Nikon's Coolpix P950 features an incredible 24-2000mm equiv. zoom lens. But other than taking closeup photos of the moon, what's this camera that looks like a small bazooka good for? Quite a lot, it turns out.
I got lost reading the comments, albeit some were funny. This camera is not geared for the enthusiast willing to lug a body and a 30lb bag full of lenses around all day. This is geared to the enthusiast that wants to cover a wide range of shooting situations with a manageable weight and size. So, I have an rx10iii for range for most situations and an A7ii with an laea4 and various lenses ranging from 8mm to 500mm reflex for when I really want the subtlety that the FF sensor can pick up compared to the 1" in the RX10iii or when I want specific lenses; macros and such specifically for depth of field, compression and such. On casual trips, I take the Rx10iii. The lens is very sharp across the field and range. The 1" sensor is good. The images require minimal correction. The P950 is aiming for similar shooters. it's not the best or worst when compared to similar bridge cameras. Apples for Apples comparisons against competing cameras would work best.
Forty years ago I used to lug around a bag with two bodies, with different films, a long zoom, three primes, a big flash and a tripod. Now I am completely unable to lug around a quarter of that weight, so I bought a super zoom that I can take with me whenever I like. Quality is not the same but I can carry it. My next buy will be a Sony RX10IV. Since I like to take low light photos this P950 is not for me.
Until this Coronavirus Pandemic, travelled around shooting photos for my weekly "AutoMatters & More" weekly column in my tribe on the DriveTribe website. To do that I use several different camera bodies, depending on my needs for particular shoots. I have had a Sony RX10-Mark IV for several years. While it is certainly not my go-to camera for shooting auto racing (my Nikon D5 with a Tamron 150-600mm Zoom lens is my favorite for that), the Sony is very good as a carry-around, all-in-one camera. (CONTINUED IN PART TWO, because of maximum word count limitations)
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Another solid everyday camera, and my favorite for shooting video because of its EVF (a rear screen monitor is almost useless when shooting video, especially outside in the sun), relatively compact size and light weight, is the Nikon Z6 with its (free) F-amount lens adapter and my 28-300mm lens (which is by far my most-used lens. I've already worn one out, after two or three re-builds over the years, and am now on my second 28-300mm Nikon lens).
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That said, a couple of years ago while covering he annual SEMA Show convention, I was sitting far back in a large meeting hall in a Las Vegas hotel. There was a panel discussion on a well-lit stage and I wanted to take some close-up photos of the speakers, including John Force. My Sony RX-10 Mark IV worked great for that, and that camera is so light that I can comfortably carry it around as a second camera.
By the way, for many years I have been using a Cotton Carrier as I securely carry around up to three camera bodies.
Now that a Nikon P950 2000mm zoom equivalent is a big deal, can we NOW DO a real world REVIEW of the MTF Services Ltd B4 2/3" to Canon EF Adapter which allows us to put a 2/3rds inch Broadcast Video Zoom lens on an Canon EF mount camera!
See link for MTF Services Ltd B4 2/3" to Canon EF Adapter:
eBay and Amazon are now seeing LOTS of B4 mount servo zoom lenses (i.e. 12x to 20x zoom) which means the equivalent in crop-mode on say a Canon 5Dmk4 or 1Dx3 would be about 4000mm (i.e. my unconfirmed estimate!).
Try any of the HD B4-mount 2/3rds inch servo zoom lenses such as those Fujinon or Canon. They are going on average for about $3700 CAN ($3200 US) on ebay/amazon. Let's see the visual quality comparison against the typical night moon shot with one of these attached to a 5Dmk4!
I should note that doing the equivalent focal length calculation of a B4 mount lens being put on the Canon EF mount with a B4-to-EF adapter on a 5Dmk4 or 1Dx2/3 series is a bit complicated because of sensor size/crop mode differences AND mount engineering issues.
BUT ...... in MY UNCONFIRMED ESTIMATE (i.e. my math is a bit shaky here!) the crop-mode equivalent focal length on a Canon or Fujinon 18x B4-mount Servo Zoom lens put on the 5D mk4 SHOULD BE about 3700mm to 4000mm but my other conversion formulas also say it could be equivalent to 500 to 800 mm so I would like to see WHICH it really is!
I think MANY of us would LOOOOOOOVE to see DPreview do a REAL WORLD proof or disproof of my (i.e. unsubstantiated) claims!
The Calgary Tower and those statues (the Family of Man?) were a dead giveaway. Thanks for shooting this review in my hometown. I attended the University of Calgary and then SAIT in the 1970s, worked in Lethbridge and Edmonton, and then moved to San Diego, where I still live. What is that white stuff that I see on the ground? Since this is a photo forum, I should at least say something about photography. I prefer to shoot with Nikon DSLRs, but for those rare times when I am not allowed to bring detachable lens cameras into venues and events to cover them for my syndicated column ("AutoMatters & More" in my 'tribe' on the DriveTribe website), I bought a Nikon A1000. I doubt that I will use it much because of it's poor low light capability and extreme light weight, which makes for very shaky telephoto shots) but it's small size should get me past the security monitors. I needed something with a long zoom range and TAW capability. The A1000 has both. Jan
Wot.. no mask?. Wot if the photographer walked into an invisible CV laden aerosol that stays for up to 3 hours, and went out 27ft, twenty seven feet ,in a sneeze from even an asymptomatic CV infected. If unlucky he'll be coughing up bloody pink foam in 2 weeks and dead a few hours later, or just drop dead from CV damaged brain, heart, blood vessels or a slow death from the HIV segment that destroys his T cells. IDIOT.
I see a lot of negativity about IQ and such, but guys come on, this forum probably has a majority of users who use from cameras with 4/3 sensors up to medium format with a sprinkling of 1" sensors. Obviously others use smartphones etc, but this camera in absolute image quality due sensor and lens may not match the latest and greatest but I think that misses the point, It can take nice photos from a very large distance (and close up) and may well be all the camera a non enthusiast (or maybe some enthusiasts) would ever need. We are truly spoilt for choice with our chosen hobby
I used the P950 to actually photograph the Earth's curvature, no joke. Images are on my IG, @astrolandscapes. The flat-earthers couldn't even understand what they were seeing, just kept saying I simply hadn't proven anything.
If you live along the coast with a very tall hill, (~1K ft) and an island ~20-30 miles off-shore, you too can use the P950 to prove that the earth is, in fact, ...NOT FLAT! :-P
I totally agree, except I don't get mad, I am delighted to reverse-troll them by posting images that depict clear scientific evidence of a curvature.
@Sranang Boi,
I'm not sure what you're referring to; I used the P950 at 2000mm to photograph the curvature of the earth by taking two pictures of an island ~35 miles off the coast of So Cal, one photo at 1000 ft elevation and one photo at 100 ft elevation. Due to the earth's curvature, the shore of the island is visible from 1000 ft, but not visible from 100 ft. I've been trying to make a Youtube video about it, but can't get outside haha.
I know, I wish I could buy them all a trip to the South pole so they can take pictures of the underside of the disc, ...or just buy them a ride on the ISS.
It'd be worth a billion dollars just to see the looks on their faces! :-P
While the video does a good job of explaining the Nikon P950, the reviewer is clueless when it comes to scientific facts. At time 6:30 in the video he says the sun is 3300 miles from the earth and at time 11:56 in the video he states the sun is 3000 miles from the earth.
Well on average the sun is 92,956,000 miles from the earth. If he is that far off, how can anybody believes he understands light as he says.
there must be a huge stock of these legacy 'quality' point and shoot sensors, a byproduct of cell cameras destroying p&s and not absorbed by the cell phone market themselves for being too large
I read about these cameras (P900, 950 and 1000) though I never came close to buying any of them. I have a couple of questions for anyone who has knowledge about these models...
Is the only difference between 900 and 950 the RAW and 4K capability? More importantly, I think the lens is the same, correct?
Between the 900/950 and the 1000, which lens is better?
I had the P900. Now I have the P1000. There are more differences than just the RAW and 4K capability. For me, the image quality is very similar, but I think the P1000 is slightly sharper at 2000mm. The P1000 EVF is much, much better. I can quickly see what I am trying to shoot, which wasn't always the case with my P900. I think the cut off between bursts is shorter on the P1000. The image transfer with the P900 was via WIFI. Frankly, I though it was easier than with Snapbridge on the P1000 although Snapbridge has improved and there can be transfer of images automatically when you are not even using the camera. The P1000 is about a pound heavier than the P1000.
Thank you for those details. My question on RAW and 4K was between 900 and 950. I think you're saying that the P1000 has more differences. Also, on your last point, I think you meant that the P1000 is much heavier than the P900.
I can't see myself using either of these hand-held for wildlife at those focal lengths. A sturdy monopod with legs is the minimal I would expect to use. But that only helps when shooting not when carrying the weight around :-)
It is useful that the P1000 is sharper than P900 at 2000mm. Thanks.
For me, it's a fun camera. It will not compete with DSLR's or MFT cameras with good lenses at lower zoom ranges. However, in the right light, it will get you some shots that you wouldn't get otherwise. At baseball games, you can get really good static shots (players' and coaches' faces). In daylight games, you can with a little planning get pretty good actions shots. On YouTube, watch FroKnowsPhotos' review of the P1000. He does not love it, and says that it would be a good camera for his dad, maybe. However, the shots he discounts of a pitcher on the mound for their lack of sharpness look pretty good to me. If you wanted better pics, you would need either a lot bigger camera gear or a seat much closer to the action. I have hauled around a rented Nikon 200-500mm lens with my D7500 and it was much bulkier and heavier. Some people are happy with simply being able to take decent shots with a P950, P900, or P1000. Me, too.
Hey Guys, great video, probably the best I've ever seen covering a "bridge, superzoom" camera! Love how ya'll work humor in as a way to get the point across, it's just plain fun to watch. It would be difficult to select a scene as a favorite, but the decision not to shoot those discarded jeans was a good one. And of course, this camera is all about the fun factor. There is a HUGE market for people who want to get out and enjoy taking photos of so many different things, both near and far, without changing lens and without breaking the bank. Put me in this category, but with an emphasis on wildlife photography, primarily birds. The #1 requirement for shooting wildlfe is powerful optical zoom and this camera has it. I invite all you round-earthing, conspiracy hatin' and toilet paper hoarding folks to view my gallery here on DPReview or visit my Flickr site to share in the love of this miniscule sensor photo making machine. Enjoy! https://www.flickr.com/photos/dodge_rock/
I like long zooms and not having to change lenses (dust on the sensor!). On my full frame DSLR Nikons Imy favorite lens by far is Nikon's 28-300mm For times when I could not bring a detachable lens camera into venues, and before these Nikons were available, I bought a Sony arc-10 Mark IV. Today I would buy a Nikon instead. The inability of the 950 to adjust audio on the fly is a big negative though. Except for my Z6, my full frame Nikon DSLR are bad for video because of no EVF, but they are better in low light. No one camera is ideal for all needs and circumstances.
I have the P900 and I don't believe I'll upgrade because of 4K and RAW. When Nikon has a larger sensor then maybe I'll upgrade. An manual zoom and focusing would be a nice feature because as of now it's very slow. He mentioned about a touch screen but never actually showed it. Lots of reviewers say it's has a touch screen but it doesn't describe that in Nikon's web site.
Keep in mind the larger the sensor the larger the lens especially if they want to keep the same zoom range. They would also have to find ways to improve the stabilization otherwise It will be harder to stabilize and take handheld photos and videos especially at the 2000mm end
I had the P900 for 4 years and enjoyed it a lot. However, I sold it and bought the P1000. The RAW is nice. I don't care that much about the 4K video. However, for me the biggest upgrade has been the OVF improvement. When I look into it, it's a lot easier to make out the things or people that I am trying to photograph. I actually got some decent pictures of flying birds which was almost impossible for with the P900. I think the P950 has a similarly improved OVF.
It should have been mentioned that since this camera has an 8-MP sensor crop for 4K video, it has the equivalent focal-length of close to 3,000mm in that mode.
I don’t know any flat earthers but I used to know a guy who was serious as all get out that the earth was only 6,000 years old. It’s like driving a conversation into a brick wall - stops immediately.
No, it won't. Did you not get the idea of 2,000 mm focal length equivalence? Besides, you can't zoom from 24mm to a crop of 2,000 mm equivalent in a video with a 70-350mm lens. Then there's the cost . . . and size . . . and weight. I've shot the moon with a full-frame camera, using an 1,100mm lens. A 2,000 mm equivalent telephoto is better. Cropping from 60 MP to just quarter of the frame will end up giving you a 15 MP image, yet the equivalence using the long end of the 70-350mm lens would be 700mm . . . not 2,000mm. If you want just 1,400mm equivalence you have to crop to 1/4 of the frame again, resulting in an image that's less than 4 MP. How do you think that 4 MP image will look compared to the 20 MP image from the P950? Now to get to the 2,000mm equivalent image, you have to crop that 4 MP image some more.
I tried it with a Sony RX10M4. Wtih the 600 mm, the moon is only 850 px wide, but once resized to 2800 to match the moon picture of the P950, it appears that the Sony is far better !
Good word 'just'. Makes everything so easy. Cost, size, shuffling lenses to get a wide angle view and needing an additional lens to do it just fade away.
I don't remember I said it doesn't exist on other lenses! Yes, I keep the science for those who have scientific knowlwdge and leave the trivia for people like you to enjoy the freedom of speach. lol
I think a lot of people on here (myself included) fetishize IQ more than the broader camera market. I look on various photo sites/forums and people are really happy to get up close and personal with animals, even if their images wouldn't pass muster in National Geographic.
An amateur photographer who wants to do some birding or go on a Safari would have a ton of fun with this camera, and the entire assembly is far cheaper than an RX10 or big zoom lens. No lens swapping, ALWAYS enough zoom, and cheap enough to get lost or stolen without ruining your year.
A lot of people have started to point out when the global photography competitions are open to all cameras, iPhones, drones with smaller sensors, and P&S cameras are now among the top winners. The last several articles on competitions had a good number like that. The that I remember is the one where many of the comments mentioned the iPhone image was their favorite. It was mine too. In the last one someone said the winner was faked by an older Fujifilm APSC camera. And in another recent one, the winner was taken by a drone with a 1 inch sensor. I think those were the last 3.
So we are finding those who fetishize IQ are in the minority and content is what matters. A camera like the P950 that can get the content is better at that moments than any larger sensor camera that cannot. And let’s face it, small sensors cameras usually have more features and can do more for the price, AND are used in larger numbers.
Well, that's a thing about these cams - the universalism (kind of). Yes, they suck in low light. Often, they produce ugly bokeh. They don't handle high contrast scenes as well as APC/FF. But - they can capture much wider variety of scenes when it comes to focal range than any reasonably sized set of body/lenses. Basically, when a person using superzoom has good post-processing skills and does not push output limits, the result can be very, very appealing.
The problem is not the IQ but not pushing the boundary enough. Instead of the 16 MP CDAF slow sensor, Nikon could have put in any of the stacked CMOS BSI 1/2.3" 12MP PDAF Sony sensors that are common in a plethora of mobile phones. Equip it with a decent buffer and you have a fairly capable and responsive action and wildlife camera with insane focal range (not much improvement in terms of IQ though). Instead we have this camera, great long lens with a pathetic burst and insane shutter lag.
I personally have owned two cameras from the RX100 series, which have a larger-but-not-conventional-sized sensor and am impressed at how much image quality is possible in such a small package (with sufficient light).
There are benefits (and drawbacks) to every size of sensor from 1/2.3" to medium format. We all need to figure out what works best for our needs and budget.
There are a lot of voices here ragging on Chris and Jordan for providing entertaining supplemental material for the written review, because it is evil video. I want to show my support in counter to that group.
The price is what kills it for me even considering it . If it was closer to the $500.00 mark instead of $800.00 mark i think it would be very popular but it's current price is too close to the P 1000 in my opinion.
The last time I had this kind of camera, it was the Sony DSC-H5 with a 7MP, 1/2.5" CCD sensor. I think with only 7MP's, a 1/2.5" sensor can do pretty well. But trying to cram 16MP's into that size sensor is a big mistake. I mean (if you think about it) do you really need more than 7MP's for sharing picture online, or printing 8x11" prints? This is just one of the many superzoom bridge cameras that jumped on the MP race, and lost.
No kidding, the 1/2.3" 12 MP Sony sensors used by Apple and google smartphones have fast readout, PDAF and decent IQ. These sensors would be ideal for this camera. Instead, Nikon sticks with the slow 16 MP CDAF sensor and again we have the same insane shutter lag and poor burst. I understand that the small sensor enables the large focal range, but just that is not sufficient to capture wildlife in action.
MyReality Downsizing these 20mp sensors in cameras to 8mp never gets the quality of a natural 8mp sensor in my experience. The smartphones have the processing and sensor design to do this possibly but cameras not so much to give any great improvement. The old Fuji EXR system were the only cameras where I could see much difference in downsizing.
If you ever want to see planets and how they were depicted in all those pictures you grew up seeing with, p900 or p1000 or p950 is the only way to do in the lightest set up.
This was shot two days back with the p1000. From my terrace
It's just a horses for courses camera and it does a decent job. And it does fantastic wildlife as well. I will probably sell it and get the next o1100 when they release. My 6 year old saw Saturn live on a screen ijn his terrace, then Jupiter and Mars. Venus is just white and hardly u can make it but he saw a white planet aka Venus.
Next aiming to get the ISS on moon transit.
In quarantine days these activities are very satisfying if you like exploring sky.
I'm not interested with this camera, but if I would, I would have been very disapointed to have a video instead of a traditional written text. Unusable! Please come back to the old style...
Every damn video has some version of this tiresome, whiny, bratty comment.
Videos 👏 Do 👏 Not 👏 Replace 👏 Written 👏 Content 👏
Videos 👏 Are 👏 In 👏 Addition 👏 To 👏 Written 👏 Content 👏
There is no universe in which this would have been a written article. Instead, there would have been no article. Chris & Jordan are video guys, and they're great at what they do! They provide clear, well-balanced information with just enough humor to make things entertaining. Their works complements the written content on DPR, giving users a different kind of look at the gear. There has not been a decrease in written content since they were hired.
If you don't like videos, don't watch them. Don't come in and act like a spoiled toddler who's been presented with the wrong brand of hotdog, though. It's old and it's boring and it makes you look all kinds of entitled.
Are you Amazon? Do you pay the bills? Then no, you're not entitled to anything, written content or otherwise. Unless you think that the sparkling commentary here is the value-add that helps this site drive sales to Amazon (hint: it's not, the commentary is mostly juvenile, ill-informed, and misleading) then the very idea that you're "entitled" to have the staff here do anything at all to please you is pompous in the extreme.
Can you just *imagine* what a cesspool this place would be if they ran it according to the unhinged whims of the comment section? Just for starters, they'd have to admit that they are engaged in conspiracies to simultaneously promote every camera brand while also denigrating every camera brand—nevermind that that's logically impossible.
You're entitled to food, shelter, freedom of movement, medical care… the list does not extend to having your preferred form of content on DPR be the only form of content on DPR.
Well, I did not mean to initiate such a fight! I just said that, for me, such a video - and honestly almost all videos you find on any subject - is much less informative than a written content. The main grief than I can do is the constrained speed of reading: with a written text you can easily jump over what you are not interested with. The video content imposes its proper rythm. Honestly I don't want to spend 15 minutes on the nikon P950, even if Chris & Jordan can be fun, but I would have spent a few minutes on a written review, just to make my mind on the performances of such a crazy object for me (my ideal gear is a small summicron 2/35). BTW, thanks a lot dear @Halftrack for "tiresome, whiny, bratty, juvenile, ill-informed, and misleading". You are really a nice guy that I'd love to meet, and I'm sure that your pictures are on the same level. You are probably a delicate artist!
Yeah, I would probably go for one of those if I were in the market for a superzoom. I'm pretty happy with my RX100 VII for when I want a small camera. Only goes to 200mm, but decent IQ. For when I don't need to zoom at all, the Ricoh GRII is stellar.
I'd be willing to bet the majority of these purchased end up sitting idle in a closet after a few weeks or months. Sure, for the right application this would be amazing to have on hand, but seems like a horrible 'walk around' camera. Rather, this is something you'd take out for wildlife, astronomy, or other specialized shots.
This is nothing against the camera itself, it appears to be VERY well thought out. I played with a P900 for a few weeks and had fun, but not sure I would get a lot of use out of it if I owned it. Still, better to live in a world where this exists and I hope Nikon sells a ton!
I have the P900, and I didn't even enjoy it in a national park known for its diversity of birds. I got some shots of vultures, cormorants .... Nothing remarkable, watercolors even at ISO base. Don't get me wrong, whoever buys this camera expecting good IQ directly has been wrong, but it's funny that I have better moon shots with my old FZ70 (moon and overall), camera operation is equally frustrating, nor you can manage the ISO without going into two menus, nothing is configurable, everything is lazy, from menu navigation to writing to the card Did you have a basic compact digital camera 15 years ago? Well there you have it. As an observation toy it can have a certain point, but it is also wrong there because the viewfinder is horrible and the screen is not much better, they have a lot of rolling shutter and they are limited in observation in low light to what the sensor and the aperture give of themselves ( which is very little). It's in the closet picking up dust and cobwebs yes.
2000mm is just overkill for just about every situation. The other problem is, it's 2000mm equivalent, so you also have to consider the equivalent aperture. This f/2.8-6.5 lens. I believe the crop factor for this camera is around 5.6, so even though the lens really is f/2.8-6.5, it's going to give the appearance of about f/16 - f/36. This camera at f/2.8 won't produce the f/2.8 look we're all used to on full frame.
To me, this much zoom is just a gimmick, and I'd rather have something more reasonable with better IQ.
For subjects that need 600mm reach or less....my D7500 is fine...but for small subjects...or subject too far ...the 2000mm reach of the P950 is better.
No tripod/ monopod needed. This has Nikons best VR ever!
haha, that's what I say too, but still feels much better than my A7R II on my hand, LOL. played with that for a little bit during a backpacking trip with some friends , he was able to get a few grizzly bear picture with that thing and I was not because the longest lens I had with me was a 85mm.
I’ve handled both and the 1000 Is so much larger.. it’s almost cartoonish large.. most Best Buy’s have the 950 on display. It’s quite snappy at grabbing shots across the store of unassuming people... it might be the street photographers best new tool for this time..
Personally I'm not a big fan of this type of bridge camera.
I'm sure it has it's niche telephoto use-case, but in all other regards I find that the images it produces to be uncommonly flat, lacking both 3D Pop and depth projection. If anyone doubts that complex zooms render flatter images than primes, they merely need look at the P950 sample gallery here.
I'm with you on this one. Forget about any 83X zoom ranges.... I feel that even 10X is pushing it. But for someone else, this could be their ideal camera.
It really just depends on what your definition of "usable" is. And everyone has a different idea of what that means for them.
Very impressive! I kept wondering when the zoom in during the video section was going to end. I kept thinking, surely it can’t get much closer, but it did. It was a little wobbly at the end, but still impressive.
On my 6.5 smartphone even the ISO 1600 images looked very good. I’ll rewatch on my monitor later.
Also, I am sure any softness from diffraction can be fixed with the latest sharpening SW. Diffraction is the most over blown issue in photography.
I have the (I assume) predecessor, the Nikon CP950. Good to see the sensor has increased from 1/2" to 2/3"... https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp950/2 Long upgrade cycle tho... :-)
All three Nikon Megazoom cameras use the same1/2.3" sized sensor, A 1/2" is just marginally larger, and a 2/3" sensor is considerably larger. But no cameras in this series use either one.
I know these sizes are confusing, but here are the exact measurements:
Crazy Nikon ultrazooms is favorite devices of flatearthers. Their favorite pastime is to look at the horizon at the long end of the zoom and say that those objects that they can observe, would be impossible to see if surface had a curvature. Of course their observations only prove the opposite, but they not accurate in calculations and constantly forget something (refraction or height differences). Bad math always helps them draw wrong conclusions. The thesis about small and close sun is from the flat earth "model". They believe that the sun just moves in circles above the surface of flat disc-planet. And do not even ask how they explain the sunrises and sunsets and the seasons with such model.
nice review but i think that the only thing that we all want to see is the quality difference between the P900 , P1000, and rx10IV (or III) with clear zoom
This must be a good video. But. As english is not a lanquage I know and only my fourth foreign lanquage most of what is said is not understood. Maybe I´m the only one here. This is a sad thing then...but maybe this is a way Dpreview shows that this is a channel only for those natives who can listen fluently. Reading is totally different thing. We foreigners can use Google translator and read so many times that we finally understand. That is perfectly OK and a way to learn.. But listening fast english with slight dialect.... It just makes me angry cause so much goes not understood... As I said, I`m probably the only one here though - who has problems to understand spoken english, so don`t take this seriously. Just an old fart whining.
C'mon JE River. Have you ever watched a 15 min video with auto translation? There's really no fun in that. I think it's sad too that the DPR website is turning more and more to a Youtubechannel indexpage, especially for its most famous pages: the tests.
I completely understand the problem. English isn't my first language either, but it's more closely related than Finnish is to English (not at all I'd guess). I've read and listened enough to English by now so I mostly understand it. I've tried to learn several other languages without much success though and can just barely make sense of not too difficult written text. Videos are totally beyond me.
I dont think there are much Dpreview can do if they want to stay current. It seems like tests and reviews (not only photo-related) are more and more video and less written content. I can understand why too as videos are moe accessible - as long as you know the language.
It' also often easier to show something than explaining it with words. On the other hand, video quality on YouTube cant show differences in image quality the same way that images on a Web page can. I hope Dpreview will continue with their in depth reviews, but video reviews are also extremely useful.
Rest assured, written reviews aren't being replaced by video. We added Chris and Jordan to the team so that we could produce videos without diverting resources away from written content. The rest of us are still writing away!
"But. As english is not a lanquage I know and only my fourth foreign lanquage most of what is said is not understood."
Wow, I have to say if English is not your first language and you don't feel you understand it .............. your English writing skills far surpass the English skills of quite a number of the so-called English speakers responding to some of these and other forums :-) Really, if you wrote this unassisted, believe me, you're there!
The rest of us are still writing away! ------------------- That is good news. I was whining cause wanted deliver info about that cam for my old neighbor whoo is looking at the stars and moon.. But could not. Though not going to rest..trying to still think now and then :-)
We Americans start learning in High School & very few of us can speak another language. I remember having to take Italian to graduate from University & having to read Dante in middle Italian (which no modern speaker understands).
Here in Sweden we learn English from primary school, which I am grateful for today. ----------------------- Like here in Finland. But I am 68 years old and started to have english lessons when I was 11. That is not the case. I am writing on wider base. Most of fins could not understand easily the lanq that was used in this video cause of the fastnes and dialect. Swedes are in totally different psosition - which we learn in school too, we MUST learn Swedish in schools. You do not have to learn Finnish though among ten million swedes there are one million people of finnish origin and we have only 3 percent of swedish speakers who all speak finnish. Swedish is much nearer to english than Finnish - whis is an Ural Ugrian based lanq. Not even near to english.
No wonder why Swedes make fun of you. -------------------------------------------------- Yeah all those Finnish jokes. Did You know that? During winter war -39 Sweden denied international troops passing through to help for Finland who was attacked by soviet union. Finland has been sweden`s guardian towards east and offered hundreds of thousands of men to protect Sweden during centuries so that russia could not attack them. Finland was a part of Sweden for hundreds of years, Sweden took fins as kind of slaves and used our troops in Swedens wars everywhere in Europe while civilian fins died of hunger. Sweden has allways deprived Finland. Their industrial growth was based on hundreds of thousands finnish blue collar workers who were put in ghettos in Gothenburg etc.. Where do You find a joke in this? MannyZero, why covardly use a pseudonym? I´m enough brave fin to use my whole name here. Maybe cause US has 34 million illiterate adult citizens, we have none.
I have the P900 and would never call it a camera. I would call it an electronic spyglass that allows you to take low quality snapshots of what you are viewing. Or I would directly call it a toy. Anyone who buys this thinking about a camera is mistaken and will be disappointed by its low quality of construction, its terrible menus (from a toy camera) and the quality of the images that will be transferred to your PC. Just find a good deal (I think it cost me 340) and play around with it, but I warn you that the camera / toy will be spending a lot of time in your closet, you will never find the right time to go out with it instead of a real camera and it is too much large and bulky to accompany other gear. Finally I will say that many years ago I had a Panny FZ70 and the designs were remarkably better in all aspects, it even allowed to isolate subjects due to its zoom and create a nice bokeh, something that my P900 is not able to achieve despite a range higher.
I too have the P900. For what it is, it's fine. A stunning well-stabilised lens with a decent camera attached, and spot-on ergonomics. It won't stand a bashing so I make sure it doesn't get bashed. Menus are typical Nikon, generally regarded as very good. Use it to its strengths and it pays you back. It's also a highly flexible walk-around camera.
This is designed be a more convenient camera for those who need lots of optical zooming. Maybe some rather old model system cameras with some quite old zoom lenses could match or even improve image quality with similar prices, but they wouldn't be as convenient as this.
The biggest improvement over P900 is that you can now shoot RAW photos. Every damn digital camera should have RAW option anyway.
Raw option becomes less and less interesting when the sensor gets smaller and smaller. I often avoid RAW even with my 1" camera. And with 1/2.3", I am not sure you can get more info out of the RAW image than the JPEG already have extracted.
Interesting video, but these types of camera are often used for wildlife, probably more often for bird photography (which is what I'd want the thing for) so for me more 'specialised' review would be nice. How's about it, folks?
So it's basically a P1000 with the lens of the P900? I probably would have bought it but now I have a P1000 which is ok. I have also the A1000. Of course I'd like to have touch screen also on the P1000 or P950.
What I hate on both cams I have is the slow operation. I'm not talking about zoom or autofocus speed, that's limited by lens, sensor, weight and price. I'm talking about this kind of sequential operation. You can always do only one thing. Zoom, focus, switch viewfinder, take a shot, write data to the card and so on. This often limits what I can shoot, e.g. fast moving things. On my dslr it's mostly the other way round, the only thing which sometimes is too slow is focus but nothings locks other processes.
On this size of a camera it should be possible to have fully manual zoom without any motor. Or are there more than one lens (group) to be moved independently? Does anyone know? I'd prefer manual zoom of course.
It's a great tool for a lot of reasons. First you "see" in a way you haven't seen before and you can have this way not to imagine it. Second it's easy, it's light and easy to carry and it's affordable. And third if you "cut" this cam's sensor area out of any FF cam's sensor with a lens up to 300mm or even 400mm you 'll have, even marginally, better results, at least for a lot of purposes in quite a lot cases. Given the fact it's even cheaper than flagship smartphones which offer similar, but computational, capabilities it' s a nice thing for someone who loves/needs zooming to have. More than that RAW files can be PPed far better than Jpgs and I say that in a lot of cases will produce, let's say comparable for web view results to any flagship ILC flagship cams out there with a fragment of cost and, why not, effort and in any case far better than any analog available commercially cam/film combo of the past. A useful tool, well for those who need it.
Photographers were equally as scathing about the P900. But it sold well. And bird forums are full of very good photographs taken with that lightweight camera. For cliff top walks I never take binoculars any more, just a superzoom. I can not only see further but can take home a photo of any unusual siting. My large lenses are seeing fewer outings these days.
There are superzoom cameras, and then there's the Nikon P950. It offers up to a 2000mm equiv. zoom reach making it possible, literally, to shoot for the moon.
Nikon's Coolpix P950 features an incredible 24-2000mm equiv. zoom lens. But other than taking closeup photos of the moon, what's this camera that looks like a small bazooka good for? Quite a lot, it turns out.
Nikon's Coolpix P900 was a fun-to-use mega-zoom with an almost absurd 24-2000mm equiv. lens (later surpassed by the P1000). Its replacement keeps the lens and sensor but adds 4K video capture, a higher resolution EVF and much-requested Raw support.
DxO has just released PureRaw, a simple, standalone program that can automatically apply its high-quality lens corrections and impressive noise-reduction algorithms to your Raw files, and then pass those Raw files off to your favorite editing app. We're pretty impressed by it – find out why in our review.
The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 70-300mm F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR is a very versatile, compact telephoto zoom lens. But how does it perform? Read our review to find out.
The X-E4 is going to make a lot of photographers happy, especially those craving a near-pocket-size X-mount body with Fujifilm's latest IQ performance.
In our latest software shootout, we pit Adobe's Camera Raw against Capture One Express Fujifilm, included for free with every Fujifilm camera. Can you get all you need with the free option? For a lot of people, it looks like the answer could be yes.
The Pentax K-3 Mark III is that rarest of things: a completely new DSLR. We've got hands-on with the camera to find out just what's changed in the six years since the Mark II. The answer is: almost everything.
Family moments are precious and sometimes you want to capture that time spent with friends or loved-ones in better quality than your phone can manage. We've selected a group of cameras that are easy to keep with you, and that can adapt to take photos wherever and whenever something memorable happens.
If you're looking for a high-quality camera, you don't need to spend a ton of cash, nor do you need to buy the latest and greatest new product on the market. In our latest buying guide we've selected some cameras that might be a bit older but still offer a lot of bang for the buck.
Although a lot of people only upload images to Instagram from their smartphones, the app is much more than just a mobile photography platform. In this guide we've chosen a selection of cameras that make it easy to shoot compelling lifestyle images, ideal for sharing on social media.
Whether you make a living out of taking professional portraits, or are the weekend warrior who knows their way around flashes and reflectors, you'll want a camera with high resolution, exceptional autofocus and a good selection of portrait prime lenses. Click through to see our picks.
What's the best camera for shooting landscapes? High resolution, weather-sealed bodies and wide dynamic range are all important. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting landscapes, and recommended the best.
Micro Four Thirds users can now enjoy the Speedmaster 35mm F0.95 Mark II manual lens that was previously limited to Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X and Sony E mount camera systems.
Hasselblad Masters contest opens to professional photographers, with a dozen medium format mirrorless cameras up for grabs. And you don't need to shoot on a 'blad to enter!
Fujifilm's latest prime, the XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR, is a solidly built lens that we've really enjoyed shooting with. It's also a big departure from Fujifilm's previous 18mm F2 prime lens – get a sense of how it handles right here.
The new Fujifilm XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR provides a 27mm-equivalent focal length for Fujifilm's X-mount cameras. Find out why Chris and Jordan like this fast, sharp 18mm lens.
We've been shooting with a pre-production copy of Fujifilm's new XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR lens for a few days, which offers a 27mm full-frame equivalent field of view, and optically, we're impressed.
Fujifilm has announced its lightweight (370g/13oz) XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR wide-angle prime. This 27mm-equivalent lens offers numerous special elements and a linear focus motor, and is also weather-sealed.
DxO has just released PureRaw, a simple, standalone program that can automatically apply its high-quality lens corrections and impressive noise-reduction algorithms to your Raw files, and then pass those Raw files off to your favorite editing app. We're pretty impressed by it – find out why in our review.
Canon has just announced a native RF-mount contemporary to its popular EF 100mm F2.8L Macro lens. The RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM is an all-new design, and we've been digging into its feature set. Click through to learn more.
Sony's Xperia 1 and 5 Mark III smartphones introduce a variable 70-105mm telephoto optic, 120Hz OLED displays, and are the first cameras ever to shoot 20 fps with temporal noise reduction. Read on for an in-depth look.
Canon has just announced the development of what will be the highest-speed RF-mount camera yet, the EOS R3. It looks like a really interesting camera, but the R3 also points toward something else coming in the future; something even more capable. Here's what we know.
In today's episode of DPReview TV, Chris and Jordan answer the question everyone is asking: what do they think about Canon's EOS R3 development announcement?
Canon's new RF 100mm F2.8L IS USM offers a minimum focus distance of 26cm (10"), up to 8 stops of shake reduction, and the ability to adjust bokeh and softness by turning its 'spherical aberration' dial.
Canon has announced two new super-telephoto primes for RF-mount: the 400mm F2.8L IS USM and 600mm F4L IS USM. Both lenses share the same optics as their EF-mount counterparts, and will arrive in July priced at $12,000 and $13,000, respectively.
Canon has announced that it is developing the EOS R3, a high-end full-frame mirrorless camera. It will feature a Stacked CMOS Dual Pixel sensor and be able to shoot at up to 30 fps.
Adobe's latest addition to Camera Raw is a Super Resolution feature, which quadruples the pixel count of your Raw files and, in theory, doubles their linear resolution. Does that mean that you really don't need more than 12 or 16 megapixels anymore? We've put it to the test.
Tokina's atx-m 33mm F1.4 X is an affordable fast prime for Fujifilm's X-mount cameras that offers autofocus and solid image quality. Check out what it can do and our impressions of its image quality right here.
Following complaints in the U.K. and oversight from the Advertising Standards Authority, Apple has adjusted its Pro Display XDR marketing material in the UK, removing a claim about HDR performance and adjusting its materials regarding color space.
The three-axis pocket camera can record 4K video at up to 60 frames per second and features a 2.45" articulating screen for composing and reviewing images.
In a wide-ranging interview, Aki Murata of OM Digital Solutions updated us on the transition from Olympus to 'OMDS', the future of the Olympus brand and why he believes Four Thirds still has advantages over other sensor formats.
We recently took delivery of Leica's new APO-Summicron-M 35mm F2 ASPH, and in the short time between its arrival and when it had to be sent back, we prepared a preliminary sample gallery in and around sunny Seattle.
Tokina's 23mm F1.4 is one of two of the company's new primes available for Fujifilm X-mount shooters. With a 35mm full-frame equivalent focal length, this lens is perfect for casual, candid, and street photography, even in low light.
Panasonic has given its DC-S1 and DC-S1H full-frame mirrorless cameras some big improvements via recent firmware updates. Chris and Jordan take a look at what's been added and how the two cameras compare in 2021.
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