Nikon has released for preview a new camera with a built-in zoom lens that reaches 2000mm. That's 83X magnification. It's the Nikon Coolpix P900, the latest combatant in the battle for zoom superiority among major camera manufacturers. The lens is fixed, not interchangeable. Size of the camera is larger than point-and-shoot, smaller than the D-series DSLRs. Nikon calls it a compact digital camera. It weighs two pounds.
It has 16 megapixels, vibration reduction, video, Wi-Fi, connection with your iPhone if it's handy, shoots seven frames per second, has 3-inch LCD swivel screen, and will make coffee. ISO range is 100 to 6400, shutter speed 15 seconds to 1/4000.
Video demos on YouTube show very impressive sharpness at 2000mm.
The camera will be in stores in April priced at $599.95.
Talking with Kevin Smythe at National Camera today about this machine, he said it has several special shooting settings, including one specifically programmed for birders. Switch that on, and the camera automatically chooses the settings pre-determined as being optimal for bird photography.
My only caveat is the size of the sensor: 1/2.3 inches. One-half point three. This is much smaller than the larger sensors found in the, for example, D-700 Nikon I use. Bigger sensor, better images. The P900 uses the same sensor found in point-and-shoot cameras. A caveat, yes, but, 2000mm extension, if it produces a sharp image, should help make up for that. Nonetheless, a buyer should make certain that the quality desired for enlargements of reasonable size, say 8x10, meet expectations.
