Nikon boldly claims you don’t need a telescope to see the International Space Station in flight, or look at the rings of Saturn: the COOLPIX P1000, the most extreme zoom Nikon ever, is all you need.

On the last stretch of the celebration of its 100^th anniversary, which the company celebrated from July 2017 to July 2018, Nikon introduced a camera to take you, as the company says, to the Moon and beyond. The COOLPIX P1000 is, no doubt, the new undisputed powerhouse of superzooms, offering a 125x optical zoom which, by the magic of digital, can be extended all the way to 250x, meaning the lens can cover a total of 24-6000mm. Yes, you read it here: a 6000mm focal length!

https://youtu.be/K0Udy2eXzdQ

Imagine being able to zoom far beyond the reach of standard telephoto lenses, to capture not just the moon from your backyard, but detail of the craters, peaks and valleys of its surface. Now, imagine you can also capture that in video, as demonstrated here, in a 4K UHD video shot at 3000mm. As Nikon says, with this bridge camera you can capture your world and beyond. Yes, it is not a professional camera, but it does, without any doubt, open a whole series of options that you would not be able to reach with the lenses available for other cameras. 3000mm? I want to play! Even the digital 6000mm, that’s  250x, using the Dynamic Fine Zoom4, makes me curious. Nikon even says that the pure digital zoom takes the lens close to… 12000mm equivalent in 35mm.

It’s not the camera for everybody, and the long lens and not so luminous aperture (it’s a f/8 at 3000mm) will take its toll, but on the other hand, there are so many good things here, from the option to use RAW to macro photography with focus as close as 1 cm, or the option to create fast-motion footage with the time-lapse and superlapse recording modes, that the COOLPIX P1000 seems like a good camera to take around for your voyages, either close to home or abroad.

https://youtu.be/r5-WbBJBkSo

Nikon says the P1000 was designed as the ideal companion camera and a game-changer for birders, sports and wildlife enthusiasts, travel photographers and celestial-photographers seeking superior performance from extreme distances. It offers point and shoot simplicity, but also offers manual functions for advanced users seeking precise control. The camera offers an innovative control layout – which DSLR users will probably love – complete with a function button, command dial and mode dial to bring frequently used functions to a photographer’s fingertips.

“The COOLPIX P1000 is the first of its kind for a compact digital camera,” said Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President, Nikon Inc. “It raises the bar for superzoom cameras and is a testament to our commitment to delivering innovative tools that offer creative freedom to capture and allow users to share their unique visions of the world.”

Nikon says the camera is production-ready in terms of video. With 4K UHD video, the camera features stereo audio recording and includes an HDMI port for recording and playback to an external monitor, a microphone jack for optimal sound capture, and a hot-shoe for mounting even more filmmaking accessories. It may not be the cinema camera you want, but the long lens may be an asset to consider here, to capture images that would otherwise not be possible.

To handle capture at the extreme distances offered by the zoom, the camera is equipped with the latest Nikon EXPEED image processing system and Dual Detect Optical VR technology for 5-stops of camera shake compensation that help capture sharp images and reduce blur. The light capturing device is a 16 megapixel back-side illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor – some expected more but this is probably a compromise.  Nikon says they expanded the ISO range up to 6400, so the P1000 affords users the versatility to capture superior image quality even under challenging lighting conditions.

The COOLPIX P1000 also boasts a variety of high-speed features including a quick start-up and fast Autofocus (AF) system, making it an ideal choice for capturing action from the sidelines of your kid’s soccer game or from an adventure-packed safari. Additionally, whether capturing a ballplayer sliding into home plate or photographing a bird in flight from afar, users will feel confident finding, tracking and capturing these far-away subjects using the camera’s snap-back zoom feature which temporarily expands the field of view for super-telephoto shots.

The camera includes a focus mode selector that can be used to change the focus mode and a control ring that allows for the adjustment of settings such as the white balance and manual focus. Photographers will find the camera’s built-in 2.3-million dot OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) helpful when composing their shot, while the Vari-Angle 3.2-inch 921K-dot TFT LCD display is ideal for capturing challenging angles like framing a performer on a concert stage.

Picture controls, create modes and filter effects are present, and users can take advantage of the camera’s designated scene modes, such as Moon Mode and Bird Watching Mode, to automatically adjust settings to deliver brilliant results in a variety of environments. Or not! Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity are present, as expected, both for controlling the camera and to share images to social media.

The new COOLPIX P1000 is equipped with an accessory terminal and an accessory shoe that supports a wide variety of compatible devices, including external Nikon Speedlights. To bring more capabilities and creative control to photographers, Nikon also announced the new ML-L7 Bluetooth connected remote as another optional accessory available for the COOLPIX P1000. The ML-L7 Bluetooth connected remote control expands the shooting possibilities of the P1000 by enabling users to trigger various camera functions, including video start and smooth zoom control, remotely.

The COOLPIX P1000 will have a suggested retail price (SRP) of $999.95 and will be available in September 2018. The new ML-L7 Bluetooth connected remote control will also be available in September 2018 for a SRP of $49.95.