The True Capabilities of the Nikon P1000 Part 2. The 2000 to 3000 mm focal length

Paul K Payne · Nov 30, 2018

Thanks Dodge Rock -

You keep up your excellent work too and keep dodging rocks - good advice for anyone.

Paul K Payne · Nov 30, 2018

Hi CMCM,

I have not gone through all of the picture control settings, each setting has 3 parameters and each of those have 7 levels of adjustment , an incremental comparison of each change is not practical.

I suggest you pick one you like the most and stick with it, but I would not push saturation or contrast too far, these will reduce detail. Push sharpening in some test shots and look at the JPEGs at 100% and choose a setting that you're happy with, I use Standard with contrast and sharpening +1, saturation in the middle or 0 position.

I also remove all info from the viewfinder - just the focusing square and the zoom bar, everything else is a distraction.

Compared to the P900, the P1000 produces better JPEGs, probably due to some changes to the colour science and software engine. Optically, they are similar,but a head to head analysis would need to be done. All I can say is from my 3000mm shots I see no drop in sharpness compared to 2000, or 1000mm, or 50mm. Again, there is some powerful software at work in these cameras.

Paul

CMCM · Nov 30, 2018

Paul K Payne said:
Hello James (I'm guessing here),

The limitations of a 1 2/3 sensor are well known, and as I said in my first part on this camera it seems it was designed to produce acceptable results for sharing on social media rather than a flexible tool for enthusiasts.

I was prompted to write this series of posts because as you can see from their sample photos, the reviewers were either not taking the camera seriously, or were simply inexperienced or, forgive the unkindness, unskilled.

Unfortunately, the Sony RX10M4 is not a value proposition in Australia, you can buy a D3400 and a 200-500, or Tamron/ Sigma 600mm for considerably less, or a Sony A7 with $900 towards a lens for the same price. I have no problem carrying 3 camera and a few lenses in the bush, so my second camera being a P900 or P1000 is an easy decision.

Reach is everything in Australia for medium and large birds, you cannot approach these ground feeding flocking birds easily, and at 600mm you will capture many individuals and only hope to perhaps crop a unique and interesting photograph.

I hope I've demonstrated the P1000's capabilities at these extreme focal lengths, and in a future installment I'll certainly cover the 600mm range.

Kind regards,

Paul

For what it's worth, when I decided I liked the idea of a bridge type long zoom camera, I had both the P900 and the Sony RX10IV at the same time to test out. I liked a lot about the Sony, it seemed like a very nice, higher quality camera overall, but after experiencing the P900's more than 3x longer zoom, I was hooked on that level of zoom for my wants/needs and the Sony suddenly became quite unsatisfying by comparison, that 600mm suddenly seemed rather limited. There were a great many shots I couldn't get at all with the 600mm, but which were a snap with the 2000mm. I wasn't buying the camera as a "do and be everything" camera so I didn't have unreasonable expectations. I wanted the zoom for birds and animals. I'd seen enough very good wildlife photos around here done with the P900 that I knew it could deliver the kind of excellent shots I'd like to get myself, shots that you could only reasonably get with a much longer zoom capability.

CMCM · Nov 30, 2018

Paul K Payne said:
Hi CMCM,

I have not gone through all of the picture control settings, each setting has 3 parameters and each of those have 7 levels of adjustment , an incremental comparison of each change is not practical.

I suggest you pick one you like the most and stick with it, but I would not push saturation or contrast too far, these will reduce detail. Push sharpening in some test shots and look at the JPEGs at 100% and choose a setting that you're happy with, I use Standard with contrast and sharpening +1, saturation in the middle or 0 position.

Good to know that increasing saturation or contrast would reduce detail, I didn't know that.

Paul K Payne said:
I also remove all info from the viewfinder - just the focusing square and the zoom bar, everything else is a distraction.

Compared to the P900, the P1000 produces better JPEGs, probably due to some changes to the colour science and software engine. Optically, they are similar,but a head to head analysis would need to be done. All I can say is from my 3000mm shots I see no drop in sharpness compared to 2000, or 1000mm, or 50mm. Again, there is some powerful software at work in these cameras.

Paul

I'm wondering if the P1000 might have a slightly different sensor. I got the impression somewhere along the line that it might be a different one, although still the same size. Somewhere there is a list of Nikon cameras and their various sensors, and perhaps the P1000 is on that list. The processor on the P1000 is definitely a higher level/newer one than on the P900, so that might help account for some improvements in the jpegs.

Jamesbond6668 · Mar 8, 2019

I had the P1000 for about 3 weeks and really gave it a look over. Still happier with the P900's images.....so took the P1000 back to Best Buy, keeping the P900. It has always amazed me how well it works. And no RAW! But the images look so good right out of the camera! Oh, and it was the lack of latitude in the shots from the P1000 that really got me. Anything on the light/white side was blown out white. That doesn't fly for me. I'm used to the Full Frame sensors and all the info you have to work with.

----Allen

jshen808 · Mar 8, 2019

Jamesbond6668 said:
I had the P1000 for about 3 weeks and really gave it a look over. Still happier with the P900's images.....so took the P1000 back to Best Buy, keeping the P900. It has always amazed me how well it works. And no RAW! But the images look so good right out of the camera! Oh, and it was the lack of latitude in the shots from the P1000 that really got me. Anything on the light/white side was blown out white. That doesn't fly for me. I'm used to the Full Frame sensors and all the info you have to work with.

..The P1000 is certainly not for everyone..

..but guess you did not read my thread about my recommended settings (see the below link)..

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4364115

..however, the P900 camera is also in my collection, and won't give it up..

..thanks for sharing, and happy shooting my friend,

..Cheers..

fred from nashville · Mar 9, 2019

as always: EXTREMELY informative. one of the most "look forward to" forum additions. keep them coming!

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The True Capabilities of the Nikon P1000 Part 2. The 2000 to 3000 mm focal length

Paul K Payne

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Paul K Payne

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CMCM

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CMCM

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Jamesbond6668

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jshen808

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fred from nashville

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