Nikon Coolpix P90 Review

4.0

May 29, 2009 | Mark Goldstein |

Buy a Coolpix P90 Digital Camera (12.1MP, 24x Opt, SDHC Card Slot)

Buy a Coolpix P90 12.1 Megapixel Bridge Camera - Matte Black (3" LCD - 24x Optical Zoom - 4000 x 3000 Image - 640 x 480 Video)

Lowest Price: N/A

Conclusion

The Nikon Coolpix P90 is an almost kind of camera, offering an attractive overall package but ultimately falling short in certain key areas when compared to its main rivals. The 24x zoom lens is the main highlight, stretching all the way from 26mm wide-angle to 624mm telephoto, but it doesn't quite match up to the 26x zoom of the Olympus SP-590UZ. The new tilting screen allows you to hold the camera above your head or by your waist and still get well-composed shots, but it's not as versatile as the Canon PowerShot S1 IS's vari-angle LCD.

The ability to create time-lapse movies is a unique feature in this market segment, but the HD movie mode offered by several other super-zooms is more compelling. Finally, while the Nikon P90's image quality is perfectly acceptable when used in good light, noise and colour artifacts are obvious at the relatively slow ISO speed of 200, with anything above ISO 400 almost a complete write-off - almost every rival super-zoom offers better looking photos than the P90. When you also consider that this camera has a much higher introductory price-tag than its predecessor in the UK and Europe, then it becomes difficult to really get excited about it.

The Nikon Coolpix P90 is still worthy of a Recommended award, mainly thanks to its intuitive design and welcoming ease-of-use, especially for beginners, but be aware that there are quite a few better alternatives available for your money.