Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is an excellent camera, especially for nature photographers & travelers. It's very sharp & easily focused. The manual focusing is not readily available. It''s hardly needed. There's no lens hood. I don't see a problem with that either. The video is excellent too. The battery lasts quite a long time.The camera is phenomenal, especially at this price. Best Buy ships it very quickly too. I include a few examples.

This camera is a lot of fun, and you will be happy with it as long as you understand its shortcomings and limitations. As I read somewhere, this is a really fantastic 2000mm super zoom lens attached to a modest camera. The lens can be very good when you are shooting under the right conditions, and that means you need sufficient light, particularly at the longer end of the range. It's not a fast lens so it's really not that great in low light so choose your photo time accordingly. The vibration reduction is quite amazing, and you can actually shoot the moon, birds, and animals while hand holding the camera. The reach of this 2000mm lens continues to astonish me. I read that to get a separate lens of this reach for a dSLR you would pay $10K to 20K!! Another positive is that the P900 is surprisingly light in weight and very well balanced when holding it. It is better to use a tripod or monopod when if you can, especially at full zoom, your photos will be better. However, with practice your ability to hand hold the camera (with the great VR) will improve over time. I did much better with moon shots when using a monopod with a tilt head (it was harder with a tripod because at full zoom, the moon tends to move out of the lens range quite quickly and you have to re-adjust the lens position often. But it was much easier with adjustment on one plane instead all directions with a ball head, and the one leg of the monopod makes turning other directions much quicker and easier). The necessarily smaller sensor and 12 MP can lead to noise (yes, this is a noisy camera), and noise is more noticeable under less than optimal lighting situations. It's what it is. But the tilt and swivel back screen is great, the menus are easy, it's a fairly quick and easy camera to learn. It can also do amazing macro shots of insects and other small things, even more so when paired with a Raynox 150 or 250 magnifier lens (cheap). Above all, just be informed and realistic and don't expect the P900 to do everything like a more expensive camera with a larger sensor and higher MP. You will get very good pictures and sometimes you'll get great photos if you learn how to use all the camera settings, and this crazy long lens is an enormous amount of fun for certain things. I would not have this as my only camera, but it's a great second camera. Just know what you are buying and what its capabilities are. Alexander S. White wrote a great book that explains everything and how to use this camera...it's much better than the manual.

Deciding on this camera: We bought this camera to take on safari. We have been using point-and-shoot cameras with smaller zooms (15X and 25X) for travel, but we wanted to make sure the animals we saw were not just little dots in the pictures when we return from the Serengeti. We looked into purchasing a DSLR; however, to get a similar zoom plus the camera body seemed like it was going to cost over $1K. The most informative review on the P900 was at Photography Life (https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-coolpix-p900) by John Sherman. He highlights the features, at times in comparison to his expensive professional DSLR, and includes many sample photographs. Sure some quality is lost in the picture of the eagle at full zoom; however, the camera that took the crisp, clear photo cost him over $21K! For many people, lack of RAW format was a disappointment; however, my version of editing is using Google's Picasa to sort through (and occasionally crop) the 100s (or 1000s) of photos I take with the point and shoot. Thus, JPEG format is fine for us. Purchasing: Finding the P900 in stock was a challenge, but we were able to get one from Best Buy following the advice in one of the Amazon reviews that suggested checking the stock on the Nikon webpage each day. Basically, there is an option on the P900 Nikon page to "Where to Buy" that actually lists the online suppliers and whether they have the camera in stock. I looked everyday for about a week in mid-June, and one morning it was listed as "In Stock" at Best Buy. I bought the camera and then looked back at the "Where to Buy" on the Nikon page, and it said out-of-stock again. First impressions: The camera case is a lightweight plastic that some reviewers thought looked/felt cheap. However, carrying the camera around at the Botanica Gardens in the heat, I was very appreciative of how much less the camera would weigh than if it were made of metal or heavier plastic. I was able to hold onto the camera with one hand via the grip with the strap wrapped around my wrist for a little extra security for the hour we were out without tiring. I used my left hand to stablize the camera whenever using the zoom or when I was not in direct sunlight. Using the super zoom: When I first tested the camera indoors or in the shade with the zoom fully extended, it was difficult to get a non-shaky picture. However, when we went to a local nature reserve, I was able to get pictures of birds we only spotted with our 10X42 binoculars at full zoom with the camera supported only by my two hands (not even bracing my elbows against my chest as I did in the shade pictures). There is enough detail to see that the birds eyelids are open in one picture and closed in the next. I used the "bird watching mode" under Scenes, which takes up to 7 pictures (in 1 sec) when you press the button. This increased the odds of getting a good picture of the bird, but had the downside of waiting a few seconds after each burst of pictures for the pictures to write to the SD card (16 MP picture quality, 90MB/s memory card). The camera has this great function when the zoom is extended and you lose the bird you are trying to shoot called "snapback zoom". With your left hand you hold down the button on the side of the lens and the camera will zoom out. A black box appears in the view finder, move the camera to get the bird in the box and then release the button to zoom in on the bird. This is super efficient and less nauseating than trying to search for the bird at full zoom. Continuous shooting mode: We had great fun photographing animals that stayed primarily in the same place. However, we will need more practice to be able to catch a flying bird. The continuous shooting mode at max rate is 7 frames per second but it stops after the 7th frame and starts writing to the card. The pre-shooting cache is partial way around this. You press the shutter release half-way down, and it starts taking pictures. When the animal does something interesting, you press the shutter release the rest of the way down and the camera saves the previous 5 pictures and then 10 more. I was trying to use these functions to take pictures of my nephew going down a circular slide at the park. He got frustrated when I asked him to go again and again. I was only catching him appearing around the first loop. In retrospect, what I really needed was to use 2 fps (one of the slower continuous modes) so I could keep taking pictures until he reached the bottom. 7 fps was just too many pictures for the slide action. Battery Life: I bought 2 Watson brand batteries as they were $40 each at B&H photo, instead of $80 for an extra Nikon battery. Then at Best Buy a few weeks later, I saw their generic brand on sale for $10 per battery (normally $30) and bought 3. The P900 uses the same camera battery as the P600. They tend to last about half-a-day depending on how much I use the view finder vs the screen. The other issue is that if you are trying to track animals to photograph, this also eats up battery so the picture estimate that others have given (~260 photos) may be much less (if you have to wait sometime for your shot) or twice that if you use continuous shoot. We shot ~600 photos of birds (7fps, 1 sec at a time) over a ~2 hour period at a bird reserve last weekend. Automatic vs Manual Modes: On my previous point-and-shoot camera, I had relied on the "intelligent auto" function. For the P900, the automatic button (green) takes reasonable pictures but you can make very few adjustments. Under SCENE mode on the dial, there is an auto scene selector as the first option that works more like the "intelligent auto" on other cameras. There are many great scenes to choose from including the bird watching. To use some of the great features such as "Active D-lighting" to bring objects out of the shadows, however, we have had to take a crash course in manual settings for photography (using many free web resources). This overall has been very rewarding, and we are now primarily using aperture mode for everyday shooting with the camera. Note that for the manual mode, there is an option under setup to have the screen reflect the exposure level before the photo is taken. This is good for reducing the number of too dark photos. Other cool features: The camera has a time lapse mode for taking pictures of cityscapes, sunsets or night skies. We have tried the 50 minute series for sunsets twice now with great results. It takes several pictures a minute and then quickly compresses it into a 9 second movie.

I have been waiting for this camera for some time now. And finally was able to buy it in time for the eclipse. As an avid photographer it is important for me to have a great camera with a great zoom and quality picture taking abilities. One of the best things I like photographing is the moon and birds. And this actually has a mode for each!

This is a great camera for a beginner or anyone wanting to take high quality pictures at a low cost. It has a great zoom with a fast focus. People that see my bird pictures think that they were taken with a DSLR because of the detail and sharpness. The p900 is a big step change from the previous 2 models. I rarely write reviews but wanted to tell people that this is a great camera for taking bird pictures. I almost spent much more money for a DSLR trying to find the reach and quality of this camera. I've attached a sample that was taken the first day I used the camera.

I do a lot of birding in the field. Occasionally I encounter a rare bird, one that is out of place or out of season. The easiest way to provide documentation is a quick photo. Enter this camera. With its 83x optical zoom it make capturing a photo of a distant bird an easy task. It has a birding mode that automatically zooms the camera to an 800mm equivalent, which makes less to fuss with when trying to capture a fast moving bird. It’s not perfect. I does focus search when the background is “busy” and low light can introduce focus problems. I like that I can transfer photos to my phone and I use the feature frequently. Battery life seems reasonable and it can be charged with a micro usb cord in the car. Not a replacement for a DSLR if looking for perfect bird photos, but for my purposes it works great.

This is the second one I purchased for a friend who had trouble finding one for sale and available. No wonder as this camera has it all! After seeing the shots I was getting with mine, several friends bought one and they love it too! Use it 90% of the time and I have six other cameras, but his is my 'go-to' camera for sure. Zoom, stabilization and built in controls are amazing and easy to use. Battery seems to go on forever. I enjoy using it to catch planes flying overhead, usually about 2-3 miles away, handheld....see sample pic!

I am by no means a professional photographer or even a skilled one, which may explain why I love this camera so much. I've never seen a camera with such a great optical zoom. As soon as I got it and charged the battery, I immediately had to go outside to shoot some moon pics. I happened to buy the camera a week before the super moon earlier in November, so I got some great pics. I also went to see the Dallas Cowboys vs Redskins game on Thanksgiving. The pics and video I got were amazing. You would never have guessed I was on the top level of the stadium. The only drawback this camera has, IMO, is that it is definitely bulkier than any camera I've ever owned. I was worried they were not going to let me enter the stadium with it.

I travel to Yellowstone every year and take 2000-4000 pictures. Due to the distance of wildlife in Yellowstone, a zoom camera is a must for safety of people and the animals. While this camera can not get the clarity of a dslr, it does a wonderful job for the price point. Of course low light shots are difficult as with all bridge cameras but there is nothing on the market that can beat this zoom. I have owned Canon SX 30, SX40x, and SX50. I went to Best Buy to get the SX60 and the Nikon P900 to compare them. There is truly no comparison for reach. The P900 wins in all categories. The only minor exception is that the P900 does not shoot in raw for those that like to edit their photos and I believe Canon has slightly better coloring when using auto focus. This camera is a bit more tricky than a Canon. I knew each time with the Canon I would get the shot. This camera tends to blur at times. This is probably due to having little practice before my trip. I did find a nice book on Amazon that explains what this camera can do and not do. I am excited to dig in and learn all of its capabilities. If you are a bridge camera user that does not want to jump up to the price point of a DSLR- this is a must have camera. Below are pictures taken from hundreds of yards away in Yellowstone with the camera.

I have used a dslr camera with all of the many lenses for several years and got tired of carrying all of that equipment around. Found this camera, read reviews and decided to purchase just prior to taking a two week trip out west. The one word I can use is AMAZING!! It is so easy to use and even those shots that I zoomed in on without using a tripod have come out perfect with no blurring. I have always wanted to take a decent shot of the moon but didn't until this past Monday when I took one of the super moon. Without a tripod and perfect!!! I cannot say enough about this camera and I have used a lot of different ones! Easy to use even for beginners. Has automatic settings but also can do some manual settings if you choose.

Great image quality. Fantastic zoom. Perfect!!!! Wonderful time lapse qualities

This is a great point-and-zoom camera. It has a remarkable zoom capability.I took a photo of the face of a statue on top of a building about one mile away. It was like it was across the street. It does not have RAW. It is easy to use. It shoots a decent video. It takes great photos. I bought it for just under six hundred dollars. There is a newer version of this camera that has just come out. It is about four hundred dollars more than this model.

I waited 3 mos 4 this cam & it was certainly worth it. While its zoom power is well known, it has so many other great capabilities such as macro, great selection of pre-programmed scenes, low light, birding, video. Handles much better than my Canon 30D DSLR. I take it where ever I go and have taken a lot of great shots already. Simply thrilled with this camera.

I have used my camera a few times since I received it and I LOVE IT! It truly does zoom to the moon, and I love the color selector feature! I have not even begun to delve into all the cool features of this camera. For the price, this camera is nothing short of amazing!

Absolutely amazing camera. The zoom feature is the best feature of this camera. If you have the slightest shake while zoomed in on an object you loose sight of it. I did end up buying a small table top tripod for still shots. The WiFi feature is very convenient to upload quickly to social media websites. It has great clairty on indoor photos.

This camera is amazing. It does exactly what it claims. I took pictures from my front porch using the zoom. I had to drive over 30 miles to find what I could actually see with this zoom. The moon picture is amazing.

I am surprised the reach this lens extends to. Family to far away shots this camera is an all in one camera. The price is within reach without having to buy a more lens in your camera bag to do what this camera will do. Bonus it does video as well.

Is the best camera ever to shut the moon! The picture quality espectacular!!! I love my camera! I made a good choice about what I wanted.

I have been using a Nikon DSLR for several years now. One of the drawbacks to the DSLR is having to change Lens for different applications, not to mention the cost of these Lens. The P900 is a very versatile camera. It can take Macro shots l and has a telephoto capability of 2000mm. In other words you can take great pictures of the Moon as well as close up pictures of flowers, portraits etc. It has a lot of functions that a DSLR has for about half the cost. It is very user friendly. When you need to take a picture with very little or no set up time this camera is the one you need.

Heavy, may blur photos if your hands shake. Tripod recommended.but has a great zoom.lots of options for scenery.auto and manual modes.picked it because of the zoom, and no additional lenses to carry around. Was recommended by several people.