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Nikon COOLPIX P1000 Camera Review

Tested using Methodology v0.12.1
Reviewed Jun 25, 2021 at 10:05 am
Latest change: Writing modified Jan 29, 2024 at 09:10 am
Nikon COOLPIX P1000 Picture
5.4
Travel Photography
5.2
Landscape Photography
6.6
Sport & Wildlife Photography
4.8
Raw Photo Performance
5.6
Vlogging
5.9
Studio Video
1.9
Action Video

The Nikon COOLPIX P1000 is a bridge camera with an extremely long zoom lens. It has an outstanding 125x zoom that makes it a solid choice for sport and wildlife photography and gives you a ton of flexibility in framing, whether taking a landscape or zooming in close up on a faraway subject. It delivers fine-quality images in broad daylight, although it isn't the best option for low-light photography due to poor noise handling. Image stabilization is good, which is necessary when using the full zoom, even on a tripod. It feels well-built overall, although it's exceptionally bulky and heavy due to the size of the lens. That said, it comes with an array of inputs and outputs, including a microphone jack, hot shoe, and remote control input. Unfortunately, it's not well-suited to video, with bad overall autofocus performance and poor video quality.

Our Verdict

5.4 Travel Photography

The Nikon P1000 is disappointing for travel photography. The image quality is good, particularly when it comes to noise handling, but image sharpness decreases significantly at higher ISO levels, so it's best suited to shooting in brighter conditions. It feels well-built, with robust materials and a sturdy grip. However, it's very big and heavy, so it's not very convenient to carry around while traveling. Battery life is okay, although this depends on settings and usage habits. The max aperture is also limited, so you have less flexibility in producing a shallow depth of field.

Pros
  • Okay image quality for its class in bright conditions.
  • Feels well-built.
  • Okay battery life.
Cons
  • Very big and heavy.
  • Very poor low light performance.
  • Maximum aperture is limited.
  • Bad autofocus performance.
5.2 Landscape Photography

The Nikon COOLPIX P1000 isn't well-suited for landscape photography. It delivers relatively high-quality images, considering its sensor size and lens. However, it isn't recommended for low light because of its poor noise handling. On the upside, it feels well-built and fairly comfortable to use, although it's exceptionally bulky and heavy, making it harder to take to remote shooting locations. The incredibly long focal length gives you a lot of flexibility in framing, though it's less suited to very wide-angle shots.

Pros
  • Okay image quality for its class in bright conditions.
  • Extremely long focal length.
  • Feels well-built.
Cons
  • Very big and heavy.
  • Very poor low light performance.
  • Bad autofocus performance.
  • Poor dynamic range.
6.6 Sport & Wildlife Photography

The Nikon COOLPIX P1000 is okay for sport and wildlife photography. It has an extremely long built-in zoom lens that's great for capturing incredibly far-off subjects. The image quality is also decent for its class, although image quality degrades significantly in low light. Unfortunately, its burst shooting is mediocre. It can capture up to seven photos in a single burst, but it has to empty the buffer after each burst, slowing you down considerably. Its autofocus system also performs badly, so it can sometimes struggle to track moving subjects.

Pros
  • Okay image quality for its class in bright conditions.
  • Extremely long focal length.
  • Feels well-built.
  • Quick shutter speed.
Cons
  • Very big and heavy.
  • Very poor low light performance.
  • Continuous shooting speed is limited by buffer.
  • Bad autofocus performance.
4.8 Raw Photo Performance

The Nikon P1000 has poor RAW photo performance. Its dynamic range is very limited, so the range of highlight and shadow detail it can capture, especially in high-contrast scenes, is disappointing. Images also lack detail and sharpness when punching in because of the sensor's relatively low resolution. It also does a bad job of managing noise in low light, with a limiting max ISO of 6400 which gives you less flexibility. Considering the camera's sensor size and exceptionally long zoom lens, you can still get very usable results in broad daylight and bright lighting conditions.

Pros
  • Okay image quality for its class in bright conditions.
Cons
  • Very poor low light performance.
  • Poor dynamic range.
  • Images lack detail when cropping in.
5.6 Vlogging

The Nikon P1000 is inadequate for vlogging. The overall video quality is poor, especially in low light, where there's a lot of noticeable grain and loss of detail. It's also extremely bulky and heavy, making it difficult to carry around for long periods. Also, its video stabilization works well in FHD but performs much worse in 4k. That said, it does have a fully articulated screen, so you can monitor yourself as you record. Lastly, its autofocus system performs poorly and is especially bad at face tracking.

Pros
  • Fully articulated screen.
  • Good video stabilization in FHD.
Cons
  • Terrible video autofocus performance.
  • Poor overall video quality.
  • Very big and heavy.
  • Video stabilization does a poor job in 4k.
5.9 Studio Video

The Nikon P1000 is a poor choice for studio video. The video quality is poor overall, in both FHD and 4k, with a lot of visual noise in low light especially. That said, it looks okay in more controlled lighting conditions. Its autofocus performance is terrible, especially with tracking moving subjects. On the upside, it has a fairly straightforward menu system. It also includes a microphone jack and remote control port, and it supports clean HDMI output to use an external recorder without any overlays.

Pros
  • Menu system is fairly simple.
Cons
  • Terrible video autofocus performance.
  • Poor overall video quality.
  • Very big and heavy.
1.9 Action Video

The Nikon P1000 isn't meant for action video. It's far too bulky and heavy to easily carry around and isn't designed to be mounted on a helmet or other accessory. It also lacks water resistance or weather-sealing, although this isn't something we currently test. The video quality is also poor overall, especially in low light. Finally, it doesn't support frame rates above 30 fps in 4k or 60 fps in FHD, so it's unsuited for capturing high-speed action or generating smooth slow-motion video.

Pros
  • Good video stabilization in FHD.
  • Feels well-built.
Cons
  • Terrible video autofocus performance.
  • Poor overall video quality.
  • Very big and heavy.
  • Not water-resistant.
  • Doesn't support higher frame rates for fast action.
  • 5.4 Travel Photography
  • 5.2 Landscape Photography
  • 6.6 Sport & Wildlife Photography
  • 4.8 Raw Photo Performance
  • 5.6 Vlogging
  • 5.9 Studio Video
  • 1.9 Action Video
  1. Updated Jan 29, 2024: Added text to the 'Raw Photo Performance' verdict box and updated other verdict boxes for accuracy and clarity.
  2. Updated Jan 29, 2024: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.1.
  3. Updated Apr 24, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.
  4. Updated Apr 12, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.11.
  5. Updated Oct 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
  6. Updated Aug 05, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
  7. Updated Apr 22, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
  8. Updated Jun 25, 2021: Review published.
  9. Updated Jun 09, 2021: Early access published.
  10. Updated Jun 01, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
  11. Updated May 28, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

The Nikon COOLPIX P1000 only comes in 'Black'. You can see our unit's label here.

If you come across another variant, or your P1000 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review.

Compared To Other Cameras

Nikon COOLPIX P950

The Nikon COOLPIX P1000 is the follow-up to the Nikon COOLPIX P950. Both are superzoom cameras with incredibly long fixed zoom lenses. The main advantage of the P1000 is that its built-in lens has an even longer zoom range, though that comes at the cost of making the camera even bulkier.

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS

The Nikon COOLPIX P1000 and the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS are both superzoom or bridge cameras. At more than twice the price, the Nikon is certainly a bigger investment, but it also puts the "super" in "superzoom" in a way that puts the Canon to shame. It has a whopping 125x zoom range, compared to the Canon's 65x zoom. Of course, that also makes it a whole lot less portable. If you need that kind of zoom, the Nikon is the winner, but for more casual and everyday photography, go with the Canon.

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
0.6
Design
Portability
Height
4.7" (12.0 cm)
Width
5.8" (14.7 cm)
Depth
8.0" (20.4 cm)
Volume
219.6 in³ (3,599.0 cm³)
Weight
3.15 lbs (1.43 kg)
7.5
Design
Build Quality

  • Body is made of plastic with rubber grips
  • Screen sticks out from the body slightly and sits loosely in place, and it may get in the way when using the back dial
  • Plastic on the backside of the screen has a lot of flex to it, but the hinge feels sturdy
  • Flash mechanism is sturdy
  • Buttons are large and provide good tactile feedback
  • USB and other inputs are covered by a hinged rubber flap that feels secure, while the microphone jack is covered by a simpler rubber flap
  • Battery/SD card compartment is covered with a hinged plastic door that locks into place
  • Tripod socket is slightly shallower than the tripod mount on most other cameras we've tested. Our regular tripod fit without issue, but we couldn't secure the mounting plate when using our video tripod

Design
Body
Body Type
Bridge
Water Resistance
No
Mirrorless
Yes
Rugged
No
Hot Shoe
Yes
Customizable Button
Yes
Command Dial
3
Tripod Mount
Yes
Lens Mount
No Lens Mount
Built-In Flash
Yes
Fastest Shutter Speed
1/4,000 s
Design
In The Box

  • Nikon COOLPIX P1000 Camera
  • Shoulder strap
  • Lens cap
  • Lens hood
  • USB-A to Micro-USB cable
  • AC adapter
  • 1x Nikon EN-EL20a battery
  • Quick Start guide

6.5
Design
Ergonomics & Comfort
Hand Grip: Small Hand
Yes
Hand Grip: Medium Hand
Yes
Hand Grip: Large Hand
Yes
Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand
Yes

  • The camera is very big and heavy, making it difficult to hold in one hand
  • Includes rubberized grips on the back and both sides of the body, and the grips are textured, non-slippery, and feel secure
  • Rubber around viewfinder is stiff and uncomfortable, but viewfinder sticks out enough to provide ample space to comfortably look through
  • Thumb rest can get uncomfortable after some time due to the camera's heavy weight
  • Space between grip and lens is a bit tight, so fingers may feel a bit pinched if you have larger hands
  • Dedicated dials make it easy to adjust aperture and shutter speed, but adjusting ISO is more difficult, whether using the Fn menu or if you've remapped the lens dial to adjust ISO
  • Fully articulated screen helps when shooting from unconventional angles
  • SD card is accessible while the camera is mounted on a tripod

Design
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type
Electronic
Advertised Coverage
99%
Advertised Resolution
2.36 million dots
Advertised Magnification
N/A
7.8
Design
Screen
Screen Articulation Type
Fully-Articulated
Screen Max Brightness
493 cd/m²
Advertised Resolution
0.92 million dots
Size
3.2" (8.2 cm)
Touchscreen
No
7.0
Design
Menu System
Guide Mode
No
App Name
Nikon SnapBridge

  • Menu system is basic and easy to navigate using the camera's controls
  • No touchscreen
  • Some settings are a bit confusing to find. For example, the 'Vibration Reduction' setting is in both the 'Settings' tab and the 'Photo' and 'Video' tabs.
  • Fn menu acts as a quick settings menu, but it can be a bit difficult to configure
  • Fn menu isn't available in 'Movie' mode.

Note: The camera's display has a 4:3 aspect ratio, but when connected to an external monitor over HDMI, it stretches the menu to a 16:9 aspect ratio. As such, the screenshot above may not be fully representative of the menu system as seen on the actual camera.

6.7
Design
Built-In Lens
Maximum Aperture
2.8 - 8
Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent)
f/15.7
Minimum Focal Length
4.3 mm
Maximum Focal Length
539 mm
Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent)
3,000 mm
Optical Image Stabilization
Yes
Luminance
82%
Light Falloff
64.3%
Design
Sensor
Sensor Type
BSI CMOS
Advertised Effective Pixels
16 MP
Sensor Size
1/2.3-inch
Processor
Unspecified
Extended ISO Minimum
N/A
Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)
100
Native ISO Maximum
6,400
Tested Firmware
Ver. 1.4

Note: ISO 3200 and 6400 are only available when using the Program, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, or Manual modes. Also, in 'Movie' Manual mode, the lowest ISO you can use is 125.

6.6
Design
Battery
Battery Type
Nikon EN-EL20a
USB Charging
Yes
Power Delivery While Recording
No
Advertised Battery Life In Photo
250 photos
Tested Battery Life In Video
122 min

Note: We had some issues charging the camera with the included charging cable. At first, the cable didn't work. We ended up charging the battery using the Nikon COOLPIX P950 and a generic charging cable, but your experience may differ.

Photo General
6.6
Photo General
Photo Shooting Speed
Low Speed Continuous
1 fps
High Speed Continuous
7 fps
Silent Shooting Continuous
7 fps
Raw Buffer Size
7 Photos
JPEG Buffer Size
7 Photos
Buffer Empty Time
5 s

Note: This camera only allows continuous shooting in 'High Speed' and 'Silent' modes in bursts of 7 fps before having to wait for the buffer to empty to shoot another seven frames. However, it does allow for 120 and 60 fps shooting in 'High Speed' with the image quality locked to VGA, although this feature is meant for time-lapse photography rather than a true continuous shooting mode.

not tested
Photo General
Photo AF-C Tracking
Autofocus Tracking Shots N/A
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
N/A
Usable Focus Hit Rate
N/A
not tested
Photo General
Photo AF-C Center Point
Autofocus Center Point Shots N/A
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
N/A
Usable Focus Hit Rate
N/A
7.8
Photo General
Photo Image Stabilization
Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved
1/13 s
In-Body Image Stabilization
No

Note: We were unable to follow our usual test methodology for the image stabilization test with this camera since setting ISO to Auto in 'Manual' mode fixes it at ISO 100, resulting in images that were too dark to use. As such, we tested image stabilization using 'Shutter Priority' mode. Consequently, the results may not be fully comparable to other cameras we've tested.

Photo Image Quality
5.0
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Dynamic Range
Dynamic Range At Base ISO
7.4 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time
6.4 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time
4.5 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time
1.6 f-stops
4.8
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Sharpness
Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
1,064 LW/PH
Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
987 LW/PH
4.7
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Noise
SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms)
28.6dB
SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms)
23.5 dB
SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms)
18.4 dB
SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms)
N/A
Pictures Sample Gallery
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Skate Park Picture
JPEG Skate Park Picture Download
RAW Skate Park Picture Download
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Polish Church Picture
JPEG Polish Church Picture Download
RAW Polish Church Picture Download
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Studio Picture
JPEG Studio Picture Download
RAW Studio Picture Download
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Stairway Picture
JPEG Stairway Picture Download
RAW Stairway Picture Download
Video General
Video General
Video Features
Full HD Video
Yes
4k Video
Yes
6k Video
No
Clean HDMI Output
Yes
Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI
Not Advertised
Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI
N/A
Log Picture Profile
No
Recording Light
No

Note: Clean HDMI output is only available when the camera is in 'Movie' mode. Once connected, the 'HDMI' settings menu is grayed out, meaning you have to select the resolution and enable clean HDMI output before you connect the HDMI cable to the camera.

Video General
Audio
Audio Test Sample
Audio Recording
Stereo
Microphone Level Display
No
Video General
Video File Format And Compression
MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
Yes
MP4 H.265 / HEVC
No
MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
MOV H.265 / HEVC
No
AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
All-I Compression
No
4k Video
4.5
4k Video
4k Video Frame Rate
240 fps In 4k
No
120 fps In 4k
No
60 fps In 4k
No
30 fps In 4k
Yes
24 fps In 4k
No
4k Crop At Max Available fps
1 x
7.6
4k Video
4k Video Internal Recording
Bitrate Maximum In 4k
76 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In 4k
76 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In 4k
4:2:0
Bit Depth In 4k
8 Bit
Record Time Limit In 4k
29 min
Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k
0
3.9
4k Video
4k Video Autofocus Performance
Object Tracking In 4k
7.3
Face Tracking In 4k
1.8
Face Detection In 4k
No
Eye Detection In 4k
No

Note: We deviated from our usual methodology when testing object tracking performance by placing the camera 50 cm away from the mug instead of the usual 23 cm to achieve the proper depth of field required for this test. As such, the results may not be fully comparable to other cameras we've tested.

4.9
4k Video
4k Video Quality
Low Light Capability In 4k
2.5
Test Scene Extract In 4k
7.3
5.9
4k Video
4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
4k Rolling Shutter
6.7°
Full HD Video
5.5
Full HD Video
FHD Video Frame Rate
240 fps In FHD
No
120 fps In FHD
No
60 fps In FHD
Yes
30 fps In FHD
Yes
24 fps In FHD
No
FHD Crop At Max Available fps
1 x
7.4
Full HD Video
FHD Video Internal Recording
Bitrate Maximum In FHD
40 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In FHD
21 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In FHD
4:2:0
Bit Depth In FHD
8 Bit
Record Time Limit in FHD
29 min
2.8
Full HD Video
FHD Video Autofocus Performance
Object Tracking In FHD
4.7
Face Tracking In FHD
1.8
Face Detection In FHD
No
Eye Detection In FHD
No

Note: We deviated from our usual methodology when testing object tracking performance by placing the camera 50 cm away from the mug instead of the usual 23 cm to achieve the proper depth of field required for this test. As such, the results may not be fully comparable to other cameras we've tested.

4.5
Full HD Video
FHD Video Quality
Low Light Capability In FHD
2.5
Test Scene Extract In FHD
6.5
5.7
Full HD Video
FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
FHD Rolling Shutter
7.0°
Storage And Connectivity
Storage And Connectivity
Storage
Card 1 Slot
SD Card UHS-I
Card 2 Slot
No 2nd Card Slot
7.8
Storage And Connectivity
Inputs / Outputs
USB
Micro USB
HDMI
Micro (Type D)
Headphones
No
Microphone
Stereo
Wi-Fi
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes

Note: This camera also has an extra port to connect a remote control, which may be useful to some, especially if you want to adjust settings without disturbing the camera and introducing camera shake on an extremely zoomed-in shot.