New Nikon Superzoom w/3000mm Optical Lens

Although I have never thought much about Nikon superzooms, this one looks interesting in that it has a 3000mm optical lens. Obviously, it can't compare to a DSLR, but it may have a niche for some people who want the convenience of a long optical lens and don’t care too much about best quality images.

Coolpix P1000

Joe

Joe, I have three of my friends who shoot with Nikon long lenses on DSLRS. All three are now using the Nikon Coolpix P 900 which does not take RAW images like the new P 1000. The quality of the images taken with the P 900 when projected is simply amazing. I cannot detect any difference from them and images taken with more expensive (and heavier) gear. The Coolpix P 900 and P 1000 are excellent choices when large file sizes are not needed for large prints and when smaller/lighter equipment is needed for traveling, hiking, birding, etc. Bridge DSLRs like these two Coolpix models are extremely popular with birders and nature enthusiasts.

I bet Panasonic Lumix will have something equivalent if they are not already selling it. .

Joe S

These cameras are essentially spotting scopes for birder's IDing various critters. Zoomed out, atmospherics will play havoc with quality.

Mike in O wrote:Zoomed out, atmospherics will play havoc with quality.

Not so much if the subject is not that far away. Small birds rarely fill the frame with a FF 500mm w/1.4 extender(700mm). This will be nice if the hype holds true. The images in their email announcement show a lion from 24mm up to 3000mm optical zoom and, of course, the obligatory 6000mm digital zoom. They also show another example of the zoom with a horse rider and that is impressive as well.

photoman4343 wrote:Joe, I have three of my friends who shoot with Nikon long lenses on DSLRS.  All three are now using the Nikon Coolpix P 900 which does not take RAW images like the new P 1000.  The quality of the images taken with the P 900 when projected is simply amazing. I cannot detect any difference from them and images taken with more expensive (and heavier) gear. The Coolpix P 900 and P 1000 are excellent choices when large file sizes are not needed for large prints and when smaller/lighter equipment is needed for traveling, hiking, birding, etc. Bridge DSLRs like these two Coolpix models are extremely popular with birders and nature enthusiasts. 

I bet Panasonic Lumix will have something equivalent if  they are not already selling it. . 

Joe S

I’m anxious to see more results soon. For many people who are downsizing in weight, this might be a nice compromise at about three pounds weight. Not everyone is a pixel-peeper. The P 1000 can also be used with flashes like the SB 700.

Kodak came out with one that has a 90x digital (edit: meant to write optical) lens, as well:

https://www.slashgear.com/kodak-pixpro-az901-astro-zoom-90x-super-zoom-camera-now-available-02536373/

Joe

Focus Range
Wide: 1' (30.48 cm) to Infinity
Telephoto: 23' (7.01 m) to Infinity

It's actually a 540mm f/8 lens on the long end - the rest of the effective magnification comes due to a tiny little sensor which comes out to a crop factor of around 5.6x

It's quite big:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/19772 ... ow?slide=5

I know birders who have the P900 and love it for id shots. In good light the pictures can definitely be used for presentations, etc.

The P1000 looks great for birding when the main goal is to get a shot to id the bird later. This is great during trips to new countries where most bird species are new. Not sure how well it will work in a rainforest where it is relatively dark.

I think it is mostly useful for people who do not want to bring a DSLR (or mirrorless body) with a 100-400 or 150-600 lens or something bigger.
Serious bird photographers will probably not use it, but serious birders may love this camera. Looking forward to reviews.

The weight might be a bit too much.

Of course some people will complain because the IQ does not match a D850 + 4/180-400 1.4x

I wonder if  Canon (and maybe Sony or  Fuji) will release a similar model with a "3000" mm lens.

Markus Jais wrote:It's quite big:
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/19772 ... ow?slide=5

I know birders who have the P900 and love it for id shots. In good light the pictures can definitely be used for presentations, etc.

The P1000 looks great for birding when the main goal is to get a shot to id the bird later. This is great during trips to new countries where most bird species are new. Not sure how well it will work in a rainforest where it is relatively dark.

I think it is mostly useful for people who do not want to bring a DSLR (or mirrorless body) with a 100-400 or 150-600 lens or something bigger.
Serious bird photographers will probably not use it, but serious birders may love this camera. Looking forward to reviews.

The weight might be a bit too much.

Of course some people will complain because the IQ does not match a D850 + 4/180-400 1.4x

I wonder if  Canon (and maybe Sony or  Fuji) will release a similar model with a "3000" mm lens.

Yeah, I echo your thoughts about low light.  That concerns me, as does the depth of field.  

The DOF will be approximately equal to a 500mm @ f/128 on a full frame camera if you adjust your position so that the bird is the same size in the frame.  In other words, unless the background is very far away or completely detailless, it will be very prominent.

In addition to all my Canon bodies and lenses, I have a Panasonic FZ300 and a Nikon P900.  They are both fun and convenient cameras to "capture the moment", although I have actually sold a few small prints from each.  The Nikon is absolutely only a bright light camera. It also works for what I like to call "long distance macros", closeups of plants or flowers that you can't get close to.  But, the P900 fails terribly in low light situations.  The FZ does fine in low light, due to f2.8 lens.

I am in Alaska right now, currently Homer, and I was able to get some distant eagle shots with the P900,  that I would have struggled to even see with either of my 1 series Canons and the 100-400.  It also makes a good spotting scope for finding things that I then shoot with the Canons.  However, it was partly sunny yesterday and today it will be cloudy, rainy and dark, so the P900 stays in the room.

Adding raw to the P1000 should make it a better deal, but the increase in size, price and definitely the increase in weight may cause me to just keep the P900.  BTW - These are the two cameras I always keep in the car.  Recently came across a house fire and used them for some local newspaper photos, before any of the news folks arrived.  Fortunately, the house was empty at the time.

Liz

Thanks for the info EJ. f/128! Oh my! Liz, great user experience info! Thanks for that!

New photo gallery posted here:

https://www.dpreview.com/samples/731270 ... le-gallery

As E.J. said, subject isolation is difficult to achieve because of DOF. Landscapes and building interiors work better because of this DOF. Subjects and BG must be chosen conscientiously.

Joe

I friend just sent a few images taken with the P 1000 and I'm truly impressed. All three pictures are birds with different zoom values.
He will drop by with the camera in a few days. I'm curious about the size and weight. He bought it as a travel camera.

Karl Egressy wrote:I friend just sent a few images taken with the P 1000 and I'm truly impressed. All three pictures are birds with different zoom values.
He will drop by with the camera in a few days. I'm curious about the size and weight. He bought it as a travel camera.

Karl, please update us with your impressions after you've had hands on experience with it.

This may replace my wife's Canon SX50HS at Christmas.

Mark

Mark Boranyak wrote:

Karl Egressy wrote:I friend just sent a few images taken with the P 1000 and I'm truly impressed. All three pictures are birds with different zoom values.
He will drop by with the camera in a few days. I'm curious about the size and weight. He bought it as a travel camera.

Karl, please update us with your impressions after you've had hands on experience with it.

This may replace my wife's Canon SX50HS at Christmas.

Mark

Hi Mark,
I had the camera in my hand but that's about it. The weather is very wet right now plus my fried had to go to work.
It is large and heavy. I won't call it a point and shoot camera based on the size. It takes a 77 mm filter.
Non the less it is very impressive and takes surprisingly high resolution pictures.

Karl Egressy wrote:

Mark Boranyak wrote:

Karl Egressy wrote:I friend just sent a few images taken with the P 1000 and I'm truly impressed. All three pictures are birds with different zoom values.
He will drop by with the camera in a few days. I'm curious about the size and weight. He bought it as a travel camera.

Karl, please update us with your impressions after you've had hands on experience with it.

This may replace my wife's Canon SX50HS at Christmas.

Mark

Hi Mark,
I had the camera in my hand but that's about it. The weather is very wet right now plus my fried had to go to work.
It is large and heavy. I won't call it a point and shoot camera based on the size. It takes a 77 mm filter.
Non the less it is very impressive and takes surprisingly high resolution pictures.

Thanks, Karl.

Large and heavy is a non-starter for my bird nerd and very petite wife. Thanks for your input. 

Mark

Here’s a short video that gives a pretty good look at the size of the camera:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-e ... p1000.html

Joe

New “first impressions” here:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon- ... ons-review

Joe

Another extensive review:

https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/ ... #shooting2

Joe

I absolutely could use a camera like this if IQ were decent, but the per-pixel image quality is just atrocious, like upressing the APS-C crop of my A7R3 + 100-400 + 1.4x at least 2x in each direction (4x total) which if cropped down to 16MP would be the equivalent of ~1700mm. That sounds like a gross exaggeration but click on the imaging resource review link above and look at the bird photographs if you don't believe me.

So I'd get more details with the P1000 than my existing kit for static birds in good light where I needed more than ~1700mm of focal length. Just not sure that constitutes a large enough fraction of my bird photography. And I can improve my cropped A7R3 results by buying the 400/2.8 + 2.0x converter which would extend that to 2240mm in good light (and blowing away the P1000 in lower light scenarios). The only scenario where I see photographic utility is really small birds when they are perched or on the ground and I can't get any closer.