Does anyone have the Nikon coolpix p950? What is your opinion of this bridge camera?
My main interest is in the zoom abilities. I want to take pictures of eagles at a long distance. It would be cheaper for me to buy this camera rather then a lens for my DSLR. I can save about half the cost by purchasing the camera rather then the lens.
No direct use of it. It gets good reviews. But due to very small sensor does not do well at higher ISOs, often needed for bird shots.
Appy
Loc: Flint Hills (Ks)
Ask Regis what he thinks. He's in Idaho and is the king of handheld eagle shots.
I purchased the P950 in June, primarily for it's long zoom. I had read numerous reviews before purchasing this camera.
I have really enjoyed this camera, and have been able to take some reasonably good photos of it. Yes, due to it's use of a small sensor, it doesn't do great in low-light situations.
It depends on what you plan on photographing.
I primarily take bird and nature shots.
This has a "Bird" scene mode which works well for photographing birds.....but the downside is you loose control over shutter speed and lose RAW image saving.
I have primarily switched to Shutter priority, and as long as there is sufficient light, I've been happy.
I have been impressed at how many shots I can take on a single battery charge (I took 2000 shots one day, along with 2 short movies ...all on one charge.
I had to change the continuous shooting speed to low or medium, as the camera was locking up on me for a time. (I purchased a fast SD card....but still had locking issues)......once I change the continuous speed, I have not had any further issues with this.
Last week the camera malfunctioned on me (a loud clunk sound). I have sent it back to Nikon for repairs. I am anxiously waiting for them to repair and return to me.
Hope this helps you.
How long have you had the camera? Please let me know how the repairs go.
a6k
Loc: Detroit & Sanibel
I suspect that it’ll work fine for eagles sitting in trees but won’t be great at tracking them in flight.
a6k
Loc: Detroit & Sanibel
SuperflyTNT wrote:
I suspect that it’ll work fine for eagles sitting in trees but won’t be great at tracking them in flight.
I agree. It is not perfect.
You might want to compare the P900, P950, and P1000. There are many good comparison sites.
http://snapsort.com/compare is one of them.
When it comes to Zoom Abilities, they all have it. But none of them are perfect. (but then what camera or camera/lens combo is??) There are trade offs for long range lens'.
Good luck with your research.
John Hicks
Loc: Sible Hedinham North Essex England
A friend of mine here in the UK has one and takes mainly railway pictures.
He has one in ten published in railway magazine and always get a good photograph. I think my EF lenses are of better quality but he has been taking photographs for nearly sixty years the only thing against the camera is it does not take raw photographs, but he is more than happy with jpegs.
Ryeley wrote:
How long have you had the camera? Please let me know how the repairs go.
I have purchased this in June, so about 6 months. I will update when I hear more from Nikon about repairs. It malfunctioned on the 16th. After talking to Nikon and a few others, I sent the camera back to Nikon the following Tuesday.
Here's an Osprey and a Red-tailed Hawk I captured with the camera.
I would like to thank everyone for all of the input! I plan to do a little more research before I make my choice.
Ryeley wrote:
I would like to thank everyone for all of the input! I plan to do a little more research before I make my choice.
Good luck with your decision.
Ryeley wrote:
How long have you had the camera? Please let me know how the repairs go.
I just took delivery of my P950 from Nikon repairs.
They replaced the Lens unit, as well as the Main Printed Circuit board.
it actually took less time than I feared.
I am anxious to go out and try it out again.
I have enjoyed this camera..... I know it's not perfect, but it does what I need it to do most of the time.
I bought it in June, replacing a Lumix FZ80.
I am also replacing a Lumix FZ80.
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