Nikon Coolpix P90 Digital Camera Review

Nikon Coolpix P90

Digital Camera Review

4 While a competent camera, the Nikon Coolpix P90 doesn't distinguish itself from the ultrazoom competition, and has a disappointing video mode. Though the 24x lens is impressive, other cameras have better features and performance.
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Sample Photos  
x Video Page 7 of 16 Playback x

 

Sample Photos


In the following sample images, clicking on the larger image will download the full resolution original. Each photo is accompanied by three actual-size crops.

Color Sample
x ISO: 64
Shutter speed: 10/21
Aperture: f/8
Focal length: 8.2mm

Shot indoors, with mixed lighting, automatic white balance, and Softer color mode.
x x x In our testing, we saw some issues with pinks and yellows, but other colors were generally accurate.

 

Landscape Sample
x ISO: 64
Shutter speed: 1/175
Aperture: f/8
Focal length: 4.6mm

Shot outdoors, with sunlight white balance, and the narrowest possible aperture.
x x x Overall the image was quite soft, and there is a fair bit of distortion around the edges of the image.

 

Macro Sample
x ISO: 64
Shutter speed: 1/242
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal length: 4.6mm

Shot in aperture priority mode, with macro focus and sunlight white balance.
x x x The P90 captured some areas of the statue's face razor sharp, and gave a pleasant softness to the rest of the image.

 

Low Light Sample
x ISO: 1600
Shutter speed: 10/83
Aperture: f3.5
Focal length: 10.3mm

Shot under very low light, with a manual white balance. The camera had a huge amount of trouble focusing properly, even only a couple of feet from the flowers. Due to this, we had to resort to manual focus.
x x x As expected, noise levels are extremely high at ISO1600, and the camera had trouble exposing correctly.

 

 

Still Life Examples


Click below to open full-resoluiton images in a new window. These may take a while to load if your Internet connection is slow.

  Still Life Comparisons
  x x x x
  Nikon P90 Canon SX1 Olympus
SP-590UZ
Sony HX1
ISO 64
(80 for Canon)
x x x
ISO 100
(125 for Sony)
x x x x
ISO 200 x x x x
ISO 400 x x x x
ISO 800 x x x x
ISO 1600 x x x x
ISO 3200 x x x x
ISO 6400 x
x

NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.

x x x
Canon SX1 Olympus SP-590UZ Sony HX1
See how the competition stacked up against the Nikon P90
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