Nikon COOLPIX P950 Nikon - Review 🏆

The Nikon Coolpix P950 is an advanced superzoom bridge camera that was released in January 2020. It features a 16MP 1/2.3" CMOS sensor paired with a built-in 24-3000mm equivalent f/2.8-6.5 zoom lens, making it capable of capturing a wide variety of subjects from sweeping landscapes to distant wildlife.

The P950 is geared towards photography enthusiasts who want an all-in-one camera with a huge zoom range. It offers full manual controls, RAW image capture, and a range of features including 7 fps burst shooting, 4K video recording, and a vari-angle 3.2” LCD screen. The long zoom range gives photographers a lot of compositional flexibility and makes this camera uniquely suited for nature, wildlife, sports, and astronomical photography.

Overall, the P950 combines a versatile feature-set with excellent image quality and impressive zoom range that make it an attractive option for those seeking a high-performance superzoom camera. In this review, we’ll take a more detailed look at the design, features, image quality, and performance of the Nikon Coolpix P950.

Design and Build Quality

The Nikon Coolpix P950 has a robust DSLR-style design that feels substantial in hand. It measures 140 x 110 x 150 mm and weighs 1005g including battery and memory card. The body is constructed from high-quality polycarbonate plastic with a textured grip that provides a secure hold.

Despite its large zoom lens, the P950 retains a sensible profile. The deep hand grip allows you to hold the camera stable when shooting handheld. The controls are logically laid out, with key shooting modes and settings within easy reach. Overall, the P950 feels like a premium camera that is built to withstand frequent outdoor use.

The lens barrel extends when zooming and has a control ring for manual focus. There's also a zoom rocker switch by the shutter button to zoom in and out smoothly.

While not weather sealed, the P950 appears well-built and made of durable materials. Nikon has designed the camera to cope with challenging shooting conditions while traveling or on outdoor excursions.

For photographers seeking versatile zoom performance, the NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens complements the P950's capabilities. This lens delivers superb sharpness, effective vibration reduction, and fast focusing across its extensive zoom range, making it ideal for wildlife and sports photography. Its solid construction and weather sealing add an extra layer of reliability, matching the robust build quality of the P950 camera.

Image Sensor and Resolution

The Nikon Coolpix P950 features a 16MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, which is a fairly standard sensor size for bridge superzoom cameras. At 16 megapixels, the resolution provides enough detail for printing large prints or heavily cropping photos. However, compared to larger sensor sizes found in DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, the smaller 1/2.3-inch sensor means lower overall image quality and high ISO performance. Still, the resolution is sufficient for the target audience of this camera, which is enthusiasts seeking an all-in-one zoom range rather than professional-level image quality. For its class, the image sensor and resolution combination delivers good results for both still photos and 4K video recording.

Additionally, the Nikon COOLSHOT 50i is a superb rangefinder designed for golfers. It offers integrated magnetic mount technology, allowing it to easily attach to a golf cart or any metal surface. With the COOLSHOT 50i, you also get a dual locked-on echo feature that ensures you are measuring distances to the flagstick, not background objects. The rangefinder’s high-visibility OLED display and image stabilization features make it highly reliable and easy to use on the course.

Lens

The COOLPIX P950 features an impressive 83x optical zoom NIKKOR super ED lens with a focal range of 24-2000mm and a variable maximum aperture of f/2.8-6.5. This provides an extremely versatile zoom range, allowing you to capture wide landscapes and distant subjects with ease.

The 24mm wide-angle coverage is great for landscapes, architecture and group shots. At the other end, the incredible 2000mm telephoto reach lets you capture distant wildlife, sports, and other faraway subjects. Very few consumer cameras can match this type of zoom range.

Despite the long zoom, the lens still maintains a reasonably bright f/2.8 aperture at the wide end. This enables better low light performance and blurred backgrounds compared to smaller aperture lenses. However, the variable aperture means it drops to f/6.5 at the telephoto end. Still, this is decent for a lens with such an extensive reach.

To compensate for camera shake at longer focal lengths, the COOLPIX P950 incorporates dual detect optical vibration reduction (VR), providing up to five stops of stabilization. This optical stabilization effectively minimizes blur caused by hand movements, making it possible to capture sharp shots even when zoomed all the way in. The stabilization also aids framing and tracking of moving subjects.

Overall, the lens provides extraordinary zoom range in a portable form factor along with effective stabilization, making it highly versatile for everything from landscapes to distant wildlife photography. The wide max aperture gives good flexibility in low light, despite narrowing at longer focal lengths.

Autofocus and Shooting Speed

The Coolpix P950 features a contrast-detect autofocus system with face detection and subject tracking capabilities. It has a close focusing distance of just 2cm for macro photography.

For shooting moving subjects, the P950 has a continuous shooting speed of 7fps at full resolution. This allows you to capture a decent burst of shots to pick the best moment. While not incredibly fast, it should be sufficient for capturing your kid's soccer game or a flying bird. The buffer depth when shooting JPEG images is limited to 7 frames according to Nikon.

The autofocus system is generally fast and accurate in good lighting conditions. However, it may struggle a bit in low light situations. Overall, the autofocus capabilities are decent for a superzoom bridge camera in this price range. Just don't expect the performance of a high-end DSLR.

Video Recording

The Coolpix P950 can record 4K UHD video up to 30p, as well as Full HD 1080p video at up to 60p. For slow motion, it offers HD 720p video at up to 120fps. The 4K video is nicely detailed with good colors and exposure. Autofocus and subject tracking work very well when recording video. The onboard stereo microphone captures decent audio that is clear and understandable. There is also a microphone input jack for connecting an external mic. Overall, the P950 produces high-quality 4K and Full HD videos.

Viewfinder and LCD

The Nikon Coolpix P950 has both an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and rear LCD screen. The EVF is a 0.39-inch OLED with 2.36 million dots and 100% coverage. It provides a clear and detailed view for composing shots. The EVF can be tilted up 90 degrees to suit different shooting angles.

The rear LCD is a 3-inch vari-angle display with 921,000 dots. It can tilt and swivel for flexible viewing positions, including downward for overhead shots and forward for selfies. The LCD has an anti-reflective coating and delivers a sharp, vivid image even in bright sunlight. Both the EVF and LCD offer a live view of your subject while composing shots. They are useful for tricky angles where holding the camera to your eye is difficult. Overall the P950's viewfinders provide an immersive shooting experience.

Connectivity and Ports

The Nikon Coolpix P950 has a good selection of ports and wireless connectivity options. On the side of the camera you'll find a Micro-B USB port and a Micro HDMI port. These allow you to connect the camera to your computer or an external monitor.

For wireless connectivity, the P950 has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. The WiFi allows you to wirelessly transfer images to your smartphone or control the camera remotely. Bluetooth is used to maintain an always-on connection with your phone and makes it easy to geotag your photos.

The P950 also has a built-in GPS that can geotag your images with location data. This allows you to see exactly where a photo was taken, even without connecting to your phone.

Overall the ports and wireless capabilities of the Coolpix P950 allow you to easily transfer and share photos, as well as maintain full control of the camera remotely. The inclusion of Bluetooth and GPS provides added convenience when organizing and managing your photos.

Battery Life

The Nikon COOLPIX P950 has a decent battery life thanks to its EN-EL20a battery. It is CIPA rated for 290 shots per charge when using the rear LCD only or 240 shots per charge when using the electronic viewfinder. This should allow most users to shoot throughout a day of moderate to heavy use without needing to recharge.

The battery itself is charged via an included dedicated charger. Charging takes around 3 hours from empty to full. This is fairly standard for a camera in this class.

For those who plan to shoot a lot of video or want extended battery life, Nikon offers optional EN-EL20 battery packs that can be swapped as needed during a shoot. The EN-EL20a is not removable though so you can't carry spares to swap on the go.

Overall the battery performance is quite good but not best in class. The charging solution is slow and swapping batteries is not as convenient as cameras with removable packs. But for most users the battery endurance should be sufficient.

Pros and Cons

The Nikon COOLPIX P950 has many strengths but also some weaknesses that are worth considering.

Pros

• Impressive 83x optical zoom range from 24-2000mm
• Sharp image quality and good low light performance
• Useful vari-angle LCD screen and high-res OLED viewfinder
• Shoots 4K video and 1080p at up to 60fps
• Fast autofocus and 10fps continuous shooting
• Extensive manual controls and RAW support
• Built-in Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS connectivity

Cons

• Lens is slow with a variable aperture of f/2.8-6.5
• Significant lens barrel extension at full zoom
• No touchscreen capabilities
• Bulky and heavy body compared to other bridge cameras
• Mediocre battery life

The P950's ultra powerful zoom gives it great versatility for wildlife, sports, landscape and astro photography. Image quality is very good for a camera with such a small sensor. The vari-angle screen, EVF and manual controls provide a great shooting experience. Downsides are the slow lens, especially at full zoom, and lack of a touchscreen. Overall an excellent choice for travel and outdoor photography when you need huge zoom range.