Dave Cottrell

Nikon COOLPIX P900

Nikon COOLPIX P900 Digital Camera with crazy optical zoom

The Nikon COOLPIX P900 Digital Camera  with 83x Wide Optical Zoom gives this little camera the eqivalent of a 2000mm zoom lens!  To top that off, it also has built-in wi-fi.

I’m a heavy Canon DSLR man and have been since setting down my film camera (for a while).  I’m currently carrying around a little 4/3 Panasonic mirrorless camera that has admittedly impressed me with its brilliant clarity.Nikon COOLPIX P900

But this past Sunday night, January 20th, we had something rare:  A blood moon and a clear night on the BC south coast.  A blood moon is fairly rare.  A clear night in January is rare, too.

But on January 20th, we had both!  And I was unprepared.  After trying to remember how the Panasonic worked in the dark, trying to set it up on a tripod with the blood moon so high in the night sky it was straining my neck, I also discovered a real drawback to a 4/3 mirrorless camera:  It’s really hard to spot a blood moon.

So, I went in and got my Canon out, slapped on a 500mm mirror lens (I know, I know – they aren’t the best, but I was in a hurry).  Then, after going through my entire supply of batteries (I have a lot – I shoot a lot when I’m out), I found ONE that had enough life in it.

By the time I got set up, the blood moon was starting to flare as the total shadow moved off its face, and the bright crescent began to appear.  But as I worked to get a good focus, I finally realized what was wrong:  A high cloud haze had moved in, making the once sharp blood moon appear out of focus.

So where does the Nikon Coolpix P900 come in?  Why would I even mention something I have thought of with some disdain as merely a glorified “point-and-shoot?”  Sigh…

As I looked over all the blood moon photos being shared on Facebook the next day, pouting about my own, one stood out.  It was a gorgeous, brilliantly clear photo against a sharp night background.  The blood moon was big, beautiful and a showing all its details in professional clarity.

So… I messaged the professional photographer that had shot the photo, and what did I discover?

She was just starting out and had taken the shot without a tripod, with her Nikon Coolpix P900 on “moon mode!”  Boy, was I shocked!  I would have sworn it was shot with a huge diameter L series Canon lens on a top of the line, full frame body.

But instead, it was shot by an amateur photographer on a Nikon Coolpix P900 that you can buy for somewhere under $1000, with one permanently attached lens that does things that no little camera like that should be allowed to do!  

Guess what I’m doing now?  (Don’t tell anyone!)  I’m looking for a deal on  one of these little cameras.  I mean, I’d be crazy not to, now wouldn’t I.  Tell me;  is it cheating for me to use one?

I will certainly continue to use my Canon DSLRs. The P900 and other similar cameras still have a major disadvantage – processing time. If you want to take a lot of photos in a hurry, such as with a bird in flight or a sports match, you need to be able to shoot frame after frame with no hesitation. But if you just want to take stunning stills, even at a great distance, the Nikon Coolpix P900 is very hard to beat.

What are your thoughts?  Please tell us in the comments!

 
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