83x anyone? The new Nikon P900 (5 Viewers)

[poledark]

This question re the picture quality of the 900 bothers me a bit as well crazyfingers. I have a church spire and several power lines in the field behind my house. The distances are known (to within a few yards).

I set up the 900 on a tripod inside my conservatory....solid floor.......sheltered from wind....remote control or timer release. Various settings, mostly bird watching or P programmed auto. I then compare the shots from various reviews and simply cannot replicate the superb long range shots that they seem to get.
Neil put some up early on in this topic of people on a beach 4km away! I tried today in good sunlight to replicate that, from Sandwich bay estate to Ramsgate 4 miles on Google earth..........nothing wrong with the pics, just simply nowhere near sharp..Neils shot showed people, mine would have to have been a lot closer to be able to pick out any people, Or even to make the pic even remotely useable.
I suspect that I am expecting to much from such a long zoom, but if others are getting such good results then why not me? Are the distances being quoted overestimated? There is another one on Utube where the pics are of a tugboat said to be at 1500 mtrs.........1 mile to us olduns........and the detail is spot on, the name on the side of the boat is clearly readable , I assume the lettering is about 4inches high.

Even most of the garden shots of birds I take are not really pin sharp showing good feather detail...all seem slightly smeary(?) (soft)? Yet occasionaly I get a really good one and my faith is restored. Depth of field?..parts of birds are good, so maybe that is the answer?

I shall keep trying different settings

Den

 

[crazyfingers]

This question re the picture quality of the 900 bothers me a bit as well crazyfingers. I have a church spire and several power lines in the field behind my house. The distances are known (to within a few yards).

I set up the 900 on a tripod inside my conservatory....solid floor.......sheltered from wind....remote control or timer release. Various settings, mostly bird watching or P programmed auto. I then compare the shots from various reviews and simply cannot replicate the superb long range shots that they seem to get.
Neil put some up early on in this topic of people on a beach 4km away! I tried today in good sunlight to replicate that, from Sandwich bay estate to Ramsgate 4 miles on Google earth..........nothing wrong with the pics, just simply nowhere near sharp..Neils shot showed people, mine would have to have been a lot closer to be able to pick out any people, Or even to make the pic even remotely useable.
I suspect that I am expecting to much from such a long zoom, but if others are getting such good results then why not me? Are the distances being quoted overestimated? There is another one on Utube where the pics are of a tugboat said to be at 1500 mtrs.........1 mile to us olduns........and the detail is spot on, the name on the side of the boat is clearly readable , I assume the lettering is about 4inches high.

Even most of the garden shots of birds I take are not really pin sharp showing good feather detail...all seem slightly smeary(?) (soft)? Yet occasionaly I get a really good one and my faith is restored. Depth of field?..parts of birds are good, so maybe that is the answer?

I shall keep trying different settings

Den

I'm guessing you already have it on Fine JPG and have put NR to low? It's the first question people will ask.

The DoF I was getting was also very narrow.

 

[poledark]

Yes, done that as soon as I got the camera Some of the sharpest pics have been stills from the video.

Den

 

[crazyfingers]

Yes, done that as soon as I got the camera Some of the sharpest pics have been stills from the video.

Den

Figured you did.

Interesting and strange your best still are from video. I never tried video as I have no real interest unless I happen to see police misbehaving.

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

I am sold !!, however trying to get one here in UK might as well be trying to buy a box of moondust. Not a single one to be had anywhere. One company was showing them as in stock, took my money last night and even gave me shipping confirmation, then they call me today saying they dont actually have any yet but they will keep my payment and reserve me one, yup right !. no thanks I will have the refund please.

Really want one of these, and just need to be more patient I guess.

Showing as being available here for collection:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store...n/Coolpix P900 Digital Camera-96391/Show.html

Don't know how reliable the info is though.

Rich

PS great shots Bob and Peter:t:

 

[wotcha]

Showing as being available here for collection:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store...n/Coolpix P900 Digital Camera-96391/Show.html

Don't know how reliable the info is though.

Rich

PS great shots Bob and Peter:t:

Went into my local Jessops yesterday and was told it's no longer available - even to order. Not available from John Lewis either.

So. taking into account all the comments above about reliabilty, freezing etc I have concluded that now is not a good time to buy. I've just now ordered the Canon SX60 from JL instead

Shame, I was so looking forward to exploiting the extra reach and clarity at range that the video on the P900 appears to offer.

 

[crazyfingers]

Went into my local Jessops yesterday and was told it's no longer available - even to order. Not available from John Lewis either.

So. taking into account all the comments above about reliabilty, freezing etc I have concluded that now is not a good time to buy. I've just now ordered the Canon SX60 from JL instead

Shame, I was so looking forward to exploiting the extra reach and clarity at range that the video on the P900 appears to offer.

I wonder if they plan a P910 on short notice. How long was it between the P600 and P610?

 

[wotcha]

I wonder if they plan a P910 on short notice. How long was it between the P600 and P610?

John Lewis have a 90 days returns policy so if an upgraded P900 appears within that window I've hopefully got it covered.

 

[Slotpolice]

Assistance needed

Good morning Birders

I am still struggeling with this camera on the longer end.

I am using a massive tripod , the camera is set to AF-S , Mode S i think it was.
As long as i am not using the range of the digital zoom the Autofokus is taken the birds correct. But when im going into the range of the didgital zoom the Auto fokus do not make what it should be. I also do not have the spot of the autofokus shown in the Screen. At the end the Pictures are not sharp enough. Here are many Pictures around on the longer end of the camera which where sharp but i am not able to produce such Pictures. Any idea what went wrong with me and the camera ?

 

[mzettie]

Good morning Birders

I am still struggeling with this camera on the longer end.

I am using a massive tripod , the camera is set to AF-S , Mode S i think it was.
As long as i am not using the range of the digital zoom the Autofokus is taken the birds correct. But when im going into the range of the didgital zoom the Auto fokus do not make what it should be. I also do not have the spot of the autofokus shown in the Screen. At the end the Pictures are not sharp enough. Here are many Pictures around on the longer end of the camera which where sharp but i am not able to produce such Pictures. Any idea what went wrong with me and the camera ?

You might get better results by staying within the "Dynamic Fine Zoom" range (indicated by blue on the meter) rather than going into the yellow range. Also, on page 20 of the manual it says that; "the indicator remains blue across a wider range when the image size is smaller." So you could try reducing image size to 8, or even 4 megapixels (binoculars page 57) and see if that helps.

I'm afraid when either type of digital zoom is employed, the focus square disappears. Focus is supposed to be in the center of the frame, but I'm not sure if the camera still uses contrast detect, or if it's more like an "infinity" setting. Best workaround would probably be to use manual focus (page 42.) Since you're using a good tripod it shouldn't be too difficult, especially if you assign focusing to the lever on the side of the barrel.
The image in the center of the frame can be magnified 2 to 4 times, and you can set the amount of highlighting (peaking) to help you determine when the subject's in focus.
You can still use AF when in manual focus mode, so you could snap one with AF first (in case the bird moves) then take several using manual focus and choose the best later.
Good luck.

 

[mzettie]

Some P900 owners have been having trouble with their cameras freezing. I've experienced this a few times with my SX50, and removing and replacing the battery has always solved the issue. For some reason, I've been exempt from the problem on the P900 and was feeling pretty lucky til this morning, when I experienced my first crash. Re-inserting the battery restarted the camera, but now the image in the viewfinder and LCD is almost totally green, and the left hand side is missing entirely.

As far as I know, no one else has experienced such a catastrophic consequence of a freeze, but I thought I should let folks know, so they can be on the lookout for any aberrant behavior in their cameras.

Installing the new firmware didn't remedy my problem, and Nikon instructed me to send my unit to Precision Camera in CT for repair. It arrived there on Mon. and I've been checking their repair status page every day since, where my camera's status has been.... "on hold, waiting on parts." Finally called Precision today and spoke to a very helpful customer service rep who did some digging, and found that the parts they're waiting on are a lens and mainboard. She couldn't tell me when those would arrive, only that it usually takes a week to a week and a half to get parts, "if" they're not back-ordered. Unfortunately, the system wasn't specifying whether or not the mainboard was on back-order, so it seems it'll be the end of next week before I know what's going on.

I wasn't too surprised to learn that a new mainboard was required, but a new lens....??? To me, this casts a different light on the questions that are being asked by several people here, re their camera's focusing ability. My camera's problem appeared suddenly and undeniably, but I'm wondering if others could be experiencing problems that are creeping in more slowly, making them harder to pinpoint.

I have a suggestion for those whose cameras are performing reliably; photograph something that's nearby and immovable, at several different focal lengths, in good light and jot down time of day, settings, etc. That way you'll have something to re-photograph and compare to, if you later start to experience any problems. And if you do, please let us know. :eek!:

 

[crazyfingers]

Sucks you have to go through this mz,

I hope your camera does get fixed. I worry you ending up with the problems I had.

On the lighter side, try the SX50 with the 2x teleconverter this holiday weekend. Get out and have fun. I plan to. Sunday I'm taking my boys to www.battleshipcove.org . One of our favorite places and I get to see ocean birds.

 

[mzettie]

Sucks you have to go through this mz,

I hope your camera does get fixed. I worry you ending up with the problems I had.

On the lighter side, try the SX50 with the 2x teleconverter this holiday weekend. Get out and have fun. I plan to. Sunday I'm taking my boys to www.battleshipcove.org . One of our favorite places and I get to see ocean birds.

Thanks, CF, better me than someone who doesn't have another camera to fall back on. Have a great weekend, be sure to post some pics of those ocean birds!

 

[Stonefaction]

Possibly a wee bit late but with regards video quality with the P900 here's a playlist with all 250 of mine in - taken in a variety of lighting and weather conditions. Best watched with sound turned down a bit (mostly) as the wind noise on a lot of them is a bit excessive, and you will need to use the small cog icon to change the settings to HD.
(My P900 has a chip and scratch on the front of the lens but at maximum reach it doesn't even seem to register).

https://youtu.be/AEVg7SLijiA?list=UU_X4ZLd9hbj3mLDaNygH-QA

 

[poledark]

Nice work Stonefaction the colours on the Swallow are superb. I am having a lot of good results with my p900, provided I steer clear of zooming in to much then I get really good images. Got my first BIF a couple of days ago, took a shot of Leeds castle and when I checked there was a bird flying past! Very happy now

Den

 

[wotcha]

Enjoying those clips Stonefaction, thanks for the link. Wish there was a way of knowing what the distances were.

For example, would be grateful for an idea of the zoom and distance involved in this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlxNLWtgjAI&list=UU_X4ZLd9hbj3mLDaNygH-QA&index=221

Eg would you have stuck to optical zoom or zoomed on into digital, and if so to what depth?

 

[Stonefaction]

The majority of them are taken at full 83x optical zoom (don't use digital.....couldn't remember how to find it the one time I wanted to try it...I know now) in birding mode and allowing the camera to decide on the best settings. Checked the EXIF but it doesn't show for videos.

Using Google Earth it appears that the distance is somewhere between 500 and 600 feet (possibly closer to the latter) for that clip.

EDIT: Photo added from Google streetview - birds were beyond (or among) the darker area with the spiky vegetation beyond the pools in the photo.

 

[wotcha]

The majority of them are taken at full 83x optical zoom (don't use digital.....couldn't remember how to find it the one time I wanted to try it...I know now) in birding mode and allowing the camera to decide on the best settings. Checked the EXIF but it doesn't show for videos.

Using Google Earth it appears that the distance is somewhere between 500 and 600 feet (possibly closer to the latter) for that clip.

EDIT: Photo added from Google streetview - birds were beyond (or among) the darker area with the spiky vegetation beyond the pools in the photo.

Thanks very much, appreciate your help.

 

[Neil]

Just back from my Sabah trip where the P900 came into it's own for filming the orantutans at the Shangri-la Hotel's sanctuary.
This short video shows a pair of young males coming down to the feeding station where fruit is put out for them.
https://vimeo.com/128749788
Neil.
May 2015

 

[Neil]

hello everyone, very happy with my new P900, many times we do not notice the ridiculous shutter speeds that we try to use and expect clear photos, at 2000 mm one should use 1/2000 shutter speed and yet, with this camera I have used super slow shutter speeds for the focal length with good handling techniques. Highly recommended for birders. (I currently have a Sony hvx400 and owned a sx40 previously)

Nice results. Love the lizard.
Neil.