Nikon VQA100EA COOLPIX P950, Black

Product Information

The screen is mounted on a hinge, though. It swings out to the side to face forward, up, or down, so you can take selfie shots or capture images from high and low angles. We didn’t expect there to be any surprises when it came to image quality from the Nikon Coolpix P950, considering it uses the same sensor and lens combination as its predecessor, the P900. Build quality is on par with an entry-level camera like the D3500 DSLR, though there's a greater sense of 'hollowness' to parts of the body like the pop-up flash housing and lens barrel. That said - no part of the plastic shell flexes or generally feels weak to the touch. Even in manual exposure mode the P950 can preview the exposure and colour of an image before you capture it. That means you can ensure you have the right settings selected before you capture an image. ISO sensitivity can be set manually, from 100-6400, and there are five Auto ISO ranges (100-400, 100-800, 100-1600, 100-3200, 100-6400). It is possible to set a minimum shutter speed from a range of 1 to 1/125 seconds, but you don't get the more advanced 'slower > faster' dynamic options that you do in higher-end Nikon cameras. Typically, the P950 prioritizes lower ISO sensitivity settings where possible, leaning on its powerful image stabilization system to keep things sharp. This works well except in lower light with moving subjects, where you might find that you need to take manual control over shutter speed to avoid blur.

Nikon COOLPIX Compact Digital Cameras | Point and Shoot Cameras Nikon COOLPIX Compact Digital Cameras | Point and Shoot Cameras

Other top-plate controls include the Fn button—it's programmable, and adjusts the continuous drive mode by default. The On/Off button, Mode dial, and the main command dial round out the top controls. I tried to get a few shots of some red kites as they circled above me but I found it impossible to frame them and get them sharp at the longest point of the lens. With an unbelievable 83x optical zoom NIKKOR lens, the 16-megapixel Coolpix P950 is a powerful new addition to Nikon’s superzoom bridge camera lineup, which delivers unprecedented image quality from extreme distances. For those who already owned a P900 camera, very little has changed on the outside of the camera. There’s a chunky grip at the front of the camera, while much of the camera has a textured coating which helps to give a feeling of high quality. Bright NIKKOR lens. With f/2.8 maximum aperture and Super ED glass to help reduce distortion at high zoom.In fact, from some angles, the P950 doesn’t look great deal smaller than the full-frame Nikon D780.

Nikon P950 review | Digital Camera World Nikon P950 review | Digital Camera World

Run F-P950-V13W.exe to extract the firmware to a sub-folder in the new folder. The resulting file and folder hierarchy is shown below: An improvement to the Nikon P950 comes in the shape of adding raw format recording support. This means you now have more flexibility to tweak images after the fact, which is likely to be welcome news for enthusiast photographers. Compatible with the following accessories (available separately): MC-DC2 Remote Cord, WR-R10/WR-1 Wireless Remote Controller Smaller f-stops, down to f/8, are available, but show less resolution. Diffraction, the optical effect that scatters light passing through a very small iris, is at fault. You'll get the best images out of the P950 by keeping its aperture wide open. Fixed an issue that caused pairing between the camera and devices running the SnapBridge app under iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 to fail.From the outside, the number of upgrades that have been made to the Nikon Coolpix P950, when compared to its predecessor, the P900, seem relatively few. However, at least two of those upgrades are important - the ability to shoot in raw format and the addition of 4K video recording. The former is particularly important for enthusiast photographers, and was one of the most disappointing omissions from the P900. Other areas haven't been upgraded, though. Nikon hasn't done anything to improve autofocus speed or accuracy. We'd also like to see a touch screen and a current-generation USB-C interface. If possible keep the ISO setting to 1600 or lower. If you’re shooting distant fine details you’ll probably want a lower ISO to get better resolution, so a tripod is advisable. The big news on DPReview when the P950 was announced was the addition of Raw shooting. I ended up using Raw mode more than I expected to with the P950, but not because there's anything seriously wrong with its JPEGs, at least not at a pixel level. At low ISOs (100-400) the P950's JPEG output is perfectly acceptable in most situations, with the exception of poor edge sharpness at wide angles. Nikon has tuned noise reduction for maximum smoothness, which does come at the expense of fine detail even at low ISO sensitivities, but you'd have to be something of a pixel-peeper to notice.

Nikon Coolpix P950 sample gallery - Digital Photography Review Nikon Coolpix P950 sample gallery - Digital Photography Review

Whereas the P900’s video capability peaks at Full HD, the P950 can shoot 4K video at 25/30p. Plus there’s a 3.5mm mic port to connect an external microphone and the ability to output a clean feed via HDMI. In situations where you need more direct control, multiple additional modes are available. By default, the P950 uses 'full-time AF' which aims to continuously maintain an in-focus image in the viewfinder. Most likely you'll never need to change this setting, but it can be easily disabled in the menu system if you prefer. How does it perform? Overall, it’s interesting to see Nikon still investing in this area of the market. It shows that there’s still some interest in bridge cameras, perhaps particularly for travel photographers and wildlife enthusiasts who don’t have the means, or the space, for the equivalent lenses you’d need for either a mirrorless or DSLR system.The Nikon Coolpix P950 has a single SD UHS-I memory card slot. It would have been nice to perhaps see some UHS-II compatibility here to boost the frame rate beyond the 7fps offered. The P1000 was announced more recently in July 2018 while the P900 was announced in March 2015. While both these cameras are very similar, there are a few key differences that will make you choose one over the other. Get Unbelievably Close London, United Kingdom, 7th January 2020: Nikon adds to its impressive line-up of bridge cameras with the COOLPIX P950, which boasts an impressive 83x optical zoom. This robust superzoom camera updates the COOLPIX P900 with a range of sought-after features that make it exceptionally easy to capture distant subjects in extraordinary detail – in stunning close-up images and strikingly sharp 4K movies. If you think that the Nikon Coolpix P950 looks big, wait until you extend the zoom lens - the chances of remaining discreet while wielding this are pretty slim. However, if zoom is particularly important to you - such as for nature photographers - then you’ll likely be happy to consider the unbalanced nature of the camera a worthy sacrifice.