Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Review of Nikon Coolpix P520 by Nat Napoletano Everything is relative so I will be comparing Nikon's Coolpix P250 to its main competitor the Canon SX50 (they sell for the same price). WHAT NIKON DID RIGHT: Under ideal conditions, the 18.1 megapixel Nikon creates images with higher resolution than the Canon. My images shot at a resolution chart showed that the Nikon had a real resolution of about 12 megapixels (18.1 advertized) and the cannon resolved about 9 megapixels (12 advertized). But under actual conditions, in daylight, they both perform about the same because the Canon has a much better lens. When zoomed or at in high contrast situations, the Nikon makes larger files that are not as clear and sharp as the Canon and have some purple fringing around the edges when blown up. The image sensor in the Nikon is a newer technology and really does perform much better in low light. Nikon has a timer feature that I have found on no other camera. You can set it up to start snapping pictures every 30 seconds, or 1 minute or 5 minutes. This is very cool, you can set it on a tripod and take nature shots all night waiting for a deer to come eat your corn, or you can put together a time laps movie from the frames, or set it up to catch violators in the act. The possibilities are huge! Other cameras, including the Canon, won't do this. (and it would have been so easy in their software) The viewing screen is big and bright. The best I've seen and much better than the Canon. Nikon has a built in GPS. I didn't test it; I'll never use it. Canon doesn't have this feature. WHAT NIKON DID WRONG: The Nikon has focus problems when using the self timer and in movie mode. If you start the movie recording, and then step in front of the camera, it mostly focuses on the back wall and your face is fuzzy. The camera never seems to recover. This is very bad (come on Nikon). I have tried every combination of focus modes. Face detect doesn't seem to work after the movie is recording. I never had a camera this bad. You are forced to use manual focus. This problem does not affect traditional movie recording, focus works fine when you are behind the camera shooting a subject in front of you. In order to use Nikon's electronic viewfinder, you need to fold and tuck the flip out screen. This is a big nuisance on a sunny day going back and forth. Every other camera in the world changes displays using the display button; the Canon does. (and it would have been so easy to implement in Nikon's software, the button is already there) The Nikon camera feels cheap. The lens rattles (but doesn't exhibit any problems) and the flip screen doesn't lock in place. The Canon feels solid as a rock. The charging system that ships with the Nikon uses a cable that charges the battery in the camera. This is a nuisance and I don't need another charging unit with a cord to get tangled in the drawer. So you have to fork out another $30 or$ 40 for a charger and spare battery. The Canon ships with a nice charger that plugs into the wall and holds the battery. All outdoor images are slightly overexposed. This can be corrected by bumping down the aperture 2 stops when shooting, but what was Nikon thinking. The Canon is right on the mark. WHAT CANON DID RIGHT: The Canon super zoom is much more powerful, 50X vs 42X. The Canon lens is truly remarkable. You can photograph the moons of Jupiter on a clear night. I tested it next to the Nikon on distant road signs and you could read text from a mile away using the Canon. There was no comparison. The Nikon doesn't have the range and the image was a little fuzzy at the longest extent compared Canon's superior optics.