MINE’S BIGGER THAN YOURS (NO, REALLY, IT IS)
There’s no such thing as a free lunch so, no matter how much you juggle with sensor size and focal length magnification ratio, an effective 3000mm comes with baggage… namely the incredible hulk that is the Nikon Coolpix P1000. Nothing will quite prepare you for the sheer size of the P1000 when you first see it in the flesh… gobsmacked doesn’t even start to cover it.
In our mind’s eye we see superzoom cameras as being a happy medium between capability and portability, not exactly compact, but suitably sized for carry-anywhere useability. The Coolpix P1000 turns this notion on its head because, dimensionally, it’s the cuckoo in a nest of sparrows. You get the message… it’s big, right? Very big. In fact, big enough to put many people off from even taking it out of the shop’s display cabinet which is a pity because they’re missing out on one helluva camera. What’s also a bit of a pity, though, is that Nikon hasn’t really taken the P1000 far enough which may seem a strange thing to say given its extreme focal range, but anybody who buys one is also missing out on a few important features which, if included, would have made it the camera you just had to have, no matter what. As it is, the design philosophy is closer to that of a compact camera than a D-SLR or a mirrorless camera, despite the P1000 being priced like an interchangeable lens camera and undoubtedly appealing to a more savvy audience than the average point-and-shooter. Perhaps this isn’t so surprising, as the Coolpix design department probably doesn’t ever mix with the engineers creating Nikon’s ILCs, but it probably should have because, with the P1000, they’re now playing with the big boys and they needed to do some more training to keep up. So, consequently, the P1000 is compromised because it’s still ultimately more a Coolpix than anything else. Critically, the buffer memory is too small – unfathomable for a camera that’s otherwise ideal for continuous shooting situations such as sports, action and wildlife – and the battery life is too short. Again, what the…? There’s no weather sealing (hello?) and no touchscreen controls despite the monitor being fully articulating and so ready for situations such as low-level shooting when being able to tap-and-go is really handy.
As we said, a pity, but… there are still some
