Nikon Coolpix P90

Viewfinder (6.00)

The electronic viewfinder on the P90 has approximately the same resolution as the LCD, refreshes smoothly and feels comfortable.

Display (5.15)

The LCD is a relatively standard 3-inch, 230,000 dot display. It has the slight advantage of being partly articulated, so you can shift it up and down when shooting at odd angles. It’s not quite as nice as a fully articulated screen like the one offered on the Canon PowerShot SX1’s, but it’s a step up from the completely fixed LCD you see on the Olympus SP-590UZ.

Flash (8.50)

One of the main advantages to having a pop-up flash, as opposed to one mounted on the camera body, is that distancing the strobe from the lens reduces redeye. The P90’s flash sticks up impressively far, which certainly helps. However, since the camera has such a long snout, the lens can still block the flash in certain situations. The flash seems very bright, with minimal drop-off towards the corners. However, even with the autofocus assist bulb, the camera had significant trouble focusing in low light situations.

Lens (15.50)

Ultrazoom cameras are all about the lens, and the Nikon P90 offers an impressive 24x zoom. This isn’t quite as huge as the 26x offered by the Olympus SP-590UZ (currently the largest zoom on the market), but it’s enough to make any wannabe paparazzo extraordinarily happy.

Another nice feature about this lens, is the maximum aperture of f/2.8 at wide angle and f/5 at full zoom. Sadly, the minimum aperture is only f/8, so you’re not going to manage an extensive depth of field.

To get a feel for just how long a zoom 24x is, have a look at the examples below.

Zoom Ratio Examples
4.6 mm	51.8 mm	110.8 mm

Battery (6.00)

The P90 uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery, the EN-EL5. Nikon gives the battery life at around 200 shots per charge, which we feel is accurate. This is on the short side, so keep an eye on the battery levels while shooting, and be sure to charge up before heading out for a weekend away.

Memory (3.00)

This camera takes SD and SDHC cards. This format is nigh on ubiquitous, and is easily found, low cost and high capacity.

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (2.00)

There’s a single I/O port located on the right side. It’s a proprietary jack, which is used for both USB and AV duties. Its proprietary nature makes it expensive and difficult to replace cables; we would have greatly preferred an industry standard USB port.