Nikon P1000 Review Conclusion: 3000mm launches the superzoom into ultra-telephoto territory
posted Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 2:42 PM EDT
Click here to read our Nikon P1000 Review Conclusion
Superzoom cameras are an interesting bunch. These versatile all-in-one cameras usually offer way more zoom range than can be found with typical interchangeable lens camera setups thanks to clever optical designs and the cameras' tiny sensors. Over the years, the optical zoom range of superzoom cameras, on the telephoto end, kept creeping up, longer and longer. In 2016, Nikon surprised everyone with the Coolpix P900, offering a 2000mm-eq. optical zoom reach. But then, Nikon basically pulled out all the stops for its successor mode, the Coolpix P1000, and offered a camera with a 125x optical zoom lens. This is a camera that can zoom from 24mm-eq. to a whooping 3000mm-eq. That is crazy!
We've just wrapped up our comprehensive Nikon P1000 review, and while there are some compromises and drawbacks (as with all cameras), the P1000, on the whole, offers an amazing amount of versatility and an overall fun shooting experience. Not many other cameras will get you that kind of reach! Using the same 16MP 1/2.3-inch sensor as the P900, the P1000's image quality is pretty nice, but the camera does its best when used in good lighting and with the lowest ISO possible. The tiny sensor struggles in low-light and with high ISO noise. The P1000 does offer RAW capture now, which is something the P900 lacked, so you do have more control over post processing with your photos this time around. Overall, image quality was decent given the small sensor, and the 125x zoom lens' optical quality was rather impressive, despite having such a vast zoom range.
Performance-wise, the Nikon P1000 is fairly good, but not a speed demon by any means. It offers a nice 7fps continuous shooting rate, which is pretty fast for this class of camera, but the shallow buffer capacity limits the usefulness of this feature. The camera's contrast-detect AF system proved quite swift in our testing, especially in good lighting and at shorter focal lengths. We did, however, notice some sluggishness with AF at longer focal lengths or when the lighing conditions dimmed.
So, despite some shortcomings, the Nikon P1000 is a really unique, super-interesting camera that provides a shooting experience unlike any other camera currently on the market. It's a very fun all-in-one solution for travelers, backyard birders, and wildlife enthusiasts. For all the details, sample images, Field Tests and more, check out our in-depth Nikon P1000 review!