| Brand: | Nikon | ||
| Average Rating |
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12.1-megapixel effective recording * 24X optical zoom (4X digital/96X total zoom) * optical image stabilization with vibration reduction * 3 LCD screen with anti-reflective coating and 5-level brightness adjustment * real-image electronic viewfinder * wide-angle lens for shooting landscapes and large groups * 35mm equivalent focal length: 26-624mm * top JPEG resolution: 4000 x 3000 * continuous sports mode for shooting up to 45 frames at 15 frames per second * variable ISO (film speed equivalent) settings including a high sensitivity mode (ISO 6400) for low-light and flash-free shooting * face priority autofocus for better portraits * smile shutter and blink alert for capturing ideal expressions * in-camera automatic red-eye correction * D-Lighting mode brightens dark areas of recorded images * more info
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
The Manual Is My Friend
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Nikon’s P90 Hybrid Point And Shoot
My turn to weigh in on this camera! First, I was pretty surprised at the mixed reviews, most of which I read after ordering my P90. Even the negative posts didn’t scare me though, as I have owned a Coolpix 5700, another “hybrid PNS”, for about six years and have had nothing but great luck with it. (Many thousands of photos later, I still love it.) And, hats off to Nikon … five years into my 5700, it came up lame and Nikon USA fixed it and had it back to me in a week at no charge.
To be fair, I AM a user’s guide reader, which is one thing everyone should be doing with a tool that offers so many features. Once you’ve been through a few manuals, it gets easier to understand. Trust me; your manual is your friend.
The accusation that the P90 takes terrible pictures is absolutely absurd. Incompetent photographers take terrible pictures. The camera is perfectly capable of taking excellent quality pictures that will be satisfying to all but true professionals. There are reasons that those National Geographic shots are so impressive … starting with the fact that few of those photographers are using a three hundred dollar point and shoot for the brunt of their work, and ending with the fact that those people behind the lens are far more trained in photography than the average person, or me for that matter. (And remember, we see the best of their work.)
Getting on with the P90, I am perfectly smitten. The monster LCD screen is just terrific, but it still has a conventional viewfinder with a diopter adjustment. You can switch between the two in an instant with one button. It’s a wonderful camera that has so much control at the fingertips, and can be adjusted so quickly, there really isn’t any reason, aside from user error, that great results can’t be achieved. White balance, exposure compensation, metering, ISO and shooting mode setting are all of general note here, and they are all quick and easy to get to via the menus or the mode dial. And then, a reality check is in order.
White balance used to be corrected with filters on conventional cameras, but now it is done digitally. When you scroll to the white balance menu on the P90 and make a change, feedback is visually immediate on the screen if applicable. For instance, setting it to incandescent will get rid of the orange hue of indoor lights. You should adjust for white balance depending on your shooting situation and think of it each time you shoot.
Exposure compensation is available on the multi-selector with just one push of the button. As you then adjust the exposure by click, again, you see the change on the screen. Although you can also use an auto bracketing feature, I really like this feature when I see the first shot on screen and want to decrease or increase exposure fast and easy.
Four types of metering are available. I happen to like the spot meter for most shooting. One trick (useful with all digital cameras that offer spot metering) is to meter various things in the shot. You will see the exposure change before your eyes. Metering something dark will lighten the shot or, the reverse, metering something light will darken the shot. For instance, I have two black dogs with white paws and briskets. If I meter their faces directly the shots are always overexposed. I often meter the white brisket by pushing the shutter release button half down and then recompose the shot to take the picture. You can do this in all kinds of shooting situations, provided your subject remains in focus.
As in film photography, the most useful ISO speeds are probably 64 through 400. Expect shots at 800 and 1600 to be digitally noisy, just as they would be grainy in film. Again, the P90 allows for almost instant changing of ISO settings, something you couldn’t do with film.
As for shooting modes, all the standard modes (aperture and shutter priority as well as program auto) are available on the mode dial, including full manual, and lots of other bells and whistles. A good many people will treat the P90 like a pocket camera and just go full auto, which is fine. That will yield many good results. However, for those who are more inclined to an artistic eye or more control, the camera is feature rich enough to offer almost limitless possibilities. And, that is the reason to digest the manual fully. Remember, it’s digital, so you can delete failed shots (and just imagine the waste and money if it was film and prints).
Listen, there are a hundred other added values on the various menus. Voice recording, time lapse movies, continuous shooting at 15 frames per second … blah, blah, blah. I won’t even go there. Suffice it to say that it’s a lot of value for fewer than three hundred bucks.
Now, let’s address the reality check. Much of the hype about the 24X zoom is just that, hype. Few shots can be terrific at full length on a zoom of this quality, so don’t count on using it for bald eagles a quarter mile away, let alone off tripod. As stated above, don’t hope for magazine quality shots at ISO 1600, it just can’t happen. The built-in flash is standard fare. Straight-on flash can be flat and unflattering in portraiture on any camera. It’s also easy to wash out a shot … so expect to bracket if the shot is important to you.
Some have stated that the camera feels cheap because it is so light weight. I actually love that it is light and easy on the neck. Personally, I don’t think it looks or feels “cheap” at all.
Finally, I do have a few minor complaints. I cannot for the life of me understand why Nikon won’t thread these cameras for filters. Sure, most filtering is digital these days, but I would kill sometimes for a polarizing filter and would very much have liked to keep a UV filter on the camera for lens protection, just as I always did on my old conventional cameras. Further, I hate rechargeable batteries. I so wish that they would have gone with AA or AAA batteries which you can always find anywhere.
Having stated that, I am giving the P90 five stars, because it’s been an amazing, wonderful camera for me, and it’s taking some killer good pictures, especially since I took the time to understand its potential. Repeat after me … “the manual is my friend”.
Battery
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I would have bought this camera, but for its rechargeable battery limitation. Went for the Olympus instead. AA batteries are easy to find, replace and don’t require you to remember to charge multiple EN-EL5 Ni Cads every night.
I’m no expert.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I can’t give you a long detailed explanation about why I love this camera. I have no experience with high dollar cameras. I only know point and shoot cameras.
I can tell you this camera is solid, is fairly easy to use, has tons of great features, and takes some fantastic pictures with little effort on my part. I started out by taking all kinds of different pictures aruond my house and property, just to experiment. It’s easy to delete the ones you don’t want to keep anyway, so I recommend doing some experimentation before you get serious with it.
Old School Photographer
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been shooting 35mm for over 20 years.I thought it was about time I try digital.D/SLR’s are a bit pricey,so I wanted the best I could get for less.This is more than a “point & shoot”.It’s a mega-zoom bridge camera.A step above those credit card size digital cameras.But still below a SLR.I must have read over 200 reviews before I decided to buy it.Five star reviews out-numbered 1 star by 2 to 1.
There’s two reasons people are getting poor photos with this camera. 1) They didn’t read the owners manual and the camera is set wrong.This is one of the few cameras that actually come with an owners manual you can hold in your hands.It’s 175 pages long and takes time to soak in.I’ve had the camera for two weeks and I’m still learning new things.You just can’t take it out of the box and expect magazine quality shots.The other reason you may get poor results is you’re expecting too much out of a $300 camera.It’s not a D3X !
I’ve used the zoom hand held maxed out and got decent results.A little grain,but I was happy with them.And I’m a very picky photographer! Shot some photos of a huge Christmas tree in a local mall, and they turned out great.
Poor photos are the result of a poor photographer, not the camera.
I ordered this from Amazon on a Saturday night and by Weds I had it in my hands !
If you’re serious about getting into digital photography, this is a good start.If you just want to take snap shots, buy one of those pink Hello Kitty cameras.
Short and Sweet … I LOVE IT!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Short, sweet and to the point! I LOVE my new Nikon! As an early wedding, Christmas, birthday present to myself, I bought the Nikon P90! Okay, so really I told people that it was “saved” in my shopping cart and when I was buying a lightning deal, I just checked out with the camera too! (shhh..don’t tell anyone!)
I like my camera’s simple and easy to use with sharp images. I got exactly that! Excellent! My first shot out of the box was crystal clear! No adjustments, no settings – I did NOTHING but point and shoot! Wow – it was sooooooooo clear! I will post that picture for you all to see!
My only regret? I didn’t buy it sooner!
Nikon P90 Great for Nature/Wildlife/Scenery Pictures
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Good camera for outdoor nature/wildlife…did not have correct setting chosen for low light indoor pictures..will experiment until I learn the best settings. Most of my photography is nature/scenery…so it should be excellent camera for me. It takes great snow pictures!
Pretty good camera for beginner
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love my p90 very much!
Easy use + Great pix quality
But the life of battery is kinda…short
Every two days, I have to recharge it again.
Its OK. not bad for the price
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The photo quality is not that much good as that of canon has in the same range.
But when we take snaps in the day time, they are good but when you take in dark even with flash, the quality is poor.
The 24x zoom makes the most but still the photo quality is a drawback. Canon in the same range would be a better choice.
For me, since I got this for a less price(deal), this is OK for me.
P90 Xmas gift
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Was much more than I expected and arrived just as said it would. Very pleased
Terrible, camera GONE
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
As many other people complained, badly blurred macro shots. YELLOW AS HECK interior photos. I decided the heck with this and sent it back for a Panasonic DMC-FZ35, best cam I have had.
If your gonna go Nikon go for a D series, but stay away from the P series
Happy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Very happy with the camera all except for the battery pack. I would rather have AA, but the lithium battery holds up well, but it is hard to tug the charger around with you all the time.
Highly recommended camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Of the “point and shoot” cameras on the market today, this is undoubtly the best. Love the 600mm telephoto lens. The pictures are extremely sharp even when cropped and enlarged. Most of the time, it is best to put automatic and let the camera to it thing. However, it also work wonderfully on both aperature and speed priority for those times when special treatment is desired.
The only two drawbacks is that one cannot readily attach filters to the lens (for instance a UV filter to protect the lens) and the picture on the viewfinder and screen is not nearly as clear and sharp as what the picture actually.
If one wants something a bit better than the simple point and shoot cameras and particularly with a great telephoto lens, this is the one to buy. I highly recommend this camera.
Note: watch out how much telephoto you use. A tripod is needed when going much past 200mm.
For day pictures the best, for photos at night forget it
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Very good functions and features, but just a bit low light the auto focus doesn’t work and a lot noise appears in the pictures and green hues. If there is good light the photos that are achieved are amazing
Nikon P90
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Picture and stabliztion is good overall a very good camera. However, I brought this camera for the camera as well as for the quick video feature and the video quality was not very good and the zoom feature did not work for the video like for pictures. I thought because the pixels were higher for pictures the videos well also be better but I was very disappointed by the video quality. I am thinking now I have to buy a camcorder for the better video.
Nikon Coolpix
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The compactness is impressive — the ability to have so much in such a small package. I use it mostly in macro mode and is wonderful
I like taking pictures in natural light without a flash and this camera does very well
Don’t do it!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I am a point and shoot user and have had good luck with smaller cameras. I decided I wanted to get a little more involved with my photography and upgrade a little from the smaller styles. I have two smaller (fit in your pocket small) that do a MUCH better job than this camera. The pictures are not as clear, the background coloring is off, and 9 out of ten times the pictures are blurry. The auto feature is the worst setting of all. The ones you set up yourself are not much better. I mean if you are taking a shot of an inanimate object and have all day to try all the settings, you might get a somewhat decent shot, but if you were touring a city for example, 90% of your pictures would be crap. You have to pop the flash up yourself, even if you have it on auto- it will not pop up if needed, nor will anything appear on the screen to tell you that you might want to use it. I defintely do not recommend this camera and whole heartedly regret purchasing it! I really wish I hadn’t thrown out the box so I could have sent it straight back!
One of the best digital cameras on the market
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Love this Nicon P90 camera. It’s loaded with features only found in more expensive cameras
and no need to change lenses because of the 26mm to 624mm equivalent zoom of a 35mm film camera.
The tilt screen works great.
Great Grab Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m used to using Nikon’s full-sized D-SLRs with vertical grips and the wonderful Nikon VR lenses. I love them dearly and will always use them as my cameras of choice.
I had purchased a Coolpix 8800 a few years ago and gave it mediocre reviews. It is much larger, again, with the vertical grip, but it is rugged and works well, although it has a relatively small file-size, dimmer eye-level viewer and smaller screen. It allows me lots of versatility, but I wanted something smaller, with larger file-sizes.
The P90 offers that, far better movie choices and many more options for shooting right out of my purse. This is a camera that can give me professional quality and versatility in non-flash situations that are unmatched by other grab cameras without the bulk of my professional systems.
The lack of range of f-stops loses versatility in important areas. It has no hot shoe, so it can only be gerry-rigged for complex flash situations. I really don’t plan to use it on that level. It uses 4-1 compressed JPEG images, which take the quality down a bit and has no option for RAW images or uncompressed TIFFs. The zoom seems jumpy, but that may just be a situation where I need practice.
At extreme optical and digital zoom, combined with the best VR system I have used, it produce some very nice results hand-held. I can hardly wait for my next encounter with the red tail hawk in the marsh next to my home! It’s also nice to have an actual wide-angle option.
One of the main reasons I purchased this unit is that I love Arches and Canyonlands NPs and last year when I was there, in the high desert, the winds howeled! The downside of that was dust on the sensors in my D-SLRs, even the self-cleaning D90 and DX300. There is no worse feeling than getting back to a motel, uploading hundreds of photos, and finding that you have to retouch virtually every one. Welcome back to film! With a sealed system,I can wander all over and not worry about dust!
So far, I’ve only had the camera a few days, I haven’t taken any spectacular shots to share. I still haven’t taken anything I would want at 20X30, so I’ll reserve judgement on compressed JPEGs. They may be better than I expect. I found that I love the “food” scene mode! It has a color temperature adjustment right on-screen. Since this will be an available light camera (I despise on-camera flash), this will be a useful mode.
I will probably update this report after I’ve done some meaningful shooting. A 4gig SD card holds almost 650 shots, so quality is going to be a big issue. The battery has a limited life, so I will be purchasing extras. I just have to remember it’s a backup! If it’s a good one for me, it will be the best camera the average amateur will ever own, and that is not ego talking. I am just uber-picky…
Almost Persuaded
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After spending hours researcing the P90 here and on other sites,I was concerned as to my purchase.I made my purchase, on line on 27 November.My P90 was delivered today@ 9AM.I have joyfully spent the last fifteen (15) hours, with my professional photogropher neighbor using this camera.
The ease of use and picture quality in auto and manual modes are just terrific.
I just captured a few stellar shots of the full moon minutes ago.
If one is conidering the purchase of a P&S,give the P90 a second look.I’M confident this one is a keeper.Way to go Nikon.
i love it : )
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
this is first digital camera for me that is not a point and shoot…well it is, but its a little more advanced. Its a bit of a learning curve for me, and since I’ve had the camera less than a week, only 1 in 5 photos is really crisp, the others are at least way better than my old 5mp camera that i’ve had since 2005.
I would recommend this camera for sure, just be prepared to spend some time with the manual and experimenting with the camera itself if you’ve never owned something more advanced than a standard point and shoot.
so thats the brass tax, and without a big long review with a bunch of camera terms that i don’t really know anyway. you won’t be disappointed, but expect to be educated with it : )
I got a Nikon!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camera does everything you want and more. Lots of presets. I you use this for a $$ shoot then workwith it first. You don’t have time to fiddle during an event. Experiment over and over. You really can’t make a bad exposure. If you do… the software provided will teach you to fix…..
fantastic buy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This product surprised me a lot. It is not a compactible camera, but it it easy do use with a lot of functions. The price is good. I was looking for a camera between the regular commercial amateur camera and the professional one that is too expensive. I found this one and i am very happy.
camera = happiness
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It was a gift for my girlfriend. She is very happy so I am very happy!
Great point and shoot camera!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this camera. I have had an Olympus Stylus 730 for several years and love it, but I wanted an upgrade although not yet ready for a SLR. This camera fit my needs perfectly. I wanted the full control manual settings to get me ready for the SLR, but wasn’t ready for the cost because I am still learning about photography. This camera is definitely a great deal at right around $300. The 24x optical zoom is awesome. I was used to 3x, which is awful for distant landscape shots. I love the tilt screen display, this is a very functional feature. I was also looking for a digital camera with a viewfinder; although this model’s viewfinder is the digital display it serves it’s purpose. The continuous shot mode is great; shooting at around 12 frames per second…this makes getting that perfect shot during a sporting event or dance recital very easy.
The camera has a great weight to it and is very comfortable to hold. I love that it has a flash release button so if you don’t intend on using the flash you just don’t open it. The menu is easy to use. Battery life seems to be around 4 hours and only takes about 2 to fully charge. The camera comes with a lens cap and a neck strap, usb cable, tv cable, battery charger and battery. I purchased a spare battery and recommend you search for a true Nikon EL-EN5 battery…I got mine for under $20. The mfg recommends only using their brand, I concur. From past experience I have seen off brand batteries mess the ports up so the camera becomes unusable.
All in all if you are looking for a point and shoot with a lot of the manual capabilities of a SLR camera this is a good choice.
Coolpix – Not all that cool
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I have spent about 1 month now with my Coolpix P90. I have taken about 2,000 photos in every condition I can muster to try it out and to give you the most information possible with my expirence. Unfortunately, I have made a bad purchase. Let me give you some background, I am moving from a 10 year old film camera over to digital and I am trying to keep the same quality of film, while using a digital camera. I am an automatic guy. I just want to take a photo and have it turn out right w/o me having to focus or perform any settings. I am not pleased with this product and here is why:
1. The camera does not understand how to automatically focus on a subject.
For example, I have my daughter standing 10 feet back in front of me with her positioned in the middle picture and the camera chooses to focus on the countertop behind her. If you have multiple subjects standing in front of you, the camera doesn’t understand that you want all of them in focus….so it will pick one or two and focus on them, and then leave the rest out of focus, even if they are within a few feet of one and other. This is my biggest gripe and the reason why 1/2 of the photos I take have been unusable. The auto focus on this is horrid; the facial recognition is essentially nonexistent. I am not an engineer, but this seems to be the most basic fundamental requirement of any camera for the past 30 years and Nikon sure missed the mark on this.
2. Horrible red eye – even with redeye reduction turned on, about 15% of all of my photos have red eye.
A bizarre thing I have noticed a lot is that on my subjects one of their eyes will be red the other eye will be black. I don’t understand why this is the case or how this could even happen, but it does. Another thing I have noticed is when you have multiple subjects, one or two will have red eyes and the others will not, making the entire picture useless. I have never seen red eye before in my 10 year old film camera and find it ridiculous that this newer technology on the P90 has red eye, and consistent red eye for that fact. This just doesn’t make any sense to me. I know, I can buy software, blah blah blah, but who wants to hassle? I just want to take a picture and have the camera do what it is supposed to do.
3. When having my digital photos developed, they lack the brilliance and crisp results I would expect.
The images are so soft. For example, the hair on my daughter’s head appears to be blended together as if I am watching standard definition television. While at the same time, getting my film photos developed at the same place yield cleaner more defined results. The hair on my daughter’s head using my film camera is as I would see them in real life (or I guess you can relate them to high definition). I have taken many taken pictures side by side and they don’t compare. About the old time I can get them to compare is when I am in brilliant daylight or considerable indoor light. I am using the maximum quality setting, BTW.
4. The flash does not pop up automatically, before you take pictures, you have to click a separate button to pop up the flash. If you don’t do that, your photo will not be useable.
I hope this helps you understand what you are getting before you drop your hard earned money to get it. I cannot recommend to you what you should get as I only have this one to compare. Best of luck to you, bottom line, I just hope you don’t lose your money as I have.