Nikon P950

amazon Nikon P950 reviews

Just when the announcements of point-and-shoot cameras have become just a few and far between for everybody, Nikon P950 belongs to a category that smartphones cannot replace that is superzooms. With 83X, 24-2,000mm equivalent, the P950 can capture images of subjects ere you see them with naked eyes.

Apart from the fact that the P950 is the upgrade to the P900, the addition of 4K video recording and RAW photos are two new features mostly of interest to compulsion-style photographers. Not all of those updates are exactly meant for the P950’s highly successful auto mode use by less experienced shooters as few more features. One of the new exposure compensations controls on the lens allows for very basic brightness adjustments that really anyone should manage to use even without an understanding of how exposure works.

Not everyone requires this 83x zoom, but P950 would happily provide for such affordable, though not wholly perfect, needs for everyone.

Bulky Body

And unsurprisingly, all that 83x zoom is housed within the body of the camera, the Nikon P950. This is such a large lens that you can feel the weight of the camera shifting forward in your hand when it is extended. At 35.5 ounces, this P950 weighs as much as a DSLR (but with a much smaller lens). I managed to carry my camera through a hike of five miles, with no discomfort. Unlike a DSLR, I don’t need to move around many lenses to shoot wide-angle and telephoto.

The styling of the body is such that it adopts a DSLR feature. Thus, the P950 has a large and comfortable grip, very roomy physical controls, and a hot shoe slot atop. The control scheme resembles that of the P900 where the mode dial and control wheel are located at the upper right, and a series of familiar menu controls are found on the back.

While there is plenty of room to maneuver, advanced photographers will have to dig a little deeper into menus. ISO, a fairly common adjustment in any manual mode, is not available among the shortcut options.

The barrel of the lens is so large it contains its controls. The zoom toggle provides an extra way to zoom in with your left hand, while a pull-back button zooms so you can reframe the subject. The exposure compensation wheel in the barrel is what has not been seen on the P950. One of my favorites rests just where the support of my left hand supplies the camera’s weight for easily lightening or darkening shots.

It is also equipped with a 2.36 million-dot electronic viewfinder which, considering the size of the zoom, almost makes having a eyepiece an absolute necessity: holding the camera with one’s face makes it much more stable than holding it at arm’s length with the monitor LCD. That screen measures 3.2 inches diagonally, but somewhat unusually for 2020; it’s not a touchscreen. The resolution isn’t very impressive from either the viewfinder or the screen, but rather just par for the course, considering the price.

Rated for 290 shots per charge, which is a decent amount for ambles and bird-watching, should have a spare for long journeys with the camera. The battery status indicator is rather unfortunate, with only two levels available-fine and half. It isn’t very pleasant because you don’t know if you have 135 stitches or only 5.

Performance is simple but lethargic.

RAW image capture is a novel function for the P950. Yet, more refined modes exist for the photographers to have control of their shots. But the P950’s autofocus has performed remarkably in auto mode.

Bird-watching required much of my time, and with the exposure compensation dial located on the side of the lens, most should bag great wildlife shots 90% of the time. For some situations, I must go to shutter-priority mode and use settings that keep the long exposures from blurring; it’s a little annoying the camera can’t do this itself. But, with almost no knowledge of photography, the P950 could become an ideal tool for the birdwatcher.

In all, the introduction of RAW files doesn’t change the fact that the P950 is essentially a people-friendly camera. Manual settings are limited. To set a shutter speed greater than 1/2000 second or less than 1 second, one must set the lens to a certain position, set ISO to a certain setting, and not in continuous shooting mode.

It is good for photographing slow or stationary animals; photographing animals in action is like a roll of the dice between slow autofocus and just trying to keep the subject in the frame (which isn’t easy at 2,000 mm).

With a maximum speed of seven frames per second, that’s decent for the class, but the camera can only take ten shots at that speed before the buffer fills up. Even worse, camera control is frozen during the recording of these images on the card, meaning that you cannot adjust things like zoom until processing the photo is complete. A full JPEG burst takes about eight seconds processing time before it is ready for another shot, while RAW takes about twelve seconds.

The P950 focuses on mostly slow or stationary subjects using contrast-detect AF, but at its maximum zoom, the autofocus performance is sort of hit and miss. It managed to land some subjects that I thought were going to be impossible, while it struggled with others that were obvious.

That the P950’s slow-working mechanism comes as no shock to anyone for a budget super camera is the source of many of the frustrations.

The pictures are great and clear.

The Nikon P950 uses a 16 MP 1/2.3″ sensor, about the lowest size they’ll go for to aim and shoot. That’s what really makes the 83X zoom work. More than that, the lens is offered with a bright f/2.8 aperture at its widest angle, which works best for the superzoom shots.

The focus of the image changes as you zoom in. At the telephoto end, it has an aperture of f/6.5. However, since most of the zoom will probably be used outdoors in strong sunlight, it’s not going to be much of a problem. Macro mode makes the lens more multifunctional as it allows distances even more intimate than the normal 0.4 inches from the front of the lens in the wide-angle position.

Surprisingly, the image comes out of the camera with great detail.

In real-world testing, this sharpness holds up. While the P950, of course, does not compete at all in pure image quality with mirrorless or DSLR cameras which have very large sensors, these cameras do not provide anything even approaching that 83X zoom.

Subjectively, the image quality of the P950 will not be the most satisfying. At maximum zoom, out-of-focus areas look like a blurry mess or a painterly impression, depending on how you look at it. Instead of a smooth effect, the background looks like a bit of oil painting,

Other than that, even the colors are mostly accurate from JPEGs in-camera, without being overly saturated or, on the other hand, bottomed out all the way. Comparable to most Nikon cameras, the white-balance doesn’t seem to lean towards green. Nevertheless, some indoor shots did display an abnormally bright red. This is one of the many advantages of RAW: later correction of white balance is possible, unlike on the P900.

Image stabilization plays its part in making it possible to shoot such detailed pictures with such a long lens. With 5.5 stops of stabilization, I handheld the 83x zoom for nearly every shot. Still a problem in low light. Just before sunset I had to crank up the camera’s ability to get a sharp image at full zoom, while the picture came out poorly dark. If you don’t require all the zoom, you can shoot brighter apertures at the wide end of the lens to achieve better results.

With a smaller sensor, the P950 does not do too well for high ISOs. Early creep noise and photos do well at or below ISO 800. ISO 1,600 and 3,200 are acceptable, with ISO 6,400 maximum to be avoided. No surprise shooting point, but do remember that just because the P950 looks like a DSLR does not mean it works like one.

For video, it’s 4K, so that’s a step up from the P900. However, even with all those extra pixels, the video still isn’t detailed, although the colors match the quality of the stills. If you want to shoot video at 2,000mm, make sure you bring a tripod. At such an extended range, there is no method to keep the camera still enough to obtain smooth video for high zoom.

where can you get a Nikon P950 online

Nikon COOLPIX P950 Digital Camera || 24-2000mmLens || 16 MP || Built-in Wi-Fi || Vibration Reduction + Camera Kit Special Including 64GB Memory, Spider Tripod, Photo/Video Editing Package & More: Buy it now

Nikon COOLPIX P950 (Renewed): Buy it now