Nikon Coolpix P90
Manufacturer: Nikon Inc. Part number: 26171
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- While the Nikon Coolpix P90 brings its performance up to speed with the rest of its class, it now falls behind in photo quality.
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CNET editors' review
Nikon Coolpix P90 price range: $334.95 - $499.95
- Reviewed by: Lori Grunin
- Reviewed on: 06/15/2009
The good: Relatively speedy; tiltable LCD; two custom settings slots on mode dial.
The bad: Subpar photo quality; poor battery life.
The bottom line: While the Nikon Coolpix P90 brings its performance up to speed with the rest of its class, it now falls behind in photo quality.
Nikon joins the ranks of manufacturers ramping up their top-of-the-line megazoom models to 24x. The replacement for the Nikon Coolpix P80, the P90, outzooms its 18x predecessor with a 24x f2.8-5 26-624mm-equivalent lens, and outpixels it by upping the resolution from 10 megapixels to 12. More useful, Nikon incorporates a tilting 3-inch LCD into the camera, bringing it into parity with competing megazooms from Canon, Sony, and others.
| Key comparative specs | Nikon Coolpix P90 | Canon PowerShot SX10 IS | Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 |
| Sensor | 12-megapixel, 1/2.33-inch CCD | 10-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD | 10-megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD |
| Lens (35mm equivalent) | 24x f2.8-5 26-624mm | 20x f2.8-5.7 28-560mm | 18x f2-4.4 27-486mm |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 64 - ISO 6,400 | ISO 80 - ISO 1,600 | ISO 100 - ISO 6,400 |
| LCD | 3-inch tiltable | 2.5-inch articulated | 2.7-inch fixed |
| Video (max resolution at 30fps) | 640x480 | 640x480 | 848x480 |
| Optical zoom during movie capture | No | Yes | Yes |
| Exposure modes | Auto, PASM, Scene | Auto, PASM, Scene | Auto, PASM, Scene |
| Batteries (CIPA rating) | Lithium ion; 230 shots | 4 AA-size; 340 shots (alkalines), 600 shots (NiMH) | Lithium ion; 460 shots |
| Body dimensions (WHD, inches) | 4.5x3.3x3.9 | 4.9x3.5x3.4 | 4.6x3.0x3.5 |
| Operating weight (ounces) | 17.2 | 23.0 | 14.6 |
| Mfr. Price | $399.95 | $399.99 | $399.95 |
With its spring cameras, Nikon introduced its 4-Way Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization, which consists of optical IS, autoshutter speed/ISO determination to compensate for moving subjects, and a Best Shot Selector option for choosing the sharpest photo out of a burst of 10. Like the P80, it supports up to ISO 1,600 with reduced resolution for ISO 3,200 and 6,400. Also new, the camera has a mode for 15 frames per second continuous shooting for up to 45 frames, though it's at 3 megapixels and automatically sets the ISO sensitivity to at least ISO 640. Given the camera's mediocre high ISO performance, that's a pretty useless mode. And like all its competitors, Nikon introduces its own get-the-faces-right system composed of automatic red-eye fix, improved face-priority AF, and smile- and blink-detection.
With the exception of the improved LCD and some changes on the mode dial, the P90's body doesn't differ much from the P80. It's heavier--more than a pound--and bigger in all dimensions. Like its competitors, you summon most of the frequently used shooting controls via a dedicated button, including exposure compensation, focus modes (macro, infinity, and manual), self-timer, and flash (including red-eye reduction, fill, slow sync, and rear curtain sync). In addition to the buttons, you can navigate via the back dial, which also controls your shutter, aperture, and exposure-compensation adjustments in the various shooting modes. Nikon has improved the mode dial, moving Setup into the menu and replacing it with two slots for custom settings and a Scene Auto Selector mode.
Other controls you access from the shooting menu. Most notable are an array of ISO sensitivity options. In addition to complete Auto and manual 64 through 6,400, it offers High ISO sensitivity Auto (64-1,600) and Fixed-range auto, which lets you choose one of three ranges: ISO 64-100, 64-200, or 64-400. Given how aggressive the blurring gets at ISO 200, I suggest you stick with the 64-200 modes if you're going to use the automatic mode.
In addition to matrix, center-weighted, and spot metering, the P90 offers spot-AF area for use with the AF-area modes. The AF-area modes include face priority, auto, manual, and center. As usual with these technologies, I find the face-priority setting too inefficient, the auto makes undesirable choices, and the manual AF-point selection is only useful if you're shooting the same composition repeatedly. The center-focus-and-recompose approach, albeit old fashioned, is still the most efficient. Other shooting options include image size and quality, Optimize image (custom and preset settings for contrast, sharpening, and saturation), white balance, single or full-time AF, flash exposure compensation, noise reduction, and distortion control (which reduces frame size). Lack of support for raw files is a hole in the feature set, though.
The P90's lens isn't great. Barrel distortion is about what you'd expect at the widest angle of 26mm-equivalent, however, it exhibits serious purple fringing at its maximum telephoto of 624mm-equivalent. While it doesn't seem to vibrate as much as the P80's did, the stepped zoom gets frustrating when you're trying to frame your shot. This is a typical problem with these types of cameras, though. The optical image stabilizer works as well as we've seen from Nikon's other VR lenses.
The LCD is pretty good, it has a wide viewing angle and doesn't wash out in direct sunlight. I tend to prefer articulated LCDs found on products like the Canon PowerShot SX10 to the tilting ones used by the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 and this model, but it's still far better than a fixed display. It's supplemented with an electronic viewfinder; both displays update fast enough so that they don't interfere with shooting, even in low light where some slow down. However, the EVF only displays 97 percent of the scene, compared with 100 percent for virtually everyone else. While the battery didn't conk out too soon, its 250-shot-per-charge rating (CIPA standard) seems underpowered compared with almost all the competition's.
As for shooting speed, Nikon thankfully made significant strides over the unusably slow P80, bringing the P90 into line with what you expect from a camera in its price range. It wakes and shoots in a reasonable 2 seconds, and it focuses and shoots about as quickly as its competitors in bright and dim conditions--0.7 second and 0.8 second, respectively. At 2 seconds, it's a bit zippier from shot to shot than most. While its flash shot-to-shot time of 3.3 seconds isn't great, it's also not unusual. Continuous-shooting performance remains about the same as the P80, 1.4fps, but the burst rate isn't the problem so much as the EVF, which (like all EVFs) blacks out between shots. You just close your eyes and pray. That said, it's still not quite fast enough to keep up with children and pets, as they're in and out of the frame in a shot or two.
Unfortunately, the P90's photo quality generally disappoints; in some ways it's worse than the P80's, and not what you should expect for its price. The colors are vivid, but automatic white balance is a little greenish-yellow outdoors and a lot yellow indoors.
Exposures tend to be good. But the lens displays quite a bit of purple fringing and shots look overprocessed. An excessively noisy blue channel combines with Nikon's aggressive noise suppression and blurs most of the detail away starting as low as ISO 200; if you have a lot of detail in your scene, the photos are borderline at ISO 200 and unusable by ISO 800. So depending upon what you shoot, the P90's photos can range from good to just OK.
For movie capture, the P90 still includes a neat time-lapse mode and a 30fps VGA movie mode; the latter of which produces reasonably good AVI clips at a bit rate of about 1.1 megabytes per second, but it's pretty limited: no optical zoom or optical VR available while shooting.
While it's a perfectly serviceable camera, there are simply better options for the money than the Nikon Coolpix P90.
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User reviews
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Great Camera!
by Geniusdude on March 30, 2009
Pros: It has incredible zoom capabilities, and it takes some of it's best pictures in natural light and at night. The colors are vibrant, and vivid. The wide-angle lens is spectacular! MUCH better than Cannons and Kodak cameras I've had in the past.
Cons: The motion sensibility is a little touchy when you zoom in. Indoor pictures can use a little touch up. The LCD screen doesn't show would good the picture really is. It might look too bright on the screen, but on the computer and prints are great.
Summary: I bought it for my wedding, as the main camera to get the wedding pictures and I can say that I and my wife have no problems with the results. ...
Summary: I bought it for my wedding, as the main camera to get the wedding pictures and I can say that I and my wife have no problems with the results. The indoor pictures could be a bit better, but you have to read and re-read the manual to get that set up properly. The zoom is fantastic if you are talking still shots, but with action shots, make sure you don't zoom in too closely.
I have now had this camera for a good nine months, and I want to state that the durability is great. The battery life is still as potent as it was when I first purchased it. I am loving it more and more as time goes on, because I didn't know the complete versatility of this camera before. Once you get yourself acquainted with this camera you'll find yourself more pleased with it than before.
They have very good color ratios and very quick shutter speed (which was very important to me). If you like to catch shots in the moment and catch the natural expressions of people, this is the camera to get.
Updated on Nov 13, 20097 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nikon over Canon
by bdflour on March 24, 2009
Pros: Dynamic zoom ability and features
Cons: Lots of reading to decipher options and setup
Summary: We had a small Nikon for 3yrs that I loved and it got broke. After much research we narrowed down to the P90 and a Canon; due to my previous ...
Summary: We had a small Nikon for 3yrs that I loved and it got broke. After much research we narrowed down to the P90 and a Canon; due to my previous experience I selected the P90 even though my husband wanted the Canon. We purchased 6 days ago, charged up battery and it's been going strong since. We've taken photos at a concert as well as the snow topped mountains with the great zoom. This camera offers alot of options so you really have to read in order to truly get the best out of it. So far I am happy and glad I selected another Nikon.
6 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Disappointed, but trying to be fair
by Tasses on July 30, 2009
Pros: Great outdoor and macro photos. Like the pre-set scene selector. Food photos good.
Cons: Yellow indoor shots, shaky blur 50% of the time, battery life & type should be better.
Summary: Purchased April 2009:
I would say that I am 50% happy with my photos. If I am outdoors or taking a close-up, they are really beautiful. Indoors, they are yellowy ...Summary: Purchased April 2009:
I would say that I am 50% happy with my photos. If I am outdoors or taking a close-up, they are really beautiful. Indoors, they are yellowy and you can forget night shots...nothing but black. As for the mega-zoom: way over-rated (which I suspect is true of all brands of mega-zoom). Unless you use a tripod, you're going to get blur. I haven't tried the sports or movie settings yet.
For nature and outdoors, you'll be really happy. But, indoor shots of family gatherings are yellow and these are the most important to me.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Love this camera
Pros: Terrific zoom, fast speed, manual flash selection, great macro, nice battery size and life, light weight, user friendly, reasonable video
Cons: No uv filter capabilities
Summary: Got the P 90 to replace a coolpix 8800 and love it. The zoom is great, but it has to be stabilized with a tripod or on a railing for ...
Summary: Got the P 90 to replace a coolpix 8800 and love it. The zoom is great, but it has to be stabilized with a tripod or on a railing for the long shots. I have taken pictures that I thought could never turn out but did. My students were suprised at the shots I got of them playing football half way across the playground using the sports mode. It's nice having a wide angle and powerful zoom all in one. The macro is much better than the 8800. It focuses much faster and gives much sharper pictures. Sometimes when I could not get close enough to flowers to use the macro I used the telephoto while leaning on a rail and they turned out great. It is also easy to adjust the white balance with the control on the back. It is fast enough that most of the pictures taken indoors turn out without flash. I like that you have to turn on the flash to use it. I like the large screen with the tilt capabilities for overhead and belt shots. The small but strong batteries make it fast and convient to take them on a hike, etc. and have plenty of picture taking capability. I stick one or two extras in my pocket whenever I go out. It has a wide variety of scene settings to choose from that help in certain situations. This is a great camera for the serious amerature. With the zoom, the speed, the macro, etc. I am very happy with this camera. Have had it for about 3 months.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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poor telephoto quality
by verygoooy on July 14, 2009
Pros: If you are not using the zoom as in indoors and/or close-up the camera does a very nice job. Nice balance. Very user friendly. Picture quality is ok. Nothing that can't be fixed with photo editing software.
Cons: The only way to use the telephoto/zoom is on a tripod. Myself and 3 others all tried to take hand held telephoto shots and could not hold the camera still enough to get any quality shots. We were shooting wildlife. On tripod shots were ok.
Summary: The picture quality should be better. For this price and a 'Nikon' the quality should be better and not require Photo Shop to fix most pictures. The mechanics of the ...
Summary: The picture quality should be better. For this price and a 'Nikon' the quality should be better and not require Photo Shop to fix most pictures. The mechanics of the camera are very nice. A very user friendly unit.
When I wrote the first review my camera was brand new. I have now spent considerable time using this camera. The only way to stabilize the telephoto zoom is to change the ISO setting up from 400. The trade off is grainer shots. I am tired of having to run every picture through Photoshop to retouch finished product. I expect better from Nikon. The battery issue is solved by keeping a spare with me all the time. I can recharge them from the inverter in the car.
Updated on Aug 21, 2009
I am not going to keep this camera very long. I bought it as a stop gap until I could get my D300. The quality will make this happen sooner then later.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nikon Coolpix P90
by henryac on March 9, 2009
Pros: Super zoom 24x optical + 4x digital,12 megapixel & tilt lcd monitor
Cons: No external flash,batteries shoud be 4 AA rechargeables,sound is not stereo & no full DH movie
Summary: My comments for nikon coolpix P90 ok with 12 megapixel,optical zoom 24x & tilt lcd,but more super ok if with external flash,using 4 AA batteries,stereo sound &#...
Summary: My comments for nikon coolpix P90 ok with 12 megapixel,optical zoom 24x & tilt lcd,but more super ok if with external flash,using 4 AA batteries,stereo sound & full HD movie.Is good to have external flash for taking long range pictures like school graduation at night,rechargeable 4 AA batteries are cheaper easy to fine in any electronic stores as long you buy 2500 mAh NiMh batteries long life 420 shot per charge not like EN-EL5 battery only 200 shot,stereo sound is more better than mono sound,if your camera has full HD movie no need to buy video camcorder like you have it all in one camera digital,like canon powershot SX1 iS it has all the features.I hope this year 2009 nikon company will produce or make for nikon coolpix P series that has all the features i want coz i like nikon in taking pictures.
4 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Love it for son's ice hockey games
by greencarpet on October 31, 2009
Pros: High ISO and up to 45 FPS in continuous sports mode allows for bright pics of fast action shots in ice hockey rink. Still learning and playing with this camera, but the few shots I've taken in auto / other modes and better lighting look terrific.
Cons: High ISO and 3 megapixels in the sports mode results in more noise when enlarged, but I'm not expecting the same result as a pro or a DSLR. Shots become less steady for me at the highest optical and extra digital zoom.
Summary: Great zoom capability, and stabilizers must work very well as my hands are not steady, I don't have a tripod, and I still get good shots. I find that ...
Summary: Great zoom capability, and stabilizers must work very well as my hands are not steady, I don't have a tripod, and I still get good shots. I find that the extra digital zoom range doesn't work for me very well, but I would never use it anyway as the optical zoom is more than I would ever need. The video looks good to me also. I wasn't exactly looking for that capability, but I know I will use it. I'm actually amazed at how clear, colorful and detailed the few still shots I've taken look considering my lack of experience. I read that there is more learning required regarding modes and settings to get the most of this camera and I feel that this is true, but the more I figure out the better the pictures. I was looking for a camera that had more capability for fast action in low light than the smaller point and shoots, without going to the more expensive DSLR level. The Nikon P90 was recommended to me and I think it is exactly what I was looking for.
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Better than expected.
by Shrinkingwop on October 16, 2009
Pros: Inexpensive. Light weight. Easy to use. Incredible zoom capabilities. BSS (Best Shot Selector) is very cool.
Cons: Low battery life. Image quality is just okay, would have expected better from Nikon.
Summary: I purchased the camera for my wife who is at best a novice photographer who wanted something "lightweight" and easy to use. She took it on a trip to Ireland ...
Summary: I purchased the camera for my wife who is at best a novice photographer who wanted something "lightweight" and easy to use. She took it on a trip to Ireland and took over 2000 photographs. The 24x Zoom is incredible. She took many photos from a moving vehicle (tour bus) with shockingly good results. The camera is lightweight and while "boxy" fit well into her purse. She shot all of her photos on "P" mode so the camera made all the decisions for her and overall the photos were good. It's a good beginner camera at a low price. I bought three addtional batteries for her and she needed them because the battery life is terrible. It would have been nice if the camera could use regular batteries. It's the kind of camera that would have been great to just keep in the car for those spur of the moment photos unfortunately the battery just kills that idea.
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What I would expect from Nikon in many ways.
by Jacobowicz on August 31, 2009
Pros: Having had 3 Nikon SLR cameras before I purchased this camera in April 2009, I found this camera easy to use and with great handling abilities. Large LCD screen. Great zoom facility with a menu which is good and easy to understand.
Cons: The control for the zoom is not smooth to use and extremely sensitive. There are no facilities offered by Nikon to either attach a lens hood or screw mount for filters. This lets the camera down.and that Nikon did not think of this.
Summary: This camera replaced my Panasonic FZ5 in April 2009 and I am yet to form an opinion except as noted above. However good value for money. Shall persevere.
Summary: This camera replaced my Panasonic FZ5 in April 2009 and I am yet to form an opinion except as noted above. However good value for money. Shall persevere.
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its all good but battery is big life issue
by shaukatmx on June 27, 2009
Pros: i buy P90 last week and i enjoy .. zoom is very nice as Nikon promise
Cons: light setting quite default short code of menu for new user complected , Yalow color issue need to solve
Summary: over all Nikon P90 is good choice but u need sometime to understand
Summary: over all Nikon P90 is good choice but u need sometime to understand
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
- Part number: 26171
- Description: The Coolpix P90 is a compact digital camera model that offers extended reach, wide-angle coverage, the intuitive ease of advanced shooting functions and outstanding performance. Incorporating the precision optics of a NIKKOR lens and the image quality benefits of Nikon's innovative EXPEED digital image-processing concept, the Coolpix P90 brings greater versatility and fun to the art of capturing precious moments. A 24x Zoom-NIKKOR lens for the Coolpix P90 covers a broad focal range of 26mm wide-angle through 624mm super-telephoto (35mm format equivalent). The clarity of these precision optics combine with 12.1 effective megapixels of sharp resolution and advanced Nikon digital image-processing to faithfully reproduce fine details and subtle tones, and to maintain image quality when taking advantage of extended light sensitivity settings as high as ISO 6400. Image sensor shift VR image stabilization adds extra reassurance of sharper and clearer results. Further extending its potential as a versatile photographic tool, the Coolpix P90 features a 3-inch high-resolution vari-angle LCD with anti-reflection coating that can be tilted as much as 90 degrees upward or 45 degrees downward. This enables photographers to shoot from higher angles or from the hip, and to thereby make best use of the superior reach and range of the 24x zoom lens.
General
- Product Type Digital camera - Compact
- Width 4.5 in
- Depth 3.9 in
- Height 3.3 in
- Weight 14.1 oz
- Enclosure Color Black
Main Features
- Resolution 12 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Optical Sensor Type CCD
- Total Pixels 12,700,000 pixels
- Effective Sensor Resolution 12,000,000 pixels
- Light Sensitivity ISO 64, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200 (3Mpix), ISO 6400 (3Mpix), ISO auto (64-100), ISO auto (64-200), ISO auto (64-400), ISO auto (64-800), ISO auto (64-1600)
- Digital Zoom 4 x
- Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
- Shooting Programs Copy, Food, Museum, Sunset, Close-up, Dawn/dusk, Fireworks, Landscape, Back light, Beach/snow, Sports mode, Party/indoor, Portrait mode, Night portrait, Night landscape, Panorama assist
- Image Stabilizer Optical
- Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom.
- Exposure Modes Manual, Program, Automatic, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority
- Face Detection Yes
- Still Image Format JPEG
- TV Tuner None
- Video Capture 640 x 480, 320 x 240
Memory / Storage
- Supported Flash Memory SD Memory Card
- Integrated Memory 47 MB
- Floppy Drive None
- Image Storage JPEG 4000 x 3000, JPEG 3264 x 2448, JPEG 2592 x 1944, JPEG 2048 x 1536, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 1280 x 960, JPEG 1024 x 768, JPEG 640 x 480, JPEG 3984 x 2656, JPEG 3968 x 2232, JPEG 2992 x 2992
Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Pop-up flash
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 4.6 mm - 110.4 mm - F/2.8-5.0
- Focal Length 4.6 mm - 110.4 mm
- Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 26 - 624 mm
- Focus Adjustment Manual, Automatic
- Min Focus Range 19.7 in
- Macro Focus Range 1cm
- Lens Aperture F/2.8-5.0
- Optical Zoom 24 x
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
Additional Features
- Additional Features Face detection, In-camera red-eye fix, USB 2.0 compatibility, Blink Detection technology, Smile Detection technology, Motion Detection Technology
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type Electronic
- Viewfinder Color Support Color
- Viewfinder Diagonal Size 0.24 in
- Viewfinder Resolution 230,000 pixels
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 3 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Sliding
- Display Format 230,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Microphone
- Type Microphone - Built-in
Connections
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
- Software Drivers & Utilities
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Lens cap, Carrying strap
- Cables Included A/V cable, USB cable
Power
- Power Device Battery charger - External
Battery
- Supported Battery Nikon EN-EL5
- Supported Battery 1 x Nikon EN-EL5 Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included )
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Nikon Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Nikon Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.nikonusa.com/
- Address:
1300 Walt Whitman Rd.
Melville, NY 11747 - Phone: 516/547-4200
- Fax: 631-547-4025
