Nikon COOLPIX P90 Digital Camera
- Digital Zoom: 4x
- Camera Type: Standard Point and Shoot
- Weight: 1.01 lb.
- LCD Screen Size: 3 in.
- Resolution: 12.1 Megapixel
- Optical Zoom: 24x
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Coolpix P90 Many Pluses and One Big Minus
Pros
Solidly builtErgonomicLarge bright viewing screen with tilt25x optical zoom12.3 megapixels
Cons
Pictures are less than ideally sharp
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
I rate average because of the less than ideal picture sharpness. All else would be 5 stars
I purchased this camera about 4 months ago. I bought it instead of a digital SLR, mainly because of size and weight. I've lugged around Nikon film cameras for 40 years and the digital SLRs are even heavier and bulkier. The P90 seemed a good substitute-versatile, relatively small and light.
There are many features I like about this camera. It is solidly built and ergonomically designed. It fits in the hand easily and handles nicely. Controls function smoothly and are conveniently located. I particularly love the unusually large and bright viewing screen which tilts up or down by 90 degrees, permitting easy waist level and over the head shooting. The image on the screen can also be projected in the viewfinder, if one prefers that mode (as I do, after using eye level viewfinders for 40 years). There are extensive controls and options for shooting in different modes. They may take awhile to master. The 25X optical zoom is handy and avoids the hassle of interchangeable lenses. The 12.3 megapixels permits high resolution images.
The only disadvantage-and it is a big one-is that the pictures are less than ideally sharp, even when the zoom is not extended. It is most noticeable when shooting in less than optimal light, but can also be seen under the best conditions. I have compared pictures taken side by side with my older Olympus C7000, a far less versatile camera. However, the Olympus pictures are sharper. For many purposes the softness of the pictures is not a problem and may even be an advantage for portraits. However, with nature pictures and closeups such as flowers and insects, greater sharpness is an advantage.
This problem has been very bothersome. I have used many Nikon lenses in the past with my SLR film cameras, and I was always impressed with their sharpness. I did not expect this problem in a Nikon product.
Would I buy this camera again? Unless I can solve this problem, I'd have to say no. Maybe I'll end up using it as a camcorder (I haven't tried the movie function as yet).
There are many features I like about this camera. It is solidly built and ergonomically designed. It fits in the hand easily and handles nicely. Controls function smoothly and are conveniently located. I particularly love the unusually large and bright viewing screen which tilts up or down by 90 degrees, permitting easy waist level and over the head shooting. The image on the screen can also be projected in the viewfinder, if one prefers that mode (as I do, after using eye level viewfinders for 40 years). There are extensive controls and options for shooting in different modes. They may take awhile to master. The 25X optical zoom is handy and avoids the hassle of interchangeable lenses. The 12.3 megapixels permits high resolution images.
The only disadvantage-and it is a big one-is that the pictures are less than ideally sharp, even when the zoom is not extended. It is most noticeable when shooting in less than optimal light, but can also be seen under the best conditions. I have compared pictures taken side by side with my older Olympus C7000, a far less versatile camera. However, the Olympus pictures are sharper. For many purposes the softness of the pictures is not a problem and may even be an advantage for portraits. However, with nature pictures and closeups such as flowers and insects, greater sharpness is an advantage.
This problem has been very bothersome. I have used many Nikon lenses in the past with my SLR film cameras, and I was always impressed with their sharpness. I did not expect this problem in a Nikon product.
Would I buy this camera again? Unless I can solve this problem, I'd have to say no. Maybe I'll end up using it as a camcorder (I haven't tried the movie function as yet).
