Nikon P90 Reviews, Samples and References

First published on: Monday, 13 July 2009

Last update (Jul 14, 2009): Nikon Coolpix P90 Review at Cameras.co.uk.

The Nikon Coolpix P90 is a digital superzoom camera that comes with 12.1 MP of resolution and a 24x (26mm — 624mm in 35mm equivalent terms) zoom lens.

Nikon Coolpix P90

The Nikon P90 ultra-zoom bridge camera was announced on 3-February-2009 (read the press release).

Basic specifications


  1. Memory storage: SD / SDHC

  2. Battery: Nikon EN-EL5 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery.

  3. Battery life: Approx. 200 shots.

  4. Weight (including batteries): 400 g (14.1 oz).

  5. Dimensions: 83 x 114 x 99 mm (3.3 x 4.5 x 3.9 in).

Refer to DPReview for a more complete breakdown of the specs.

What’s missing — No flash hotshoe on the camera means you cannot mount any of the highly-acclaimed Nikon Speedlight flash guns such as the Nikon SB-400, SB-600, SB-800 (out of production) or SB-900.

Professional reviews, user opinions, tests, ratings, conclusions and feedback

Nikon Coolpix P90 Review at Cameras.co.uk

Rating score: 83, and the verdict is:

I like the pictures I took with this camera. To be honest when it comes to picture quality there is not a great deal to choose between the leading brands. This camera has a good range of features and is a good choice for the more serious hobby photographer.

The review comes with a gallery of web-resized photo samples (portraits, scenincs, landscapes, macro / close-ups) for your evaluation.

Nikon Coolpix P90 Digital Camera Review at About.com

Kyle Schurman, the reviewer, gave the P90 2.5 out of 5 stars, and wrote:

However, the P90’s image quality just isn’t as good as we’d like to see. It’s a nice camera, but it just doesn’t seem to have a good classification: It’s too expensive for a point and shoot, and it doesn’t offer the image quality you’d want in a DSLR.

Pentax X70, Nikon P90 and Fujifilm S1500 Battle Royale with image samples at InfoSyncWorld

In this quick test, Mike Perlman says this of the P90:

There’s nothing particularly alluring about the 12-megapixel Nikon Coolpix P90’s design until you swing around the back for a glance at the 3-inch multi-angle LCD. Other than that, the camera has clearly modeled last year’s Coolpix P80 chassis. In our hands, the Nikon Coolpix P90 felt lighter than it looked, but it would still require a small camera bag.

In their final review of the P90, Mike awarded the camera an overall rating score of 70% (GOOD), and concludes the following on the image quality:

The Nikon Coolpix P90 may not pack in a ton of versatile features or external controls, but we’re damn sure about one thing, and that’s the fact that the Coolpix P90 takes some great pictures. Given its smaller, entry-level sized 12-megapixel sensor, we had our reservations, but after viewing our shots on the bi screen, we had minimal complaints.

Links to 18 full-resolution image samples can be found at the end of the review.

Nikon Coolpix P90 review at CNET

“For movie capture, the P90 still includes a neat time-lapse mode and a 30fps VGA movie mode; the latter which produces reasonably good AVI clips at a bitrate of about 1.1 megabytes per second, but it’s pretty limited: no optical zoom or optical VR available while shooting.”

The P90 earned an overall rating score of 3.5 out of 5 stars (Very Good).

Nikon Coolpix P90 Review (Digital Camera HQ)

“Unfortunately, the generally positive experience I had with the Coolpix P80 did not carry over to the P90 model. While photos taken under normal circumstances were fine looking, attempts made with the zoom in use were spotty. Some shots came out clear, others not so clear. Nikon’s “vibration reduction” image stabilization didn’t seem able to handle the extra work required to smooth out images taken at 24x. Blurs were common.”

Bought new Nikon P90! Personal Review! Ask Questions here

This is a huge discussion thread on Steves Digicams, where Jack55, the thread starter, shares his opinions about the camera, and some tips, tricks and techniques for the P90.

Feedback from James Noel of www.southernphotosupply.com (DPReview forum)

“Customers have been very happy with the zoom range in brighter light situations. Lot’s of folks in this area use them for surfing and wildlife photos as well as their little ones participating in sports. Even seen a few Space Shuttle shots from the last two launches. Not too shabby.”

User opinion by 44Magpie (DPReview forum)

“The colors are spot-on and sharpness is good throughout the zoom range. I do a lot of macro work and this lens is quite sharp on the default settings.”

User feedback by Jim Woodworth (DPReview forum)

“Startup time is good. Shutter lag is barely noticeable. Write time is good, continuous shooting is quick. Framing a shot can be a little tricky. Zooming is smooth, but doesn’t always stop exactly where I want it (user problem?). Overall, image quality is very good. Image stabilization (VR) works well.”

On close-up photography, Jim adds: “… macro focusing is quick and accurate, IQ is very good.”

Sample photos and examples, image galleries

Full-sized sample images by Jim Woodworth (DPReview forum) — Follow the links in the forum post to the full-resolution versions.

Jim has also included some EXIF data in his posts. Here are more examples.

On Flickr — visit the Nikon P90 camera finder on Flickr for the latest and most interesting photos taken with this camera. I found three fantastic images on my last visit there — Katiet Mentawai (seaside landscape), Hello! (a hedgehog) and Inside the Iris (flower macro / close-up).

There is also a Flickr group pool for the P90. You might like to also browse the discussion board.

References

PDF User Guides / Instruction / Owner Manuals for the Coolpix P90 — available in English (7.75 MB) and Spanish (8.6 MB).

You’ll need to register your camera online for the printable version of the user guide.

Official websites for the Coolpix P90 — On Nikon USA and Nikon Imaging.

Nikon Imaging has more information on specs, accessories and manuals.

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