April 8-10 Various Locations
I picked up the new Nikon P900 24mm-2000mm bridge camera last week. This is my second look at the camera. My first impressions out of the box was the camera was bulky yet lightweight. The front element is quite large and imposing. I felt uncomfortable having it exposed to scuffs so I sprung for a 67mm filter. I am now looking for a hood to give further protection from rain and to control flare from the sun.
I have tried the camera in manual, aperture priority and the
bird photography mode. I have used various metering options including the matrix, centre weighted and spot. I also used it out of the box in 'idiot' program mode and it worked fine except for small objects like the Loggerhead Shrike when a small subject against a plain background forced the autofocus to hunt. I have now rectified that by reading the owner's manual and switching to single focus mode
Here are a second series of shots which I am sure with more practice and familiarity with the camera's controls better results can and will be achieved.
Black-capped Chickadee.
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| Black-capped Chickadee |
Nothing can be more fleeting than a Black-capped Chickadee or the Brown Creeper below. They don't hang around too long so I was happy to get these shots from a burst of four frames a second in
Birdwatching mode.
Brown Creeper Brydon Lagoon.
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| Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) |
The Goldeneye and the Wolf Eel Reflection.
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| Common Goldeneye |
The reflection in this shot reminds me of a Wolf Eel. The camera did a great job of keeping up with the goldeneye as it swam and dove for fish at Brydon Lagoon in Langley
Who needs a view camera anymore.... just joking!
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| Grant Narrows |
The camera can go from shooting scenics to zooming in on birds like the shrike below. Focus is quite fast. Those used to shooting a DSLR will have to adjust to the electronic view finder (EVF). I have tried a number bridge cameras with EVF and the P900 is the best so far.
P900 worked well during the Loggerhead Shrike twitch.
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| Loggerhead Shrike. |
This bird was about 30 metres (100 feet in English) away from the camera. Handheld at 2000mm or 357mm on 35mm at ISO 400 at F6.7
Normally I wouldn't have used a point and shoot but I knew it would be the perfect test. A number of birders and photographers were frustrated by not being able to get a close shot. The P900 handled the light and exposure perfectly and you might think the shot was taken with a DSLR.
Spot the Northern Shrike.
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| Just to the right of the telephone pole is a Northern Shrike. Can you see it, the camera did! I have put an arrow on the picture to help you out. |
I am not kidding but I took the shot below from across the road from my car seat, how lazy is that but as many of you now the car can make an excellent blind/hide. Can you see the bird in the picture above, look for the arrow? Again I shot at about 2000mm handheld and picked up the two shots below. The shrike moved so I had the chance for different backgrounds which the camera handled both very well.
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| Northern Shrike with mountainside creating the blueish background. |
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| P900 at 2000mm shot against clouds. The auto exposure underexposed just a little. |
From Wide to Telephoto
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| Can you see a small dark shape in the middle of the frame ? |
I stood in the same spot after I saw a turtle in the water. Probably about 20-25 metres aways and obscured by a few branches. The P900 was able to 'see" through the tangle and give me this shot below. The eye isn't quite sharp but to be honest I wasn't expecting anything much so I was pleasantly surprised by the results. I am sure with a tripod and clear view a much better image would be possible. I include it here to show how powerful a reach the P900 has.
Tulips.
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| Another handheld shot in my garden F2.8 at ISO 400 |
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Macro Mode
Tulip stamens. |
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Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Brydon Lagoon. |
In conclusion I believe the bridge camera moniker fits the P900 perfectly. I would love to see a larger chip but that would reduce the 2000mm to 1000mm or so. It would also be nice to have a larger buffer especially after using the
birdwatching Mode. However, I must say I haven't had so much fun with a camera since I bought a Nikon D3s the only difference is the P900 is $700, the D3s a lot more.
"It never too late to start birding"
John Gordon
Langley/Cloverdale
BC Canada
