NIkon COOLPIX P950 Superzoom Digital Camera | 83x Optical Zoom with Image Stabilization 16 MP 4K Ultra HD Video Wi-Fi Connectivity RAW Format and Rotating LCD Screen (Black)

Photography is a hobby to me. I have had a few cameras over the years, and still do. I have different uses for each of them. I use the Nikon P950 for nature and, in particular, taking pictures of a nearby eagles' nest activity over the past 5 years. I purchased the P950 to get close up shots that are uncropped. These pictures are right out of the camera. two of the pictures give you an idea how far away I was. All shots are hand held, shutter priority at 1/000. Shooting towards the sky sometimes requires using exposure compensation to prevent the bird being too dark (.3 or .7, or 1 easy to do.). Great image stabilization at full zoom hand held. It is my go to camera for nature photography. Sure it has a small sensor, but you can't beat it for the price and results. 2000mm Zoom!! You just have to know what you want to use your camera for. You don't need to spend $3000 or $4000 for a larger sensor camera and lens. Even doing that, you still won't get the reach this camera has. I realize in low light it will not perform as good as more expensive cameras, Again, do your research. know what you want your camera to do. Make sure it meets your needs, and price range. This is a super camera. I love it.

Recently finished a photo safari in South Africa and was very pleased with the results of the COOLPIX P950. It provided great zoom pictures of wildlife subjects at a distance. Photos taken in low light were good with minimal editing in the free Nikon NX Studio and it generally handled high speed motion well on standard settings. I was able to compare with other people on the tour using more expensive Nikon mirrorless camera and lens sets and was not disappointed in the outcome, particularly given the ease of use and freedom of motion with the COOLPIX P950. Video capture was also good.

The media could not be loaded. This is only an initial review of the P950. I will update at a later date after fully evaluating the beast. Weighs in at 10 more ounces than my other heaviest camera.I give the camera a 4 rating because the auto focus and image stabilization are key requirements for me. And these areas did not meet my expectation as of this review over full zoom ranges. These areas have acceptable performance, but I would like the capability to be better. Maybe usage of the camera will reduce this complaint, but I ensured the camera had viable manual focus as needed.The long focal length zoom lens met my expectations; I had to have a minimum of 60X.Yesterday evaluating a palm tree at a hundred yards, the manual focus worked great. I had a well-focused and stable image using manual focus when I saw a raven about to land on a palm branch wings spread. Dang I only hit the shutter button half way instead of fully depressing it. Not used to the control buttons yet I guess.Nor have I tried all of the features the camera has.But the more I use it the better I feel about the purchase. The eye piece scene view is better than on my previous cameras.The video capture button is on the back of the camera and seems it should be next to the shutter button? I assume placed on the back of the camera for thumb actuation but seems clumsy at this time.And geez the fact that the USB cable is not a USB C version is highly disappointing. Although I knew that before the purchase.March 31 2025: Test drove the P950 again and stabilization did rather well and one auto focus fault when zooming about half a dozen times.Tried the Nikon NK Studio and Transfer 2 software. Worked OK but suspect I will just download files to my computer via the supplied USB cable and use my own post processing tools.Tried some 4K video capture and it played in my Divinci Resolve rendering software. Good Dove chick footage was obtained. And looking through a window to boot.Have not evaluated all core functions of the camera, but meets my needs so far.Attached a short video of a distance palm in a wide field of view and zoom close up of the palm when zoomed closer. Early morning shoot and palm more than 100 yards.I was able to pair camera to my smart phone and view pictures and allow my location to be seen on the camera using the snapbridge app. I used Nikon NK Studio and Transfer 2 software to view picture metadata and location of camera when a picture is taken.One can easily and easily find useful info for the camera online for example setting time stamp when using a google or similar search. Rather than searching through the manual.As one might suspect battery life could be better?

I am a retired Commercial Photographer In the field I used 4" x 5" view cameras all the way down to 35mm film cameras. The digital age and my age coincided and I retired. Since then I have been using Nikon DSLRs D800e to be exact as well as the crop sensor Z50 my first fora into mirrorless. I Had seen the P900 and the P1000 and read the specks. I had no hesitation regarding the size of their 1/2.3" sensor, knowing that the images it produced far exceed anything I could get with film on my F4s of old. I did like the fact the P1000 had raw capabilities (Photo Shop had long replaced the darkroom of old after I'd retired) but the thing was just too big.Then along came the P950 a souped up version of the P900. It had raw it had 4K and the only thing it lacked was the plus size of the P1000 and an extra 1000mm. The camera came in at just about the size of the D800 with a 24 -70mm f2.8 on it, but a couple of pounds or so less.So as something to do as the flu hit. I perchesed one. I have been playing with it for a couple of days now and am getting to know it. There isn’t jack as far as instructions except for the menu. It took me a while of surfing the screen to find all of what I needed to operate the camera in the modes I have become accustom to using with my digital equipment.I cranked out some images and dropped them into my 27” iMac. I was quite pleased with the lens and operating test I have so far tried. This instrument is touchy. You have to conform to it. It will then conform to you. If that makes any sense. In order to get tack sharp results. And this thing WILL produce tack sharp images at all millimeters, you have to use it in bright light and ISOs of 100 -400. Hand held is good up to about 600mm with the image stabilization on. After that I shut off the VR and put it on a tripod.I am not concerned about shooting the moon as much as using it to get close to subjects 10’ to 100’ away from me. This is my “back to nature” camera. It also has a fine closeup capability. You use manual focus and the lower power wide and telephoto settings and you can get some great images. You also have the advantage of better depth of field do to the small sensor.I am still messing with it but wanted to give my initial impressions. I like it so far. In this case I feel I’ve gotten far more than the price point would indicate. If the camera has perked your interest, get one. You can always return it if it’s not right for you.