Nikon P900

Nikon P900

Old school technology with GPS and WIFI connectivity that has been around for five plus years so stable.  Zoom wonderful for wildlife and macro is amazing.  At full zoom you can read a detailed road sign a half mile away.  On June 14, 2019, I purchased it on sale for the price of $560 including a uv filter and extra battery.  

Thoughts and Hacks

1. The camera is larger than expected and weighs more than the other digital cameras combined.  Still rapping my head around what kind of bag I need for the camera.  Currently using a shoulder bag but wondering if there is something better.  Looking for something like a day pack with camera pocket for access, pockets for batteries, room for mono/tripod and places for 2 water bottles.  

2. Battery life is about 100 stills so order an external charger and extra batteries.  

3. The weight is a real issue and needed to refresh basic hand arm positioning to stabilize camera and increase stabilization settings to active.  Active setting probably eats battery but fewer out of focus images.

4. Video mode works but limited to 27 minutes.  See https://youtu.be/3we_WEZvDGo  .

5. Decreased compression from 8 to 4 to improve quality.  Requires about 1 mb more storage space per image.

6. The shutter and focus sounds need volume control and were initially turned off because they were loud.  Later I found I missed the sound and turned it on again.  

7. Lens cap a bit clunky and tend to use only when storing camera in bag.  

8.  Initially I added a cheap UV filter to protect the lens .  UV filters are a throwback from film cameras since CMOS sensors are not designed to record UV.  The filter just protects the lens.  After a couple months use I found the images appeared to be fuzzy (out of focus) with the UV filter on.  It has been removed. 

9. Telephoto +1000 mm minimum focus distance is 17 feet.

Overall a good upgrade from my Canon SX50 and cellphone camera.