Nikon Coolpix P520 Digital Camera, 18.1 Megapixel, 42x Optical Zoom, 1080p HD Video, Grey

2014-03-31T21:00:00

Purchased for when I need to travel light. Works well as a bridge camera. Feature-packed. Panorama works well. Macro can get very close. In Manual can start at 80 ISO. Continuous burst of 7/sec for action captures the shot well. I would have liked 50x on a non-DSLR, but they never claim it to be DSLR. Full zoom is a little blurry on the edges, but a crop soon fixes that. 1080p @ 60 is quite acceptable, but since I only bought it for stills, its a bonus. Overall, it is a good entrant by Nikon. Tip: order some spare batteries and an external charger. To save battery I turned off GPS.

Mike S.

2013-12-16T19:00:00

I own a Nikon SLR, and several point and shoot cameras. This bridge camera is great for most of what I do. I wish had bought this before my last point and shoot. It's too bulky for a pants pocket, but works well in a jacket pocket. The quality is good enough for large 20x30 prints in most situations. Wish it had RAW capability, but they have save something for the P530 I guess.

GARRETT R.

2013-08-20T21:00:00

I use it as an amateur photographer. It can take excellent Pictures of the Moon. It takes low light pictures. Zoom is incredible. 100% zoom - pixel level requires Tripod of high light levels, but 18mp*42 zoom is 4000 mm. I love it. Negatives: JPG algorithm. Normal is horrible, fine is bad. Nikon, it is only software- At least Give us a raw mode. Focus- at 42 zoom infinite focus is problematical Work around; press shutter key 1/2 aiming at something closer (than the Moon) and then back at your target, or down multi-function button and choose infinite- the mountain. If scene is very bright, use the thumb wheel to choose exposure mode -+ 1 I have taken pictures of flying birds and airplanes through the open sun roof. Real life Pics from ordinary people, facebook- P520 I did buy my wife one also!

Len

2013-05-30T21:00:00

Nice and light for birds

jim

2013-04-08T21:00:00

I chose this camera as a step up from the point-and-shoot pocket type cameras. Took me a long time to decide, but I eventually narrowed my choice to Nikon & Canon, both good names in the camera industry. I chose Nikon over the Canon based on the overall specs & what I believed the Nikon would provide for my photo needs. Only down side I've found so far (and I've only had the camera for a couple weeks so I'm just getting used to it) is that the complete manual is on a CD, so if I need to read the manual, I have to boot up my computer & put the disk in. I'm "old-school"; I liked the days when the instruction manual came with the product as a hard copy & all I had to do was flip through the instruction book to find the answer. While the camera comes with a "quick start" manual, it just starts you out with very basic info; any other questions or information has to come from the large manual on CD. The large manual seems to be very comprehensive with the information. I am very pleased with the fact that it takes great pictures in low light without the flash. While the camera is a bit bulkier than the point & shoots, I am impressed with how lightweight it is. It looks like it should weigh a ton! Haven't done much with the manual settings yet, but I used a 35 mm for many many years, so I'm looking forward to "playing" with these settings. I did buy an extra battery. I don't know how good the battery will end up being. So far I'm pleased, as I've had the camera about 2 weeks and have only charged it once (even though it didn't indicate charging was needed). I've rated the Durability category as a 7. This was a hard category to rate. This camera is not shock or water proof, and you have to treat it more gently. The camera body seems to be able to protect it reasonably well, but I suspect that if I drop it, I'll probably damage it. I don't really know how the batteries are going to hold up under heavy use; the manual gives you an average for reference. If you are looking for a camera that is a step up from the pocket-size point & shoot and one that gives you to ability to manually set shutter and appeture settings as you could with the 35mm cameras, take a look at the specs on this one. I think it's worth the money and you won't be disappointed.

Saber's M.