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)

I received the camera 2 days after ordering. The 83X optical zoom is great for bird photos where it seems like you just can't get enough zoom. It has a small lens aperture for this much zoom so the trade off is shallow depth of field at high zoom levels. The image stabilization is really amazing with decent photos taken at full optical zoom while being hand held. This isn't a camera for those wanting very high quality photos from a distance but it does what it is meant to do very well for a very reasonable price. It does a really good job with macro images too. I'd say that the worst feature is the auto-focus, it often just won't focus on a bird that I'm zoomed in on. However this issue is made up for this by having an easy access manual focus wheel on the left side of the lens (you have to place another easy to access switch to us this feature). This is a big improvement over it's predecessor the P900. The digital zoom processing seems to have improved too.

Incredible camera! Great for those far away birding photos. Fairly compact and lighter than other DSLR Nikons we’ve owned. Buy once-cry once!

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.

I really wanted to love this camera - it has a GREAT zoom - and sure, in auto mode, if you're not shooting anything special, the pics are fine! I wanted something to take photos of bees, specifically in flight, and I even bought the Photographer's Guide to the Nikon Coolpix P950: Getting the Most from Nikon's Superzoom Digital Camera : and have studied it this entire weekend. If I'm in the house taking photos of the fan with a mug in the background, following the advice, the photos are very good - but the minute I"m outside trying to take photos of the bees, no matter whether in A, S, P, M, U, auto or scene, there's nothing outstanding about the pics. It's certainly not better than my older Fujifilm Finepix S1 with it's 50x zoom and weatherproof body. Maybe it's just me! Maybe other people out there are taking great clear shots of bees flying in and out of their hives, but if so, I don't know how they're doing it. I have the highest shutter speed, and am trying all the camera's options... small aperture, larger apperture, high iso, low iso, light compensation, i'm trying EVERYTHING that the book explains... but nothing spectacular has appeared. I thought this would knock the socks off my Finepix S1, as that's from 2014, but I'm amazed at how some of those photos are STILL better than this one. The zoom is amazing, no doubt about it, and some great features on this camera - but unless I can get outstanding bee photos in flight, it's not for me. But it IS an excellent camera - dont be put off by my review - I wanted something very specific - and this just doesn't meet my expectations. However, for the price, you can't beat the zoom and all the incredible options it has. What particularly disappointed me was the macro and close up options. I'm right on top of the flowers, camera is literally 1 cm away from the bee and the flower, and the photos are not good. So I give up

I purchased this camera with a single, main priority...to shoot scenery and wildlife in the Colorado Rockies. It's the zoom capability that sold me. No question, hands down the main reason as it is with many other reviews here. Peripherally related, I'm a horticultural researcher and shifted all my plant research photography to an iPhone a decade ago with complete satisfaction. More recently I'm using an iPhone 12 Pro and its image sensor and accompanying high level resolution give me plenty of detail for print articles, conference presentations, and also personal photography. I enjoy its three camera lenses, on a phone no less...that's been crazy. But the 2x zoom lens leaves me unsatisfied in the outdoors and I'm not a fan of digital zoom, I never use it. With that as a backdrop I can report that the P950 surprised me with it's closeup capability. It allows me to get closer shots of germinating seeds, insects, and leaf and root detail that iPhone doesn't match. So while I mentioned the zoom lens as my single, main priority I'm adding closeup work as another main benefit. I'm not at all disappointed that the P950's image sensor is no better than my phone. For my needs both produce resolution that I didn't have in the past. I recently took the camera on a trip to the southwest and came home with pictures of Hoover Dam taken head-on from the interstate bridge walkway. I could zoom in as close as I wanted with my elbows supported by the bridge's concrete sidewall. I got mind numbing detail, from that distance and angle, of Lake Mead's bathtub ring right behind the dam. We also spent a day in Canyonlands National Park in Moab, Utah...took gorgeous pictures of mountains, canyons, clouds, and blue sky. The week after the camera arrived I got some terrific shots of a full moon using a tripod. The moon setting is pretty cool with its square image shape and automatic delayed exposure time. I think I can see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Collins' footprints on the surface. The detail was more than I was expecting and left no doubt that I made a great choice...an excellent choice purchasing this camera. So, where am I now with this really nice camera? Still learning. I doubt I'll ever use all of its features but those that I am learning how to use...it's been really exciting so far. Last week with snow on the ground here in Massachusetts a few deer were munching on my landscape. I'd been capturing these moments with iPhone in the past but, again, without satisfying zoom capability. The deer were about fifty feet away and the P950 got me so close that a one year old was looking directly at me, it was an incredible shot for me to have the ability to grab and at that distance I was less than halfway zoomed but so much closer than my phone would get me. Last year I built an owl house to attract a pair of barred owls in the woods. I mounted it in a direct sight line from my kitchen window figuring I'd be able to take still shots and video from the counter through an open, screen-less window. Purchased a firearm spotting scope with 64x power here at Amazon and even bought a gadget that attaches to my iPhone to take shots through the scope's viewfinder. I got it to work, sort of, but it's very awkward and challenging to use. A couple days ago as I was walking across the back yard from my greenhouse to garage with the camera I stopped just for kicks to zoom in on the house twenty feet up a tree and 100 feet away. At full zoom the 6 inch entry/exit hole for the birds to use filled the frame! Forget the 64x spotting scope, I'll use that solely for my pellet gun now. When mom and dad decide to move in what fun it's going to be taking pictures and video of them and their young chicks inside and eventually out on the three foot long perch outside the opening. Can not wait. Lastly, another significant feature that was a plus in my purchase decision is the camera's weight given it's incredible zoom power. I'll take it on its first backpacking trip over several nights next summer in Colorado's high country crossing a few more fourteener peaks off my to do list. At two pounds it's definitely heavier that iPhone but also much lighter than other zoom cameras that cost much more with less zoom power. In my photography I call my best shots money shots...or my keepers. The hard-to-come-by, never-know-it's-happening pictures that leave us in awe of what we were able to create. Can't wait to stand on the summit of the next fourteener and get shots of nearby as well as distant peaks that I've either already stood atop or plan to in the future. Again, iPhone left me wanting much, much more in terms of zoom ability and I'm not slamming iPhone. It's just not physically possible to get a zoom lens in a half inch thick phone. And at 72 years old I don't have many more summits in me with accompanying opportunities to come home with breathtaking pictures and video. The P950 has come into my life just in time, although I wish I had known about it and purchased it sooner. I'm sure professional photographers can pick apart the sensor limitations and other features of this camera. I'm not in that category of photographers and never will be. So I'm not trained to see what they see. Similarly, they aren't in my category of plant science and probably aren't trained to see what I see in plant research. To each his own. I'm so completely satisfied with this camera it's hard to put words to paper. Thanks Nikon, for giving us incredible zoom power in an affordable, relatively light camera. and thanks Amazon, for offering it and getting it to me in a timely, safe manner. I plan to thoroughly enjoy learning more about it, using it in the mountains, and leveraging its capacity to generate many more money shots in my research.

I'd been thinking about purchasing this for a couple years. Glad I did. It is just great. It's the size of a large DSLR, but it's mostly composite materials, so for me (small woman) it is NO problem to carry it all day. The controls are intelligently placed. I like the Zoom Back option to quickly get an overall view. It's fast and precise. I'm amazed at the quality of the images coming from such a small sensor. However, I do shoot in RAW and have NOT even tried the JPEG setting. I would not have purchased the camera without a RAW option. That option gives a small sensor a chance to look good. I could easily make an 8x10 or maybe even an 11x14 print, and you'd be hard pressed to believe it came from a small sensor. I bet the JPEGS look great too. I did put a filter on the lens. I don't bother with the lens cap, generally. I think they have a winner here. Amazon did the usual great job in getting it to me in perfect shape, and quickly.

I am a complete novice photographer. The bald eagle is about 250 ft away, the Cooper's Hawk about 25 ft and the cat about 12 ft. This is a "bridge" camera - takes a little learning versus a simple point and shoot - but nothing too difficult. I bought it primarily to take bird pictures and the zoom is incredible! I take the photos in .RAW and use Nikon's free software to fix/make into JPEGs. I also considered a P1000 - but it felt too large. Of course, the first time I used it in the field there were several other birders taking pictures with these incredible lens cameras that made my P950 seem quite small - but it is so easy to carry, and great for my needs. It does super well when the day is bright. Sometimes (<5%) I have to go to manual zoom - because it seems to love to focus in on green leaves/needles. I am completely happy with the camera - I understand it's limitations, but for me it is perfect. I gave it 1 star because I ordered a "new" camera on Amazon - when it came it was clearly "used" (first hint was the used sticker on the box) - I tried to exchange for a new camera but that seemed impossible - so I returned it. It took several weeks but I got a refund. Then I went to a nearby camera store and bought a new Nikon CoolPix P950.

The product appears to work fine but has difficulty in focusing when zoomed further out. I purchased this product on Amazon from one of its third party retailers and I did select 'New' under the condition. However, upon receipt of the product, I noticed that it was NOT a New camera. The box it came in was old and upon opening it, the camera was not packaged in new material and when the camera was put on, the date and time had already been set! Furthermore, there was no manual or Product Warranty documentation present in the box which obviously indicates that it was indeed NOT New. Thankfully the camera seems to work ok so far but I am still testing it out and its features. The focusing while zooming out does show some issues and the photos are normal. The camera is a decent size and slightly heavier than a small pocket camera. Overall Nikon does produce good cameras, however you should be very cautious about whom you choose to buy it from because some retailers will advertise a product as being New and charge you the price for New but will deliver an old and Used product. (purchased September, 2024)