compensate for the inexpensive lens. My first test shots at home made me adjust the in camera processing to add one more notch (you can add up to three) of both contrast and saturation. None the less there is a stop or two of additional range in processing the images in Adobe LR. Highlights and shadows were unrecoverable when completely blown out something my 5D has probably spoiled me on. In the end I think I threw out 1/5th of the shots and about 1/10th of remaining were worth talking about (see links). Like I said before, the solution to the shortcomings of the camera are to take multiple shots of the composition and subj. you want. Honestly I think if I had used my APS-C body and teleconverter I wouldn't have fared too much better and the time spent taking extra shots with the P900 would have been spent catching my breath carrying an additional 5lbs of gear; not to mention shaking the cramps out of my hand.---Summary---Pros:Zoom ReachRelative portabilityValue considering the lens is uniqueCons:Small sensor sizecompression noiseISO noise even at relatively low ISO (I was trying to keep it at or below 800)high rate of poor shotsSlow to respond after taking multiple shots (serious problem if you intend to do bird watching)And not such a con but a note, there are better options out there in this price range if you're not looking the occasional bird photo or moon shot.I teetered on the edge of returning it but in the end it does provide unique shots at a price that doesn't hurt that bad. So if you can find a deal you're probably going to be very happy with it.Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell yes - gotta try this zoom, it's insane and worth the shortcomings especially if you have a little skill (or just patience) and can work at overcoming them.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2016
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
I'm a semi professional photographer, been working part time at it since the 90's and needed a long zoom solution for vacation photos. I have a Canon 100-400 L lens and thought about coupling it with one of my APS-C bodies and a 2x teleconverter but something about carrying all that gear for photos with little to no commercial viability didn't appeal to me. This camera came up a a warehouse deal with an additional 15% off for Amazon Prime day and so I thought I'll get it considering I'm going on vacation to Yellowstone and could use an the extra long zoom reach.
To put the camera to the test I took the obligatory moon shot but then I took a short trip. I visited a local wild life ranch and cavern here in San Antonio area called Natural Bridge Wild Life Ranch and Natural Bridge Caverns. In the wild life ranch I snagged a shot of a Zebra which I sold four copies of in a week just by word of mouth - so much for no commercial viability.
Wildlife Ranch photos here:[...]
Cavern Photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1675684126085238.1073741885.1535609413426044&type=1&l=2f0cb6c5a6
It was a lot of fun to play with the camera, the zoom reach is beyond expectation and certainly has a bit of a WOW factor to it. The fact the camera has manual modes is a bit of a misnomer since the shutter and aperture range you're allow to play with are not the full spectrum but a very limited set, for example, when zoomed in you can open all the way up to f6.5 or stop all the way down to f8.0. Ideally with an inexpensive lens I'd have liked to stop down to f11 to ensure edge to edge sharpness. Do to this limitation I ended up using full auto and adjusting the scene selection as well as using exposure comp for almost every shot.
As one might expect this kind of zoom range makes it easy to induce camera shake but the camera does a reasonably good job of suppressing it. For example, shooting at 1/500 of a second and zoomed to 2000mm yields a sharp image about 1/3 of the time. During shooting I was constantly pixel peeping to see if focus was sharp which it usually wasn't so the solution is to take lots of shots, bracing, holding breath, leaning on something (I brought a mono pod into the caverns). Shooting with it on the wide angle is great if you're not using flash (flash was too powerful and no flash settings, could possibly fix with a napkin or post-it over the flash), zoomed all the way out the P900 provides a nice f2.8 aperture which is faster than some of the competition in the range with smaller zoom lenses.
Back at the computer it was disappointing not to have Raw files to work with. The jpgs were highly compressed and I suspect highly processed in camera to compensate for the inexpensive lens. My first test shots at home made me adjust the in camera processing to add one more notch (you can add up to three) of both contrast and saturation. None the less there is a stop or two of additional range in processing the images in Adobe LR. Highlights and shadows were unrecoverable when completely blown out something my 5D has probably spoiled me on. In the end I think I threw out 1/5th of the shots and about 1/10th of remaining were worth talking about (see links). Like I said before, the solution to the shortcomings of the camera are to take multiple shots of the composition and subj. you want. Honestly I think if I had used my APS-C body and teleconverter I wouldn't have fared too much better and the time spent taking extra shots with the P900 would have been spent catching my breath carrying an additional 5lbs of gear; not to mention shaking the cramps out of my hand.
---Summary---
Pros:
Zoom Reach
Relative portability
Value considering the lens is unique
Cons:
Small sensor size
compression noise
ISO noise even at relatively low ISO (I was trying to keep it at or below 800)
high rate of poor shots
Slow to respond after taking multiple shots (serious problem if you intend to do bird watching)
And not such a con but a note, there are better options out there in this price range if you're not looking the occasional bird photo or moon shot.
I teetered on the edge of returning it but in the end it does provide unique shots at a price that doesn't hurt that bad. So if you can find a deal you're probably going to be very happy with it.
Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell yes - gotta try this zoom, it's insane and worth the shortcomings especially if you have a little skill (or just patience) and can work at overcoming them.
To put the camera to the test I took the obligatory moon shot but then I took a short trip. I visited a local wild life ranch and cavern here in San Antonio area called Natural Bridge Wild Life Ranch and Natural Bridge Caverns. In the wild life ranch I snagged a shot of a Zebra which I sold four copies of in a week just by word of mouth - so much for no commercial viability.
Wildlife Ranch photos here:[...]
Cavern Photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1675684126085238.1073741885.1535609413426044&type=1&l=2f0cb6c5a6
It was a lot of fun to play with the camera, the zoom reach is beyond expectation and certainly has a bit of a WOW factor to it. The fact the camera has manual modes is a bit of a misnomer since the shutter and aperture range you're allow to play with are not the full spectrum but a very limited set, for example, when zoomed in you can open all the way up to f6.5 or stop all the way down to f8.0. Ideally with an inexpensive lens I'd have liked to stop down to f11 to ensure edge to edge sharpness. Do to this limitation I ended up using full auto and adjusting the scene selection as well as using exposure comp for almost every shot.
As one might expect this kind of zoom range makes it easy to induce camera shake but the camera does a reasonably good job of suppressing it. For example, shooting at 1/500 of a second and zoomed to 2000mm yields a sharp image about 1/3 of the time. During shooting I was constantly pixel peeping to see if focus was sharp which it usually wasn't so the solution is to take lots of shots, bracing, holding breath, leaning on something (I brought a mono pod into the caverns). Shooting with it on the wide angle is great if you're not using flash (flash was too powerful and no flash settings, could possibly fix with a napkin or post-it over the flash), zoomed all the way out the P900 provides a nice f2.8 aperture which is faster than some of the competition in the range with smaller zoom lenses.
Back at the computer it was disappointing not to have Raw files to work with. The jpgs were highly compressed and I suspect highly processed in camera to compensate for the inexpensive lens. My first test shots at home made me adjust the in camera processing to add one more notch (you can add up to three) of both contrast and saturation. None the less there is a stop or two of additional range in processing the images in Adobe LR. Highlights and shadows were unrecoverable when completely blown out something my 5D has probably spoiled me on. In the end I think I threw out 1/5th of the shots and about 1/10th of remaining were worth talking about (see links). Like I said before, the solution to the shortcomings of the camera are to take multiple shots of the composition and subj. you want. Honestly I think if I had used my APS-C body and teleconverter I wouldn't have fared too much better and the time spent taking extra shots with the P900 would have been spent catching my breath carrying an additional 5lbs of gear; not to mention shaking the cramps out of my hand.
---Summary---
Pros:
Zoom Reach
Relative portability
Value considering the lens is unique
Cons:
Small sensor size
compression noise
ISO noise even at relatively low ISO (I was trying to keep it at or below 800)
high rate of poor shots
Slow to respond after taking multiple shots (serious problem if you intend to do bird watching)
And not such a con but a note, there are better options out there in this price range if you're not looking the occasional bird photo or moon shot.
I teetered on the edge of returning it but in the end it does provide unique shots at a price that doesn't hurt that bad. So if you can find a deal you're probably going to be very happy with it.
Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell yes - gotta try this zoom, it's insane and worth the shortcomings especially if you have a little skill (or just patience) and can work at overcoming them.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2017
Color: BlackVerified Purchase
[Edit: After years of use, this camera is still going strong! I am raising my rating to five stars because this camera has been such a reliable performer and a delight to use. My favorite settings for birding are P-mode with spot focus and spot exposure. I don't always nail focus, or capture birds darting from branch to branch, with this camera when I am zoomed all the way to 2000mm (in 35mm full frame equivalent), but when I have the time to get a bird in the frame and nail the focus the results are spectacular. The zoom reach of this camera has totally spoiled me. Even though I have played with the Sony RX10IV and loved it, the 600mm zoom reach of that camera seem paltry by comparison to the 2000mm reach of the p950. Nikon, you have won the hearts of us birders. Keep up the good work!]
This is a fun camera, and I realize that there is nothing like it available from other manufacturers, but I still want Nikon to make some improvements to the next version of this camera so they can compete with Sony and Panasonic in areas other than zoom reach.
Make no mistake, buy this camera if you like to look at birds and animals like seals that are typically too far away to get a good picture of. I have had the camera only a few weeks and already I have found that the P900 is the perfect complement to my bird watching hobby.The P900 is light enough to carry around my neck without any fatigue, and the massive zoom can capture pretty much any bird or animal I see on my nature walks. I think of the camera as the ultimate pair of binoculars, and the photos are helping me appreciate nature more than ever. I saw a seagull in the distance and couldn't make out what it was doing, so I trained the P900 on it and saw that the bird was eating a crab. I never would have been able to see this scene without this camera and I am thrilled to be able to delve into nature this way.
The auto-focus works very well for most subjects. The jpegs of non-moving birds and animals have a great amount of detail and the auto exposure settings typically produce good results.
The video works surprisingly well when locked down tight on a tripod. When you are into the long zoom reach you have to account for atmospheric distortion, which should temper your expectations, but also make you realize that the reach of this lens is colossal. Any camera movement will ruin your shot with a Jello-like shake, so for video it is best to lock the camera on a tripod and focus on non-moving subjects or plan for animals to walk into your frame and then let them walk out of the frame rather than panning to follow their path.
The Timelapse feature is a joy to use and the menu settings for it are easy to navigate and understand. However, I would love to see the timelapse videos look a bit smoother. And, that brings me to my final thought on this camera.
What I would love to see from Nikon in a future version of this camera is better image quality overall. For still photos I would love to see the option to shoot RAW, and for video I would appreciate having 4K. A microphone input and built-in ND filters would be nice, too.
I don't know what Nikon's plans are, but if they make a fancier version of this camera to compete with bridge cameras like the Sony RX10 III and the Panasonic FZ2500, then I will be among the first in line to pick it up.
[Edit: Nikon now has the p950 and the p1000, and I have played with both. When I am ready to upgrade I will probably go with the p950 or something like it over the p1000 because I found that the p1000 with its smaller aperture produced grainier photos than the p900/p950. I like the longer reach of the p1000, but the photos from the p900/p950 just look more clear to me than the p1000 images.]
This is a fun camera, and I realize that there is nothing like it available from other manufacturers, but I still want Nikon to make some improvements to the next version of this camera so they can compete with Sony and Panasonic in areas other than zoom reach.
Make no mistake, buy this camera if you like to look at birds and animals like seals that are typically too far away to get a good picture of. I have had the camera only a few weeks and already I have found that the P900 is the perfect complement to my bird watching hobby.The P900 is light enough to carry around my neck without any fatigue, and the massive zoom can capture pretty much any bird or animal I see on my nature walks. I think of the camera as the ultimate pair of binoculars, and the photos are helping me appreciate nature more than ever. I saw a seagull in the distance and couldn't make out what it was doing, so I trained the P900 on it and saw that the bird was eating a crab. I never would have been able to see this scene without this camera and I am thrilled to be able to delve into nature this way.
The auto-focus works very well for most subjects. The jpegs of non-moving birds and animals have a great amount of detail and the auto exposure settings typically produce good results.
The video works surprisingly well when locked down tight on a tripod. When you are into the long zoom reach you have to account for atmospheric distortion, which should temper your expectations, but also make you realize that the reach of this lens is colossal. Any camera movement will ruin your shot with a Jello-like shake, so for video it is best to lock the camera on a tripod and focus on non-moving subjects or plan for animals to walk into your frame and then let them walk out of the frame rather than panning to follow their path.
The Timelapse feature is a joy to use and the menu settings for it are easy to navigate and understand. However, I would love to see the timelapse videos look a bit smoother. And, that brings me to my final thought on this camera.
What I would love to see from Nikon in a future version of this camera is better image quality overall. For still photos I would love to see the option to shoot RAW, and for video I would appreciate having 4K. A microphone input and built-in ND filters would be nice, too.
I don't know what Nikon's plans are, but if they make a fancier version of this camera to compete with bridge cameras like the Sony RX10 III and the Panasonic FZ2500, then I will be among the first in line to pick it up.
[Edit: Nikon now has the p950 and the p1000, and I have played with both. When I am ready to upgrade I will probably go with the p950 or something like it over the p1000 because I found that the p1000 with its smaller aperture produced grainier photos than the p900/p950. I like the longer reach of the p1000, but the photos from the p900/p950 just look more clear to me than the p1000 images.]
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Ernani Calazans de Oliveira
O zoom é perfeito. Adorei.
Reviewed in Brazil on November 6, 2021Color: BlackVerified Purchase
RJF
Amazing zoom and capabilities
Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2019Color: BlackVerified Purchase
RJF
Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2019
Images in this review
Raul
El mejor zoom que he visto hasta ahora
Reviewed in Mexico on November 20, 2018Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Raul
Reviewed in Mexico on November 20, 2018
las fotos y video se han modificado para ponerlas en esta valoración.
aun teniendo la foto a pulso, la calidad es muy buena, el visor es digital por lo que te ofrece toda la información que la pantalla grande ofrece,
la configuración si es un poco tediosa y algo oculta, cosa que con cámaras como D5500 es un poco mas implícita.
el lente no tiene una forma de hacer un enfoque manual de manera rápida, todo es desde la opción manual, eligiendo las opciones del botón giratorio de la cámara. y el movimiento es lento, por lo que si quiere enfocar algo de manera rápida en manual esto no es posible.
incluye un gps, y el video no suele tardar mucho, pero suficiente para tener con una cámara personalizada para fotos.
Images in this review
xman
Good. Super fast delivery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2022Color: BlackVerified Purchase
