Recently, I discussed a new DSLR camera for the serious hobbyists or professional photographers. I mentioned that I had more to come.
Well, here it is.
where it’s @
The Nikon Coolpix P900 retails for $599.95. More information is available at nikon.com.
I've spent the past few weeks testing a camera aimed more at those who enjoy taking great photos but aren't ready to set up a digital darkroom or start submitting their work to National Geographic.
The Nikon Coolpix P900 has the look of a DSLR camera and provides high-quality photos and video with an 83X optical zoom and a 2x optical zoom. In terms of a 35mm camera standard, that's equal to a 24-2000mm zoom with a digital zoom up to 4000mm.
The camera is loaded with features, including several scene-shooting modes, from pet portrait to fireworks to sports to night portrait. The controls are fairly well placed, but it may take a bit of practice to master which wheel or button controls which setting.
For those thinking of transitioning to DSLR one day, the P900 does have shooting modes that offer more control than auto, including shutter priority (P), aperture priority (A) and manual (M).
Those considering the P900 to make the jump to the more serious-hobbyist/pro DSLR cameras should be aware the camera is lacking essential features and abilities commonly found in a DSLR.
The manual mode is nice to have, and while it makes it easy to adjust the shutter speed and aperture (how wide open it is), the ISO adjustment is buried in the menus. The ISO, which is similar to film speed of the old days, needs adjusting if you're going to shoot action or something in low light, so it's important.
The camera also lacks the ability to save photos in other formats, such as RAW, a common format in DSLR cameras that allows for better editing and no loss of quality within the camera. Generally, RAW or other formats aren't common for point-and-shoot cameras, but I have seen some of the higher-end ones with those capabilities, so I was surprised they were missing here. This camera produces JPEG images only. While very common, they're a compressed format, meaning you will lose some quality, particularly if the image has areas too bright or too dark.
A huge plus for this camera is the video feature. The big lens allows for sharp, high-definition video, and the built-in microphones record stereo sound well. The microphones are pretty powerful. When shooting outdoors, I was able to pick up not only the sounds of the insects but also of distant birds. The zoom works well during filming and maintains sharpness, although the video did get a bit choppy when I panned after zooming.
The camera has two zoom buttons, one by the shutter on top and the other on the left side of the lens. Both zoom the lens out physically, then add digital zoom to it. Like most digital zooms I've seen, the image or video does lose some quality when the digital zoom is deployed, but it did better than I expected.
Next to the lens' zoom button is a small button that comes in very handy. It's the Snap Back AF button. Every photographer, at some point, has zoomed in on a subject, only to lose that subject in the viewfinder when trying to shoot it. The Snap Back AF button pulls the zoom back temporarily as it's held down, then the zoom moves back to its previous position when the button is released. This allows the photographer to reposition the subject within the zoomed area. It beats pulling your head away, trying to find that small bird in a sea of branches, looking back in the viewfinder and repeating the process until you get the bird in proper frame -- just in time for it to fly away before you can snap the photo.
Those who do like to shoot photos of birds will enjoy the bird mode in the scenes menu. The moon mode is another new one, added to plenty of scene options. I had good luck with most of them, particularly the sunset and macro modes. It didn't do very well with sports mode, making the subject blurry. However, I was in terrible lighting conditions (indoors in a warehouselike building), so I have to extend a little credit there.
On the flip side, the camera excelled in macro, or close-ups, mode. The online sample images will show the great detail achieved in the photos I took of raindrops on leaves. It also did well in landscape mode, even in terrible lighting conditions. I shot photos in a nearby cemetery in the middle of the day, when the light is harshest. I got some spots that were too bright or too dark, as expected, but not nearly as many as I predicted. I also expected a nearly white sky in that case. Instead, the camera compensated, keeping the sky a rich blue and keeping the grassy areas not in the shade a decent green, rather than making them too bright.
Overall, the 16-megapixel camera delivered good quality, although it struggled sometimes with really fast motion in low light, even in sports scene mode. For the most part, it compensated well in bad lighting conditions.
I can say this is a great camera for a photo enthusiast, although it isn't the best transition camera for those wanting to move to DSLR soon. A couple of modes seemed to be a bit hit-and-miss for me, but the camera really impressed me with macro, standard shots and even landscape photos in terrible lighting situations. It takes a bit of time to master navigating the menus and features, but it's worth the effort. The quality is better than I expected, and the added video features make it worth it.
So there you are, the "more," as promised. I'd certainly never leave my readers hanging. Well, not too long.
Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at mljones72@me.com.
SundayMonday Business on 08/24/2015