NIkon COOLPIX P1000 Superzoom Digital Camera | 125x Optical Zoom with Image Stabilization 16 MP 4K Ultra HD Video Wi-Fi Connectivity RAW Format and Rotating LCD Screen (Black)

The media could not be loaded. I go out for walks a couple of hours per day. When I was interested in plants, my 10x cell phone camera was fine for learning plant names and sharing images with friends and family. Then I became interested in birds. Needless to say, it was time to buy a camera. I have a nice pair of binoculars and I was able to spot birds, nests, etc. But in order to get pictures during my walk, I needed a camera with no tripod that had great reach. I have absolutely no plans on being a professional photographer. I only want to learn about birds and share a few pictures with friends and family. Also, I didn't want to spend $3000+, though would if I had to.I got the P1000 after not doing very much research at all. I didn't really realize how rare this zoom actually is. I have been using this camera for just under 3 months around the neighborhood, in nearby parks as well as on vacation in National Parks. It is freaking amazing what I can photograph (at an amateur quality) with this thing. Yes, low light is a problem, and I wish so much that I could capture birds in flight, but for $1000, I feel like I have a superpower in my new birding hobby. This can "see" further than my (much clearer) binoculars can. I take both everywhere I go for walks. I can not only capture images of birds on electric wires, I can see the antennae on the bugs the birds are eating. I can point-and-shoot grizzly bears so far away, you can almost not see them with the naked eye. No - the images are not great, but identification of wildlife with the P1000 is very valuable to me. Other people took cell phone pictures of my view screen as souveniers to show their friends.Close up pictures (a moose on the side of the road), come out beautifully! Nearby birds in perfect light come out great! Not professional quality great, bit great enough for ordinary people like me to be amazed.For $1000, this is a no-brainer for beginner wildlife photography for people who don't have time to sit there all day with a tripod (though this DOES help immensely) and very heavy professional gear.I have been looking into getting a mirrorless or DSLR camera so I can get those in-flight shots, but to get the reach this camera has, I would have to be like those funny people I see who carry their extremely expensive gear out in a wheelbarrow to take photos of birds and animals in the nearby wildlife refuge.Even when I have the money to spend, I just can't do it - I would be giving up too much (light weight, all-in-one design, super long zoom).I haven't learned how to use all the manual settings yet - the wildlife I see never stands still long enough for me to practice. I guess I will have to practice on some other type of subject when I get tired of birds and other animals. But I am still having a complete blast with this camera. It really is tons of fun. I highly recommend getting it for travel and casual outings where you might want to photograph wildlife.Oh yes - other people have mentioned issues with water-tightness, so I have been trying to make sure I don't get it too wet. I have taken it out in light rain only once and used it under an umbrella.The Vermilion Flycatcher picture is handheld camera while I was walking around in a park The bird is 30 feet away maybe. Just used the bird setting and autofocus.The moose is about 50 yards away on a day with a lot of light after I slammed on my breaks from 70 MPH and shot it out of the driver's side window in a hurry. Autofocus worked great for this point-and-shoot opportunity.The Osprey picture is a cropped, zoomed in picture (just short of max zoom, which has trouble with autofocus) using a very cheap tripod on a day with tons of light using the standard auto-focus setting. That Osprey is on a tree top not too far from me with another Osprey. I included a less zoomed picture of them for a little bit of reference. As you can see, tripod helps immensely when using a lot of zoom.None of my pictures are professional quality, but they are all so much fun to shoot and to share with friends and family.Update 10/31/23: Starting to get better in flight birds in bright light (see ducks in flight photo). 1/1250 shutter speed. I had to lighten the photo because it was still early morning.Update 11/2/23: Added diving pelican pictures. I think I am getting the hang of this, though white birds are still washed out at 1/1250Update 11/22/23: added a video (close range) of a robin eating berries on standard autofocus settings. Also a seagull changing directions - same 1/1250 setting, but just got lucky this time with a white bird - maybe because it was closer? not sure. Also sometimes I extract a frame from a video. The resolution is lower, but it is the easiest way for beginners to get action shots. Notice how blurry the crow is while harassing the eagle. That's why I started checking out the other settings - to see what the minimum setting for freezing action was.

I am a DSLR photographer. I do a lot of bird photography. I have a nikon 200-500mm ED VR with a Nikon D750, a Canon 6D Mark II with a Sigma 150-650mm, a Pentax K-1 with a Pentax 150-450mm AW, and a Canon 77D with a Canon 400mm L, a Sigma 100-400mm with a Nikon D3400.I am describing my gear to the reader so he/she will see how my review will be influenced by my current setup. Anytime I carry any of my gear mentioned above, I am looking at a good 4 to 8 lbs of gear strapped on my chest and hiking miles of trail. The Nikon Coolpix P1000 can never beat the image quality of a proper DSLR. The Nikon Coolpix P1000 is NO MATCH against sharpness and clarity of the images that my DSLRs produce. NO MATCH...and that is understandable. BUT...sometimes, I feel like I don't want to haul heavy gear. Sometimes, I just want to enjoy the scenery and the walk but still having the capability to take photos. Sometimes, I just want to be silly and just take photos of anything...a rock, a bird, a raccoon paw print, the bark of a tree. Enter the Nikon P1000.The Nikon Coolpix P1000 is an excellent point and shoot camera as long you know its limitations. The camera uses a tiny sensor, a smartphone sensor, so low light is the first challenge already. Now, there is a way to squeeze out light from this sensor by going Manual, or Aperture Priority and adjusting the ISO to 3200 or 6400 (max ISO). The next challenge is the 125X zoom power. You can get great quality images between 24-1500mm handheld as long as you keep your shutter speed around 500-1000, and then push the ISO a bit. Shooting handheld with this camera is doable as long you keep your zoom range within a reasonable range. Once you push pass 1500, you are now faced with hand shaking, wind, your breathing, the twitch of your arm, they start multiplying ten-fold as you push your zoom range closer to 3000mm. The next question is: do you need a tripod to push 3000? This is up to you. Remember though, when you push 3000mm even with a tripod, the quality of the image degrades because of the distance and size of the subject. This is a fact and it must be accepted by the user because it's just how the technology was built into this system, and the reality that 3000mm will start picking up heat shimmers, wind etc start showing up. It is the nature of super-telephoto lenses- any lens in the market. Do not be upset or disappointed when you see these issues at higher zooms, it is not Coolpix P1000s fault. It's just the nature of super zooms.Let's get the weight issue out of the way. It's about 2lbs maybe? Not sure because I am so used to carrying heavy camera gear that having this Coolpix P1000, to me, is very light. It might feel heavy for others not used to carrying heavy camera gear. But for me, this camera is light as "feather" so to speak, in relation to my heavy gear. Anyway, the point is..it's not going to break your hip or back. After you use this camera on several trips and hikes, your body will eventually adjust to the weight.What about images within ranges of 24-1500? I can say they look good to great. I know this is a point and shoot camera but if you really want to get the best out of this camera, the user needs to learn other forms of shooting styles, particularly using the different shooting modes- M, A, S. Trust me. Learning these other shooting modes will really bring out Nikon Coolpix P1000s capabilities from a point and shoot to a intermediate "DSLR"-like features.The Nikon Coolpix P1000 also has features like RAW format. Note that if you are using RAW format, the digital zoom is not available. Optical zoom at RAW format only goes up to 3000mm. Note that there are two zooms...Optical and Digital. User needs to read the full manual just in case they notice a function doesn't work; chances are the functionality isn't available at that moment because the camera locked you out because of a setting you made. Again, these are all described in full manual. The Quick manual that came with the camera is just a quick reference guide. You will need to download the full manual free from Nikon USA's website. This full manual will tell you EVERYTHING that you need to know about the camera.The Coolpix also has other "DSLR" like features like Spot metering, Center-weighted, Matrix. It also has manual AF select, Spot focusing; typical focusing features found in proper DSLRs. You can also set the ISO number. If you want to change ISO without going thru the MENU interface, you can assign the FN button to pull up the ISO numbers. Lots of neat stuff. All of thse are described in the full manual.What about battery use? You will need an extra battery. Please please use Nikon batteries. Do not use third-party batteries. Since you've already invested $1000 on a camera, there's no reason for you to go cheap on the battery. Bite the bullet and get a Nikon battery. Don't get those Wasabi or Watson batteries. Spend a bit more on real genuine Nikon batteries. Rated at 250 shots according to Nikon. Some ways to save battery power is to not use the Monitor all the time. Have the auto power off setting at 30 seconds.The Nikon Coolpix comes with a strap, a Nikon battery, a USB cable, a USB charging adapter, warranty card, manual, lens hood, lens cap.Accessories you need to start with? I strongly suggest getting a UV lens filter for this camera. The filter size is 77mm. I also suggest using a shoulder strap instead of the neck strap that came with the Nikon Coolpix P1000. Never ever strap a camera around your neck. I really think neck straps should not be used for cameras of this size as this causes neck strain. Please get a good shoulder strap. You might want to get a wired Nikon MC-DC2 remote release cord. It's no expensive. Do not get the Nikon Bluetooth remote cord- too expensive. Start with the Nikon MC-DC2. This remote cord helps you press the shutter button remotely (it's wired) to reduce vibration/shaking when you are focusing at a distant object; for example, the moon. You might want to invest on tripod. Just make sure the camera is well-tethered to you when attaching this camera to a tripod.Overall, I am happy with my Nikon Coolpix P1000. I am still testing all its capabilities. I recommend this camera to those looking for an all in one camera. Again, I can't stress enough about knowing its limitations. It takes great images as long as you know how to utilize its "powers".And finally, practice practice practice. The camera is just a device, majority of the work will have to come from the user for this camera to come up with great images. Highly recommended camera.