Nikon Coolpix P510 - is it any good?

[Dom1n8tr1x]

I'm in the market for a new superzoom camera and the P510 immediately attracted my attention.

I've seen mixed reviews about this camera and would like to know if anyone here owns one or have used one, if so - do you recommend it?

http://www.dpreview.com/products/nik...s/nikon_cpp510

I already own a DLSR but would like a nice superzoom as a backup/replacement since my four year old DLSR is a bit outdated.

[ldmelsa]

Why not Canon? They make better P&S cams, I think?

[Synaesthesia]

It's a great superzoom.

[BeVonk!]

Was looking at the same. The one year older P500 is going very cheap at IC at present. Not much difference.

The Sony HX200V is a very good camera but somewhat expensive. The Canon SX40H is still best value.

However: keep size in mind. Much smaller cameras are now coming out with great zoom. The Samsung WB850F (21x) is a winner (and it has wi-fi) and it goes for R3200.

[Dom1n8tr1x]

Why not Canon? They make better P&S cams, I think?

Canon make good cameras, but theirs are only 12 mega pixel with 35x optical zoom compared to the Nikon that's 16 mega pixel with 42x optical zoom.

It's a great superzoom.

Yes I've looked at some video reviews and it looks awesome.

Was looking at the same. The one year older P500 is going very cheap at IC at present. Not much difference.

The Sony HX200V is a very good camera but somewhat expensive. The Canon SX40H is still best value.

However: keep size in mind. Much smaller cameras are now coming out with great zoom. The Samsung WB850F (21x) is a winner (and it has wi-fi) and it goes for R3200.

Thanks I was looking at the Sony as well since I'm a Sony fan, but then I saw the Nikon with it's 42x zoom. It basically has the same functions as the Sony.

I can get the Canon SX40H for R1200 cheaper than the Nikon. Guess I will have to sleep on my decision, maybe I'll go for the Canon instead.

[bwana]

Wow - 1000mm is a whole lotta zoom - how does the IS, and the camera itself, perform at those lengths? Keeping something framed at that length is going to be tough.

[Dom1n8tr1x]

Thought it over and I think the Canon would be a better buy. It has a hot shoe which is a big plus in my books.

I read up on all the features of the Canon and it has some nice novelty features like a digital 1.5x and 2.0x teleconverter, which effectively will increase the optical zoom to 1600mm.

One minus point for the Canon is the fact that you cannot use the zoom when taking macro shots, but all the other plus features outweighs this shortcoming.

[genetic]

I read up on all the features of the Canon and it has some nice novelty features like a digital 1.5x and 2.0x teleconverter, which effectively will increase the optical zoom to 1600mm.

Stay away from digital zoom

[bwana]

Stay away from digital zoom

Yeah - there's no difference between digital zoom and cropping - well apart from you cant "uncrop" an image that has been digitally zoomed.

[Quantum Theory]

Thought it over and I think the Canon would be a better buy. It has a hot shoe which is a big plus in my books.

I read up on all the features of the Canon and it has some nice novelty features like a digital 1.5x and 2.0x teleconverter, which effectively will increase the optical zoom to 1600mm.

One minus point for the Canon is the fact that you cannot use the zoom when taking macro shots, but all the other plus features outweighs this shortcoming.

I don't know. Why is the hot shoe such a big plus? In my books, the Nikon is the better buy... You might say I'm Nikon biased, because I am a Nikon shooter, but for me that looks like the best super zoom (bridge) camera out there.

[bwana]

I don't know. Why is the hot shoe such a big plus? In my books, the Nikon is the better buy... You might say I'm Nikon biased, because I am a Nikon shooter, but for me that looks like the best super zoom (bridge) camera out there.

Because even at the best of times the built in flash is barely better than nothing? Apart from being able to use a speedlight a hot shoe also lends itself to a cls for video as well as remote triggers for off camera.

[Dom1n8tr1x]

Stay away from digital zoom

Yeah - there's no difference between digital zoom and cropping - well apart from you cant "uncrop" an image that has been digitally zoomed.

The digital teleconverter mode seems to work quite well on this camera. (reminds me of Sony's smart zoom feature) It still has digital zoom as well (140x) which goes in excess of a ridiculously unusable 3000+ mm ( you can't use the digital teleconverter together with digital zoom) which as we all know does not give very satisfactory results.

I don't know. Why is the hot shoe such a big plus? In my books, the Nikon is the better buy... You might say I'm Nikon biased, because I am a Nikon shooter, but for me that looks like the best super zoom (bridge) camera out there.

Because even at the best of times the built in flash is barely better than nothing? Apart from being able to use a speedlight a hot shoe also lends itself to a cls for video as well as remote triggers for off camera.

What bwana said plus most reviews complain that the continues auto focus in video mode on the Nikon does not work so well. The build in GPS also fail to correctly tag the photos, with only a handful of photos out of 100 being tagged. (not that this bothers me that much, but if it fails in simple features like this - what else may be lacking?)

Can't wait to pick up my new Canon at lunch.

[bwana]

The digital teleconverter mode seems to work quite well on this camera. (reminds me of Sony's smart zoom feature) It still has digital zoom as well (140x) which goes in excess of a ridiculously unusable 3000+ mm ( you can't use the digital teleconverter together with digital zoom) which as we all know does not give very satisfactory results.

trust me digital zoom/digital teleconverter = cropping, which as we both know can be done in post.

[Stavats]

Also looking to get the SX40 today based on my experiences with the SX30.

Where are you getting yours? Makro has a combo deal for R3999, but Incredible has a camera only deal for R3499!! Think I'll be going to Incredible since the combo includes a 8gb card and I need a 16gb. Anyone know how much a bag will cost?

[Dom1n8tr1x]

Unfortunately I live about 60km from the nearest big town, (don't feel like traveling, road is dangerous and woman are being followed by criminals/hijackers on this particular stretch of road) so I'm buying locally at an inflated price of R4300 plus another odd R400 for a class 6 16GB sd card.

Bags are not that expensive, your should be able to get a decent one for under R300 depending on what size you're looking for.

I bought one of these khaki fabric ones at Game that houses my DLSR with standard zoom lens attached, 300mm zoom lens, flash, digital video recorder and accessories for approximately R350 if I recall correctly.