Nikon Coolpix P520 Camera - Black (18.1MP, 42xZoom, 24mm Wide Lens) 3.2 inch LCD

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using the instructions below. If this latest version is already installed in your camera, you need not update the firmware. Ordinarily, this kind of additional stabilisation is reserved for movie shooting and it’s a little odd to provide two levels of stabilisation for stills shooting, if there’s a more effective option, why not just include that and forget about the less effective one? It’s possible, I suppose, that Active mode consumes significantly more power, and with the COOLPIX P520’s less than stellar battery life, that would be a consideration. But the answer to that is surely to turn on Active mode when you need stabilisation and turn it off altogether when you don’t? Switch to the PASM modes and both the Command dial thumb wheel and multi-selector wheel are used to change the appropriate exposure control; the command dial engages program shift in Program auto (Canon take note – the SX520 HS doesn’t do this) and the shutter speed in Shutter priority and Manual modes. The multi selector wheel is allocated to the aperture in Aperture priority and Manual modes.

Nikon Coolpix P520 Overview - Digital Photography Review

The COOLPIX P520 has two full resolution continuous shooting modes; Continuous L shoots a burst of up to 30 frames at about 1fps and Continuous H shoots a one-second burst of 7 frames at, that’s right, 7fps. There are also some novel continuous shooting options that use a pre-shooting cache to capture a sequence including images recorded before you press the shutter release. The pre-shooting cache starts recording when you half-press the shutter release for half a second or more and captures a total of up to 20 frames included 5 pre cached frames at around 15fps. ISO 80 - 1600; ISO 3200, Hi 1 (equivalent to ISO 6400) (available when using P, S, A or M mode); ISO Hi 2 (equivalent to ISO 12800) (available when using High ISO monochrome in special effects mode) The Nikon P520 goes head to head with cameras including the Fuji HS50 EXR, which also features a 42x optical zoom. The Fuji, however, boasts a maximum aperture of f/2.8 at the wide end of the lens, compared with the Nikon P520's f/3.0 offering. A flap on the right of the P530’s body provides access to the combined USB / A/V out port and a mini HDMI port. The combined battery and card compartment is in the base of the grip. Like the H400, the COOLPIX P530 battery is charged in the camera using either the supplied USB charger or you can plug it into a laptop or other suitable charger using a standard USB cable. All in all, it’s much more convenient than having to carry around a proprietary charger. Nikon COOLPIX P530 lens and stabilisation

Nikon COOLPIX P530 lens and stabilisation

Camera Strap, Lens Cap LC-CP24 (with cord), Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL5 (with terminal cover), Charging AC Adapter EH-69P, USB Cable UC-E6, Audio Video Cable EG-CP16, ViewNX 2 Installer CD, Reference Manual CD The screen is impressive, it's 3.2 inch in size and has a 921k dot resolution. It rotates to make it easy to shoot with the camera in higher or lower positions. The electronic viewfinder is useful for when shooting with the zoom at a long length as it reduces camera shake, but it's quite small and has a low resolution. Yes it's a nice idea, but a lens capable of 1000mm (equivalent) focal length (like the P520), but with a 17x13mm sensor, would have to have a 500mm maximum focal length. This would be big and very expensive, with a large amount of precision, specialist glass, making a camera with such a (fixed) lens an unrealistic proposition. One of the longest lenses for the micro 4/3 format (which, of course, uses 17x13mm sensors) is the Panasonic 100-300mm model. A 42x zoom factor for such a lens is also unrealistic. At full resolution, there are two JPEG quality settings availableon the Nikon Coolpix P520 - Fine and Normal. x 3672]; 8M [3264 x 2448]; 4M [2272 x 1704]; 2M [1600 x 1200]; VGA [640 x 480]; 16:9 13M [4864 x 2736]; 16:9 2M [1920 x 1080]; 3:2 [4896 x 3264]; 1:1 [3672 x 3672]

Nikon COOLPIX P520 | Cameralabs

The body design has barely changed since the P500, remaining amazingly compact considering the lens. And the lens is really the bulk of the weight, which makes the rest of the body feel lightweight and cheaply constructed. However, the right-hand grip is deep and comfortable with a textured rubber piece on front and the large lens barrel gives you ample space to hold and steady the camera with your left hand. The controls are comfortably placed and responsive. Electronic viewfinder, 0.5 cm (0.2-in.) approx. 201k-dot equivalent LCD with the diopter adjustment function (-4 to +4 m-1)However, searching the web there seems to be a possibilty of using another cable where I can connect the camera to the laptop, feeding in power to the battery, and being able to start the camera whilst connected to the laptop. Here, I’ve compared the COOLPIX P530 with the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS, which shares the same 42x zoom range, 16 Megapixel resolution and a lot of other features besides. I’ve also tested it alongside Sony’s Cyber-shot H400 which has a massive 63.3x zoom in a slightly larger, heavier body. Read on to discover which is the best buy for those looking for a long zoom with an affordable price tag. Featuring a 1/2.3-inch image sensor, the Coolpix P520 delivers detailed and vibrant images. Its CMOS sensor technology enhances low-light performance, producing clear shots even in dimly lit environments. The menu system is easy enough to navigate, it looks very similar to the menus used on Nikon's DSLRs. One frustration that has been improved upon since the P510 is that when you switch the camera on with the lens cap attached, no error message appears. You just need to pop it off and start shooting. The Nikon Coolpix P520 has four different Picture Controls, which can be individually tweaked (sharpening, contrast and saturation) to suit your taste.

Nikon Coolpix P520 Review - Bundles - Photography PX Nikon Coolpix P520 Review - Bundles - Photography PX

The P520 has the ability to shoot full-resolution stills at up to 7 frames per second (fps), the same rate as its predecessor, for 7 shots rather than 5 as on the P510. There is also a slower burst mode, called Continuous L, in which the frame rate drops to 1fps, but you can capture up to 30 full-resolution photos at the Large quality setting. Note that you cannot use the flash in any of the continuous shooting modes. Disappointingly the P520 still doesn't support the RAW file format, something that all of its main competitors offer, and a prosumer feature that frankly we'd expect on this class of camera. Its autofocus system is slow when the lens is zoomed in, especially when compared with other models in its class; battery life is short; and the camera feels cheaply constructed. With zoom ranges becoming ever longer, stabilization takes on a more and more important role. The COOLPIX P530 employs optical stabilization, shifting the lens elements to compensate for camera movement; Nikon calls it Vibration reduction. There are three settings available from the P530’s menu, Off, Normal and Active. Active mode irons out excessive wobbling, examples of the kinds of conditions it might be useful in, according to the manual, are ‘when shooting from a car or under poor foothold conditions’. The question is, how much more effective is Active mode than the Normal setting? To find out, I zoomed the COOLPIX P520 to its maximum 1200mm telephoto focal length and set it to Shutter priority mode. I then took a sequence of shots with the stabilisation turned off at progressively slower shutter speeds. I repeated the sequence with the stabilisation in Normal mode, then a third time with stabilisation set to Active mode.

On the right flank of the camera - still viewing it from the rear - there's a metal eyelet for attaching the supplied shoulder strap and a plastic cover protecting the HDMI port and A/V out / USB port. On the left hand flank is another eyelet. There's a centrally positioned, metal tripod mount on the bottom of the camera. The P520 is powered by a 1100 mAh lithium ion battery, good for around 200 shots, that slots into the base alongside the SD / SDHC / SDXC card slot. There is a small internal memory too, but it will only hold a few photos at full resolution, so you'll definitely need a memory card. Note that recharging the P520 is a somewhat convoluted affair, with the battery remaining in camera and requiring the battery cover to be closed. The Nikon Coolpix P520 has 8 sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 6400 at full resolution.

Nikon COOLPIX P530 review | Cameralabs Nikon COOLPIX P530 review | Cameralabs

Seems to me, if this little camera had a 17mmx13mm sensor (or even bigger) it would be a giant killer.The COOLPIX P520 has the same 0.2inch, 201k dot electronic viewfinder as its predecessor. A small dial on the left of it allows you to adjust the dioptre correction for your vision. These specifications are fairly typical in a super-zoom in this price category and in fact they’re shared by both the PowerShot SX50 HS and the Lumix FZ70 / FZ72. But one thing the specifications don’t show is the apparent size of the viewfinder and the COOLPIX P520’s EVF looks a little bit smaller than those of the other two models. It’s a small difference, but one that could be significant if you rely on the EVF the majority of the time to compose shots.