Nikon Coolpix P1000

A bridge too far?

The press release for the P1000 makes for entertaining reading. A fixed-lens bridge camera with

125x optical zoom, equating to 24-3,000mm in 35mm terms? Tell me more! Weight: 1.42kg, length: 181mm. Yikes, this thing is huge!

You see, the P1000 isn’t blessed with a big sensor. Deep within lies a tiny 1/2.3-inch 16MP chip, the same size you’d find in a budget compact or a smartphone, and unlikely to set any image quality records. Then my already slackened jaw descended into freefall. RRP: £1,000/$1,000.

At least you get a lot of camera for your money. The P1000 is roughly as bulky as a D750 with a 24-70mm f/2.8 attached, but with much more girth around what would be the lens mount. It’s a comfortable camera in the hand, though, with a well-sculpted grip, even if the build quality doesn’t feel quite as robust as a Nikon DSLR. The selection of rear buttons (and basic menu interface) are also more in keeping with a Coolpix compact than something like a D3500, but there is a PASM mode dial, and a control wheel for adjusting key settings. The flip-out 3.2-inch, 921k-dot monitor is a match for an entry-level DSLR for clarity, but it lacks touch-sensitivity, which stings considering the P1000’s price tag. Thankfully Nikon hasn’t skimped on the 2,359k-dot OLED EVF, which is a pleasure to use.

Performance

Fire up the podgy P1000, and first impressions are positive. Despite not having any phase-detection points, the AF system is near-instantaneous

and reliably accurate at shorter focal lengths, and it rarely struggles to lock on even when the zoom reaches an equivalent 1,000mm. Plough on to 2,000mm and beyond, and the AF can miss its mark, sometimes hunting several times for accurate focus.

The lens could really benefit from a focus limiter switch to lock out short focal lengths when you’re zoomed in. Instead there’s a snap-back zoom button that enables you to zoom out to relocate a fleeting subject and zoom back in, all at the touch and release of a button. There’s also a customisable control ring around the front of the lens barrel, but annoyingly this can’t be used for manual focus to override any AF uncertainty.

It’s not just the AF that struggles to cope with the immense zoom reach. The P1000 packs an excellent lens-shift VR system that performs

admirably up to around 1,500mm, but beyond this you’ll need a statuesque stance – or tripod – to ensure a sharp shot. Bright conditions are also a must, as the lens stops down to a maximum f/8 aperture at longer focal lengths.

This wouldn’t be a problem if you could keep shutter speeds high via increased ISO sensitivity – but if you do this, image quality takes a tumble. The P1000’s sensitivity range tops out at ISO 6,400, but the tiny 16MP sensor struggles to maintain good detail and dynamic range even at ISO 800. We compared the P1000 to a Google Pixel XL for wide-angle image quality; although the big Nikon comes close in daylight, the smartphone trounces it in dimmer conditions, resolving far more detail despite only packing a 12MP sensor.

1 There’s a proper hotshoe for mounting a separate flashgun, though the pop-up flash is fairly potent. 2 You need a powerful AF-assist lamp when shooting at such huge focal lengths, and thankfully the P1000 has a sniper-grade sighting beam. 3 There’s a mic input port to complement the camera’s 4K video capability.

4 While the EVF is clear and crisp, it isn’t the fastest to activate, thanks to a sluggish automatic eye sensor. 5 All that zoom travel hammers battery life: the P1000 is rated for 250 shots per charge.