The Camera: a visual tour. (Pics taken with the Olympus E-500)
Zoom extended - Pop-up flash and manual release button.
DSLR styling - dwarfs the Pentax 35mm camera.
Wide angle lens - speaker on the side.
Mode dial, zoom control, shutter release, on/off, and USB / AV out.
Specifications / Features:
* Sensor: 12 million pixel CCD Sensor
* Lens: Wide angle 24x NIKKOR zoom lens ED VR, f2.8 - f5, Equivalent to 26 -
624mm
* Screen: 3.0-inch Tilt LCD screen, 230,000 pixels
* Face detection: Yes - 12 faces
* Colour options: Normal, Softer, Vivid, More vivid, Portrait, Custom (Contrast,
Sharpening, Saturation), Black and White (with Contrast options, Sharpening,
Filter, and ability to save both colour and black and white images)
* Additions modes / features: Quick Retouch, D-lighting, Blink Detection, Smile
mode
* Video Recording: VGA, 30fps Video with Sound
* Continuous Shooting: up to 45 continuous shots at 15 fps at 3mp
* HD Output : No
* Red-Eye Reduction: Yes
* Macro: 1cm Macro mode
* ISO : ISO 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (3mp), 6400 (3mp)
* IS (Image Stabilisation): Yes - Sensor-shift, High ISO,
* Scenes: Mode dial: Programmed Auto (P), Shutter-Priority Auto (S), Aperture-Priority
Auto (A), Manual (M), Auto, Scenes: Portrait, Night Portrait, Sports, Landscape,
Party, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Museum, Fireworks, Show,
Close Up, Copy, Back Light, Panorama Assist, Food
* Histogram available: Playback only?
* Exposure bracketing: Yes
* Optical viewfinder: Electronic Viewfinder
* Manual WB: Yes
* Dimensions: 114 x 83 x 99 mm
* Weight: 460 g
Box Contents: Digital Camera, Li-ion Rechargeable Battery EN-EL5, Battery Charge MH-61, USB Cable UC-E6, Audio/Video Cable EG-CP14, Strap AN-CP18, Lens Cap LC-CP19, Software Suite for COOLPIX CD-ROM
Menu system: The menu system is neatly divided into three main sections, shooting menu, playback menu, and the setup menu, and the options are easy to read thanks to the large 3" screen. There are a large number of options including the option to create a black border around photos you've taken. All options are clearly labelled so reference to the manual shouldn't be needed.
Picture Size / Options: 4000 x 3000 (12M), 3264 x 2448 (8M), 2592 x 1944 (5M), 2048 x 1536 (3M), 1600 x 1200 (2M), 1280 x 960 (1M), 1024×768 (PC), 640 x 480 (TV), 3984 x 2656 (3:2), 3968 x 2232 (16:9), 2992 x 2992 (1:1), Fine, Normal, Basic.
Battery usage: 230 shots (CIPA rating).
Memory cards: A large memory card is relatively cheap, and highly recommended, I would recommend at a bare minimum a 1gb memory card, if you intend to take fine JPEG images, and preferably a 2gb memory card, or larger. The larger the memory card, the more photos you will be able to take. If you are likely to go on holiday then the largest memory card you can afford would definitely be worth investing in, as you don't always know when you will next be at a computer. You can use SD or SDHC memory cards. Have a look at our guide to digital camera memory cards or our article what size memory card should I buy?
Speed: The camera switches on and takes photos in 2.6 seconds. Focusing was a little slow taking 0.5 - 0.7 seconds to focus at the wide angle end of the lens. The shutter response was instant. Shot to shot time was a little slow taking 2.5 seconds between shots. Continuous shooting was a little slow taking a shot every 0.7 seconds.
Ease of use: The camera is easy to use thanks to clearly labelled buttons, easy to understand menu items, and the large clear screen. The vibration reduction can help get sharper shots however you do need excellent shooting conditions when using the telephoto end of the camera, alternatively a tripod may be needed.
Ergonomics and Buttons: The camera feels quite light, perhaps a little too light and doesn't really feel expensive. It has a good sized handgrip that is comfortable to hold. The handgrip is rubberised, and there is a small rubber grip on the back. The buttons are clearly labelled and fall underneath the hands quite neatly. The screen can be moved quite easily, although it's a shame it doesn't tilt down further.
Image Quality: Here are some real world sample photos taken in various settings, such as Inside, Outside, Macro, to demonstrate the quality of pictures taken and also show different features of the camera. Larger versions of these photos, plus more photos are available in the Nikon Coolpix P90 Sample Photo Gallery!
Inside: Colour is bright and highly saturated, although I wasn't very impressed by the auto white balance, it seemed to give images an overly golden look with flash or without. The screen didn't particularly help as it tends to exaggerate the effect, and it's not until you look at the photos on the computer, that you can properly view image quality and colour. Focusing also struggled in low light despite the focus assist lamp.
Noise: The Nikon P90 features manual ISO settings from ISO64 to ISO1600 at full resolution, and then ISO3200 and ISO6400 are available at 3 megapixels. Shown below are example images taken in low indoor light without flash - Auto white balance was used.
Noise is visible at the lowest ISO settings, and it's quite clear that the camera is performing a lot of noise reduction as details are blurred. As the ISO setting increases to ISO400, specks of colour start appearing, as the ISO setting increases noise increases, detail becomes even more smeared, and at ISO1600 colour is lost. ISO3200 and above produce colourful images and may produces acceptable results if resized for web use. Results aren't too bad for a 12 megapixel camera, but they aren't impressive either. NB. For ISO Noise Comparisons: View the Nikon Coolpix P90 compared to other 12 megapixel cameras.
IS: The Nikon features Sensor-shift VR (Vibration Reduction) - this can help reduce blur when using the camera in low light, with slower shutter speeds or when using the camera's telephoto end of the zoom. However, the camera still needs good light when using the telephoto end of the zoom.
D-Lighting: "Creates pleasing results by correcting strong shadows to rescue underexposed images, or shots taken with excessive backlight."
Outside: When conditions for photography were ideal - for example on very bright sunny days - results were quite good, with colourful saturated images. However in any other conditions focusing seemed to struggle especially when using the full telephoto zoom, and images often seemed overexposed (but mostly at the telephoto end). Photo quality often seemed quite poor with overexposed areas and blown highlights, and photos almost looked like they were screenshots from video.
Zoom: There are around 21 steps between wide and telephoto - the zoom control is a little over sensitive, and tends to zoom too quickly which can make framing your subject a little difficult. Shown below is the camera at wide-angle and full 24x optical zoom.
Macro: the macro mode is impressive, allowing you to take photos as close as 1cm away from the front of the lens.
Video: VGA 640x480 at 30fps with electronic vibration reduction. It's not possible to use the optical while recording, only digital zoom is available.
Conclusion: I wanted to like this camera, on paper it seemed to offer a lot, and offers a large swivel screen, which is quite rare, and a large 24x optical zoom lens. However the screen quality appears pixelated, and does not seem to have accurate colour. Using the full optical zoom was problematic, with images overexposed, out of focus, and blurry unless you are shooting in perfect conditions.
There are quite a lot of positives, such as manual controls, lots of options, exposure bracketing, image stabilisation, 1cm macro mode etc, but all of this seems to be heavily outweighed by the poor image quality, inconsistent results, and poor screen quality. I think anyone used to the high quality of Nikon Digital SLRs would most likely be unimpressed by the quality of this camera.
The Nikon Coolpix P90 appears to be more expensive than a number of competitors, priced at £284. If this camera appeals to you I would highly recommend trying the camera in person, and ideally having a look at other ultra zoom cameras available such as the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 (£259), Canon Powershot SX20 IS (£315), Sony Cybershot HX1 (£329), Olympus SP590UZ (£269) or Kodak Easyshare Z980 (£259).
Nikon Coolpix P90 Rating: Average 6.5/10.
What I like:
+ 3" tilting screen
+ 24x optical zoom lens
+ Ability to save both colour and black and white images
+ Manual controls
+ 1cm macro mode
What I don't like:
- Unimpressive image quality (overexposed etc)
- Optical zoom not available while recording videos
- Screen tilts 90 degrees up, but only 45 down (Sony HX1 tilts more)
- Auto white balance seems a little off, especially indoors, even with flash
- Screen looks pixelated and colour appears overly yellow
- Struggled to focus indoors, and also when using full optical zoom
The Nikon Coolpix P90 is available for £284.
Click for our preview of the Nikon Coolpix P90 at Focus.
View more photos in the Nikon Coolpix P90 Sample Photo Gallery.
Read more Nikon Coolpix P90 Reviews: Digital Photography School, DCI, DCResource, LetsGoDigital, Photography BLOG.
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