NikonCOOLPIX P900 Digital Camera (Black)

This is one of the BEST cameras I have used. Okay so it's not a SLR. But the 83x zoom is the FUNNEST part of any camera I have used. It's smooth, works great on a tripod, has a popout screen to see your subject when the camera is pointed at the sky (LOL), and once you learn the controls for snaps, movies, etc., easy to work. Spend a little time learning it before you capture that Super Moon you bought it for (which I can identify actual craters on the Moon now with this.)Place on a motor-driven, synchronous tripod and it can track the Moon, planets, space station, etc.For everyday shooting? Well it's BIG. That lens adds mass and bulk. This is not the easiest "point and shoot," and it's not meant to be. I keep a smaller, integral lens Nikon in the vehicle for that. This one stays in the camera bag with the D500, D7200, and (soon?) D850. It's not comparable to any of those if you want to compare megapixels and sensors. The D500 blows it away. But then again, it's not trying to be a D500. For (roughly) $500 you get a very good camera with a VERY good lens. I'd almost say "great." I much prefer this when going to baseball, football, soccer, car racing, horse racing, and of course, collegiate sports. It's fast enough to catch the action and that zoom lets you take great shots. Take along a monopod. Works well at most games.

I've been putting the camera through its paces for several weeks now. It's definitely a birder's dream. No need to carry my Nikon SLR around with all the lenses. This camera has great light gathering ability, even at full zoom.A technical comment on the claim of 83x magnification. Prior to digital zoom cameras, zoom was measured (binoculars, telescopes) as the magnification over visual. The 35mm visual level is about 50mm. The camera manufacturers (all of them) started using "zoom" as the magnification over the lowest wide-angle setting, in the case of this camera, 28mm. So, expect about 40x magnification, not 80x. That said, the 16mp sensor allows you to magnify the picture several times on your computer and get very good results. A few of the reviewers said the pictures at high zoom weren't clear. I suspect that they are shooting at great distances expecting sharp images, and as astronomers know, all the air instability and particulate matter in between the lens and the subject are magnified and can cause very muddy images. I am finding at a distance of under 100 yards, the pictures are remarkably clear.As a snapshot camera, it doesn't provide any improvement over an 8mp I-Phone camera, so I won't be carrying the camera around to social events. However, at a recent large meeting, I was able to take a shot of a group engaged in conversation from about 50 feet, and everyone thought they had taken a selfie.There is a long learning curve. I probably have only used about 20% of the capabilities and am rethinking my methods of bird photography in view of its prowess. For positive bird identification, I usually start with a 50mm view and then zoom in to about 1000mm, keeping the bird solidly in the viewfinder and taking the photo. Then at home I further enlarge the photo to verify the identity. I even find myself setting the camera at about half zoom, aiming at about where the bird is, knowing that I can get a good enlargement of the bird at home.Several additional advantages of this camera:There is no mirror to cause camera shake. I'm rather amazed at the clarity of the photos, even at high zoom.The flip out screen not only allows me to see the frame from many angles, but it protects the screen from damage.The auto-focus works much better than my old Nikon, particularly with birds high up in flight. If I can get the bird in the frame, the auto-focus will work on it.It appears the flash is stronger and more under control than my old Nikon.So, I'll give it a 5. More than meets my expectations at an affordable price.

I love this camera it takes great photos I like it because it take alot of the features of a DSLR and with a very large zoom but there is some things that I don't like it takes a few seconds to zoom in and out and focusing can take a few second and you can't take a photo and refocus in a split second like you can do with a DSLR . I have a canon rebel sxi and it was getting old.but other than the slow zoom and focusing its a great camera and yes the moon pictures that you see on the site are real and you don't even need a tripod you can hold it in your hand and I can do it and I have shaky hands. you just need to figure out what you want in a camera do you want good pictures with a long zoom and put up with the nagatives i mentioned up above or do you need fast zoom and focus but the only way to do that is a DSLR which will cost you at least $500 for the camera and another $200+++ depending on what you want to do plus you will have to change lens. I love this camera for most of what I do but I do miss the speed that I talked about up above but I also like not having to change lenses where you could miss the shot while you are changing them. I take photos of many different things my pets.wildlife people and other things.I gave it 4 out of 5 just because of the slow zoom ,slow refocus and shoot and for a point and shoot it is a great camera I am just compairing it to my DSLR I have had other point and shoots and this one blows those out of the water in every way. I new about the negatives when I got this camera and I was really sceptical about the features of this camera when I was reading about the features of this camera but it seems to be just what they say it is and yes if I had to do it all over again knowing what I know I would do it again