Nikon P1000 Optics

Zoom
An enormous 125x optical zoom, with surprisingly good performance.

The Nikon P1000 is equipped with a 4.3-539mm lens which translates to a 35mm-equivalent focal range of about 24-3000mm, offering a record-breaking optical zoom ratio of 125x. The lens is fairly fast (bright) at wide angle with a maximum aperture of f/2.8, but at the telephoto end, maximum aperture falls to only f/8, which is quite dim. The following table reflects the maximum and minimum apertures as reported by the camera at some popular focal lengths:

The above set of images was taken from the same location as an illustration of the incredible amount of optical zoom offered by the P1000. Optical performance is surprisingly good considering the enormous range, however the lens isn't terribly sharp at longer focal lengths in part because of the considerable amount of diffraction caused by the small maximum aperture. On top of the 125x optical zoom, there's up to 4x digital zoom for a whopping 12,000mm equivalent focal length, though as you can see, that much digital zoom produces a very soft image. See below for lab results on macro mode, geometric distortion, sharpness, corner performance, etc.

Macro
A slightly smaller-than-average sized minimum coverage area, with very good detail. Flash is blocked by lens at macro distances.

The Nikon P1000 captured a slightly smaller-than-average sized minimum area in macro mode, measuring 2.13 x 1.59 inches (54 x 41 millimeters) in our tests. The P1000's macro mode is available from maximum wide angle (24mm eq.) to about 155mm equivalent, however we found the maximum reproduction ratio was produced at about 105mm equivalent, which is nice, giving more working distance than at wide focal lengths. Sharpness over much of the frame is quite good, but corners show some softness (most lenses show some softening in the corners at macro distances), even this focal length. Unsurprsingly, the lens casts a large shadow when using the flash in macro mode, blocking much of the light and resulting in a somewhat dim, unevenly lit image.

Geometric Distortion
Low geometric distortion for in-camera JPEGs; high barrel distortion in uncorrected RAWs at wide angle.

JPEGs: Thanks to effective in-camera distortion correction, there's low geometric distortion in the P1000's JPEG files at normal distances. At full wide angle, we measured just over 0.2% barrel distortion in JPEGs. At full telephoto, distortion was difficult to accurately measure with the target we use for superzooms, but it appears be quite low, so we're estimating it as less than 0.1% pincushion distortion. This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide-angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto).

The Nikon P1000 supports raw capture, so we can see how much distortion correction is taking place during JPEG processing by examining the NRW files with a converter that doesn't apply corrections as shown below.

Uncorrected RAW files: When converting NRW files using dcraw (with no corrections applied), we see that actual barrel distortion at wide angle is very high, at about 4.4%. Also note how the image circle does not cover the corners of the sensor at maximum wide angle, leaving them very dark. Uncorrected distortion at full telephoto is estimated to be just over 0.4% pincushion, which isn't is pretty low.

High distortion is quite common at wide angle these days, and most raw converters will automatically correct for it. Nikon's free ViewNX-i software and Adobe Camera Raw for example automatically reduce geometric distortion in NRW files, producing distortion similar to in-camera JPEGs. There is however going to be a loss of resolution as well as possible interpolation artifacts as a result of such strong correction, because pixels in the corners of the frame are being "stretched" to correct for the distortion. And in the case of the P1000, the image circle does not cover the entire sensor at wide angle (we've seen this with other cameras as well), requiring even more interpolation back to full 16-megapixel image dimensions. If you look closely at the corners in the P1000's wide-angle JPEGs, they are soft and detail is a little rough with straight edges in the resolution target looking jagged. Obviously, a lens that doesn't require such correction and is also sharp in the corners to begin with would be preferable, but relaxing constraints on distortion brings other benefits in the lens design, such as a much more compact, lower-cost design than would be otherwise possible.

Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness
Low to moderate chromatic aberration in JPEGs. The lens produces soft corners at some focal lengths, but actually performs very well for its type.

Chromatic Aberration. Thanks to effective in-camera chromatic aberration suppression, there's low to moderate C.A. in the corners in camera JPEGs, and there's virtually none to low C.A. visible in the center.

Corner Softness. Wide open, our sample's lens was well centered, with all four corners showing roughly the same performance. At maximum wide angle, corners are soft with reduced contrast and rough edge artifacts. Much of the softness and artifacts is due to the strong geometric distortion correction needed at 24mm equivalent (see below). At intermediate focal lengths, corner performance was actually quite good, only slightly softer than the center. Corners got softer above 1000mm equivalent, but so did the center. Some of this is due to the small maximum aperture causing stronger diffraction. Still, corner performance relative to the center is quite good across the entire range for a superzoom, especially for one with this amount of range.

Please note that the target used at 1000mm equivalent and above has slightly lower resolution in the USAF resolution charts. (They are the same relative scale compared to the overall target, but the target is smaller and has lower resolution.) Also note that focal lengths above 1000mm equivalent were too long to capture the entire target in our lab, so the magnification shown is greater. Thus, higher focal lengths are not directly comparable in terms of the resolution shown by the USAF charts, however relative center and corner performance can still be judged.

Vignetting. There is almost no noticeable vignetting (corner shading) visible in camera JPEGs even wide open.

Stopped-down: As is often the case, stopping down a few clicks improved corner performance at wide angle, however at the expense of slightly softer center due to diffraction (even at f/4, a slight drop in sharpness can be seen compared to f/2.8 in the center). At other focal lengths, corner performance actually degraded slightly when stopping down due to increased diffraction, so we recommend shooting the P1000 wide open when you can for maximum sharpness in the center, and also for maximum sharpness across the frame at non-wide-angle focal lengths. (Stopping down a bit usually improves soft corners even at longer focal lengths, but the P1000's lens performs very well in the corners wide open. So there's little to no advantage in the corners when stopping down, but the stronger diffraction when stopping down reduces performance across the frame.) Note that at 3000mm equivalent, the maximum aperture is f/8, which is the minimum aperture at all focal lengths. (In other words, you can't stop down at max telephoto.)

Chromatic Aberration Correction

As you can see, the P1000's processor does a great job suppressing much of the chromatic aberration in in-camera JPEGs (crops on the left) versus NRW files converted in dcraw (on the right) which does not correct for chromatic aberration by default. Not surprisingly, lateral chromatic aberration is moderately high at wide angle and very high at full telephoto in uncorrected raw files

Overall, though, very good performance from the P1000's 125x zoom lens considering the phenomenal range it offers.

Coverage
Very good coverage accuracy from the electronic viewfinder and LCD monitor.

The Nikon P1000's EVF and LCD monitor both provided about 99% coverage at full wide angle and at 70mm equivalent, matching Nikon's spec. (Note that the P1000's lens is too long to test viewfinder coverage at full telephoto in our lab.) This is very good performance, especially considering the amount of geometric distortion correction that is taking place at wide angle.