Nikon P1000 Review

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Basic Specifications
Full model name:	Nikon Coolpix P1000
Resolution:	16.10 Megapixels
Sensor size:	1/2.3 inch (6.2mm x 4.6mm)
Lens:	125.00x zoom (24-3,000mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	EVF / LCD
Native ISO:	100 - 6400
Extended ISO:	100 - 6400
Shutter:	1/4000 - 30 sec
Max Aperture:	2.8
Dimensions:	5.8 x 4.7 x 7.1 in. (146 x 119 x 181 mm)
Weight:	49.9 oz (1,415 g) includes batteries
Availability:	09/2018
Manufacturer:	Nikon
Full specs:	Nikon P1000 specifications

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Nikon P1000

P1000 Deals

16.10 Megapixels	125.00x zoom	1/2.3 inch size sensor

P1000 Summary

The Nikon P1000 isn't your typical "superzoom" camera. This is one for the record books. Sporting a 125x optical zoom lens, with a 35mm-eq. focal length range of 24-3000mm (yes, 3000!), the P1000 surpasses the already-impressive P900 and pushes the superzoom category even further. With a tiny 16MP 1/2.3-inch sensor, however, the P1000 isn't going to produce supremely detailed images, especially as the light dims. All-in-all, though, despite some disadvantages, the Nikon P1000 is a really unique camera that can capture some impressive images and offers a shooting experience unlike any other camera currently on the market.

Pros

Record-breaking 24-3000mm optical zoom lens with surprisingly good optical performance; Good image quality at low ISOs; VR works well; Fast AF in good lighting; RAW image capture.

Cons

Tiny sensor struggles with low-light/high ISO image quality; Lens dims quickly as you zoom; Sluggish low-light AF; Underwhelming C-AF performance; Shallow buffer depth; Poor battery life.

Price and availability

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 began shipping in September 2018 at a suggested retail price of US$999.95. The new ML-L7 Bluetooth remote control has a suggested retail price of US$49.95.

Imaging Resource rating

4.5 out of 5.0

Nikon P1000 Review

by William Brawley, Dave Pardue, Jeremy Gray and Zig Weidelich
Preview posted: 07/10/2018

Updates:
09/18/2018: Field Test Part I posted
09/19/2018: First Shots posted
09/20/2018: Performance posted
10/29/2018: Field Test Part II posted
04/08/2019: Optics, Image Quality, and Print Quality posted
04/09/2019: Review Conclusion posted

Wildlife, birding and sports photographers, who's ready for the super-est of superzooms? Say hello to the Nikon Coolpix P1000!

Not content with the shockingly-impressive zooming performance of the popular P900, Nikon has upped the ante with its P1000 successor. While the P900 offered a record-breaking 83x optical zoom range (24-2000mm eq.), the Nikon P1000 goes well beyond that with an astonishing 125x optical zoom lens. Yes, you read right, 125x! In 35mm-equivalent terms, the P1000's lens offers a zoom range from a nice 24mm wide-angle to a mind-boggling 3000mm! (And just wait until we tell you how far digital zoom gets you!)

The P900 was not a svelte compact camera by any means, and the P1000 is even less so. The lens is massive and the camera itself is large, but this means you get some DSLR-like features, including lots of physical controls and dials, as well as a deep hand grip and comfortable ergonomics. With excellent close-focusing capabilities and incredibly powerful telephoto chops, the Nikon P1000 makes for a highly versatile all-in-one camera for those looking to capture images both close-up and far away...far, far away.

Let's dive into the details of this formidable superzoom camera...

The Lens

As mentioned, this camera is anything but compact. Given the increased zoom ratio, the P1000 is, as expected, larger than its already-sizable predecessor. Weight alone is pretty telling, with the P1000 tipping the scales at over three pounds (1,415g) whereas the P900 was about two pounds (916g). As for the dimensions, the width and height of the P1000 are slightly larger than those of the P900, while the length (depth) of the new model is close to two inches greater -- not including the extreme extension of the lens when zoomed to full telephoto. The diameter of the lens barrel has also increased, providing a larger 77mm filter thread compared to the 67mm thread on the P900. A petal-shaped bayonet lens hood is included.

As for the optical layout of the lens, the P1000 uses a lot of lens elements, 17 to be exact, situated into 12 groups (only one more element compared to the lens of the P900). The lens also utilizes a total of five ED (Extra Low Dispersion) elements and one Super ED element to help combat against chromatic aberration and color fringing.

The P1000's 4.3-539mm (24-3000mm eq.) lens uses a variable aperture design much like the P900, offering a bright f/2.8 aperture at the wide angle, before quickly narrowing down as you zoom in to the longer focal lengths. With the P1000, the lens' maximum aperture falls to a rather narrow f/8 at full telephoto. While this max aperture may be sufficient for reasonably sharp, well-exposed photos in good lighting, it does make for difficult shooting in lower light or even shaded conditions, as the camera will either need a very slow shutter speed or a big boost in ISO sensitivity if you find yourself without flash or supplemental lighting.

As mentioned, the P1000 offers an impressive 3000mm eq. maximum focal length, but if you somehow need more reach, the camera offers two levels of digital zoom. With Nikon's Dynamic Fine Zoom option, the camera can reach up to 6000mm eq. while standard "digital zoom" will provide up to a whopping 12,000mm equivalent! Note that with both Dynamic Fine Zoom and digital zoom, image quality will be decreased compared to images shots within the optical zoom range; less so with Dynamic Fine Zoom than with standard digital zoom thanks to enhanced image processing.

Whether or not you shoot with optical zoom or reach into digital zoom range, we are talking about some serious telephoto reach here, and if you shoot handheld -- which is likely with this kind of camera -- you'll be glad that there's some powerful image stabilization on-board. Like the P900, the P1000 offers up to 5 stops of shake correction with its Dual Detect Optical Vibration Reduction system. For still photos, the VR system is purely optical, while for video shooting the camera uses a combination of optical VR and electronic stabilization to help steady your clips.

The Coolpix P1000 can focus as close as approximately 0.4 in. (1.0cm) from the front of the lens at wide angle in Macro mode, just like the P900. At full telephoto, minimum focus distance is 23 ft. (7.0m).

Design

When it comes to the body design itself, the P1000 is, in a sense, a bigger, beefier P900. It sports a similar DSLR-style shape with a deep handgrip and lots of physical controls and dials, as well as finally including a Nikon i-TTL-compatible ISO 518 hotshoe on top. There are two control dials, as before on the P900. There's one on the top deck right above the thumbrest area, and another, a rotary multi-selector, on the rear of the body, which rotates as well as doubles as a four-way directional control. There have been a few tweaks as well, including borrowing the AE-L/AF-L button from Nikon's DSLRs and surrounding it with an AF/MF switch. The mode dial has been changed to include a new Manual Movie mode as well as dedicated Bird Watching and Moon scene mode positions. Most other controls remain largely unchanged, with the exception of removing the dedicated Wi-Fi transfer button on the rear of the camera and relocating some buttons.

Like most superzoom cameras, the P1000 offers a zooming toggle switch around the shutter button. There's also a secondary zoom toggle on the left side of the lens barrel that provides a smoother zooming action during video recording. There's also a new control ring around the lens barrel that can be used for manual focus control as well as other programmable functions such as adjusting white balance presets.

With the high-powered zoom on the P1000, it can be challenging to keep the camera aimed at your subject, so Nikon has included its snap-back zoom button on the side of the lens (much like on the P900) that will quickly zoom the lens out some so that you can see more of the scene and help re-acquire your subject -- then simply release the snap-back button and the lens will return to its previous focal length.

Lastly, the Nikon P1000 features both an electronic viewfinder and a vari-angle LCD screen, much like on the P900. The rear TFT LCD maintains a similar 921K-dot resolution as the P900, but its size has increased slightly from a 3-inch display to a larger 3.2-inch panel. The EVF, however, undergoes a more significant refresh, moving up to a larger, higher resolution OLED panel with 2.3-million dots -- a nice change from a 921K-dot-equivalent LCD.

Image Quality Goes RAW

Sitting behind this massive lens is the same 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch backside-illuminated CMOS sensor as found in the P900. However, despite having the same sensor as the previous model, there are some nice photo and video upgrades compared to the earlier model. For example, the P1000 is now capable of RAW image capture whereas the P900 was a JPEG-only camera. For those more advanced photographers who want more control over the final look of their photos, the ability to capture and process RAW files is a big plus. For video shooters, the camera now offers 4K UHD video at 30p, whereas the P900 topped-out at 1080p60. The camera also allows for clean HDMI output as well as manual exposure controls in movie mode for more advanced video creators.

In addition to the typical PASM shooting modes, the P1000 offers a wide variety of scene modes, creative shooting modes and superzoom-specific image capture modes, such as the previously mentioned Moon and Bird Watching modes in which the camera automatically adjusts settings to suit the scenario. The camera also has built-in timelapse and superlapse video capture modes, as well as an interval timer for stills.

In terms of ISO performance, the P1000 offers a similar range of sensitivities as in the P900. The full ISO range spans 100-6400, however the ISO range available varies depending on the shooting mode. ISO 3200 and 6400 are only user-selectable while in Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual mode as well as Manual exposure mode in Movie mode -- otherwise, the ISO range is limited to 100-1600. For video, the base ISO available is ISO 125.

The longest exposure in Manual exposure mode (at ISO 100) has been increased from 15 to 30 seconds, and the P1000 adds Bulb and Timer modes which support exposures up to 60 seconds. The top shutter speed remains at 1/4000 second (1/8000s for videos).

Performance

Performance specs are similar to those of the P900, with a continuous mode burst rate of 7fps for up to seven frames at full resolution. Our lab tests confirmed the P1000's 7fps burst rate and buffer depth specs, including for RAW and RAW+JPEG files which the P900 could not shoot. Like the P900, the P1000 also offers faster JPEG-only burst shooting rates at lower image resolutions: 1920x1080 at 60fps and 640x480 at 120fps.

The autofocus system remains a contrast-detect AF system, much like on the P900. The single-shot AF performance from the P1000 in our lab was similar to the P900's, testing very fast for a superzoom in controlled conditions. However, while our field tester found the P1000's AF-S performance generally good out in the real world, he noted that it struggled some in low-light and at longer focal lengths. Nikon hasn't mentioned any specific AF performance improvements or technical changes to the AF system in the P1000, so it's no surprise it behaves similarly to the P900's autofocus.

Connectivity, Ports & Battery

Like most modern cameras, the P1000 offers various wireless connectivity options, utilizing Nikon's SnapBridge connectivity system that incorporates Bluetooth Low Energy to pair and maintain an always-on connection to a smartphone. The P1000 then uses a faster Wi-Fi connection for image transfer and remote shooting capabilities with the SnapBridge app.

Unlike the P900, the Coolpix P1000 does not have NFC connectivity nor does it offer a built-in GPS receiver. However, it does gain the previously mentioned hotshoe, an accessory port (WR-R10 remote compatible) for additional creative control, and a 3.5mm external mic jack. The camera also includes support for a new ML-L7 Bluetooth connected remote, which allows for easy remote control of the camera including video start and smooth zoom control. Unsurprisingly, support for the ML-L3 infrared remote has been dropped.

The P1000 provides a Micro-B USB 2.0 port as well as a Micro HDMI (Type D) connection with clean output for external video capture. The camera uses SD storage media and is compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC cards with support for UHS-I types.

When it comes to battery life, the P1000 is actually CIPA-rated for fewer shots per charge than the P900, at just 250 shots compared to 360 shots from the previous model despite using a higher capacity 8.0Wh battery pack. The P1000 uses an EN-EL20a rechargeable lithium-ion battery -- the same battery as the Nikon 1 V3 camera -- which is different from the P900's 7.1Wh EN-EL23 battery pack.

Nikon P1000 Pricing and Availability

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 began shipping in September 2018 at a suggested retail price of US$999.95. The new ML-L7 Bluetooth remote control has a suggested retail price of US$49.95

Nikon P1000 Field Test Part I

First impressions from the far away world

by Dave Pardue | 09/18/2018

It was only a few years ago that the Nikon P900 leapfrogged the superzoom world and offered a then-unprecedented 2000mm-eq. optical focal length in a fixed lens camera, wooing birding and wildlife enthusiasts with a very powerful tool at their disposal, and one that we aptly praised here at IR. But when Nikon told us about their new P1000, with its new 3000mm-eq. offering, our heads virtually spun around on their axis... "What?!?" Needless to say, we were chomping at the bit to try it out and bring you images from the real world.

But first, a few initial handling notes...
The Nikon P1000 is not small, and yet considering that you get 3000mm-eq. optical shooting distance, with a whopping 24-3000mm optical (125x!) zoom range, it is actually surprisingly light in the hands. It's not feather-light, but you wouldn't want that anyway because you need at least a little weight to help stabilize your hands for those longer shots! In fact, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how little fatigue set in over several hours of carrying this camera around by my side on multiple occasions, and shooting virtually all of the images handheld.

Read our P1000 Field Test Part I

Nikon P1000 Field Test Part II

Nikon's latest superzoom is super fun

by Jeremy Gray | 10/29/2018

When Nikon released the P900 during the spring of 2015, I was very excited about the camera for many reasons, not the least of which was its incredible 83x zoom range. There were some concerns, however, including sluggish autofocus and the lack of raw image recording. The P1000 doubles down on what made the P900 an intriguing camera by adding an extra 1000mm of reach, bringing the total focal length range to 24-3000mm while also improving upon some of its predecessor's weaknesses.

There's no such thing as free lunch, though. Nikon achieves the incredible feat of a 24-3000mm lens by utilizing a very small 1/2.3-inch sensor (although it can capture raw files this time around). It's a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, and 16 megapixels is a lot to put on a sensor that small. Further, the lens is quite large, making the P1000 a generally unwieldy camera. However, it is pretty light for its size, surprisingly so when you first pick it up, but it's far from compact. Small sensor, big camera and bigger lens.

Read Field Test Part II

Nikon P1000 Print Quality

How does it look on paper?

by William Brawley | 04/08/2019

Sharing the same 16MP 1/2.3-inch sensor as its P900 predecessor, the Nikon P1000 has a similar performance when it comes to print quality. As long as you keep the ISO down as much as possible, you can make some pleasing and fairly large prints from this camera, despite the small sensor. At base ISO and ISO 200, the P1000 is capable of nice, fairly detail-rich 13 x 19-inch prints. One could potentially squeeze out a 16 x 20 inch print for wall display or less critical applications. Once you hit ISO 400, you can also see the effects of noise and noise reduction processing beginning to soften detail. By ISO 800, we're hitting the limit for an acceptable 8 x 10-inch print. Noise and general image softness really become problematic as you climb higher in ISO sensitivity, with a usable 4 x 6 at ISO 3200. For the camera's highest ISO of 6400, we don't recommend making prints at that sensitivity level.

Nikon P1000 Print Quality Analysis

Nikon P1000 Conclusion

3000mm launches the superzoom into ultra-telephoto territory

by William Brawley | 04/09/2019

Go big or go home. That's Nikon's sentiment when it comes to their latest offering in the consistently-popular "superzoom" category. Nikon already wowed us with the previous Coolpix P900, which offered a record-breaking (at the time) 83x optical zoom range. Yet they decided that wasn't enough zoom and created the rather outrageous Coolpix P1000, which sports a whopping 125x optical zoom range. In other words, this is a fixed-lens digicam with a 24-3000mm-equivalent zoom lens. That is just a shocking amount of zoom range for any camera!

Capable of shooting everything from landscapes to far-off wildlife, the Nikon P1000 is perhaps the most versatile cameras we've come across, particularly if you're simply talking about zoom capabilities. However, like most things, there are trade-offs to consider before you pick up this or any camera. Like its predecessor -- and most superzoom cameras -- the P1000 uses a tiny sensor, a 1/2.3"-type sensor to be exact, in order to have such a long-zooming lens be anywhere near handhold-able. The big downside is that this camera struggles in low lighting conditions and with higher ISOs. The smaller sensor, in general, is also simply not going to capture the level of detail compared to that of a larger-censored camera.

But, if you're looking for a one-stop-shop camera for your outdoor adventures and traveling, the Nikon Coolpix P1000 just might hit the spot. Read on below to see how it fared in our testing...