Nikon Coolpix P520 Review

Nikon Coolpix P520 is a superzoom compact camera. Produced in 2013. This is a good amateur superzoom that meets all the necessary modern standards. Replaced the model Coolpix P510 and the next, in 2014, Nikon advertises a new model Nikon Coolpix P530.  

Nikon Coolpix P520 Key Specifications

Dimensions: 125x84x102 mm

Weight: 550 g

Sensor: CMOS

Resolution: 18 million effective pixels

Sensor dimensions: 1/2.3"

Crop factor: 5.62

ISO range: 80-3200 (12800)

Photo maximal resolution: 4896x3672 px

Video maximal resolution: 1920x1080 px

Video format: MOV 30 fps, 60 fps

Optical zoom: 42х

Digitall zoom: 2х

Max Aperture: f/3-f/5.9

Focal lenght: 4-180mm (24-1008mm equiv)

Nikon Coolpix P520 Ergonomics

Like most superzooms, Nikon Coolpix P520 has a design similar to the DSLR cameras. The camera is assembled in a plastic case: dimensions and weight of a little less than Nikon D3100. 

The handle on the right has a large overhang; it provides a comfortable grip of the camera. At the top of the handle located at the controls - the button "shutter" with the zoom lever around the button ON / OFF, key Fn, drive with the choice of shooting modes.

On the circle disc, there modes MASP, U, Effects, Scene, and Photo View mode.

The lens is at the maximum focal length of 180mm extends approximately 5 cm. 

Behind is a turning LCD display; you can rotate it to any angle. The display has a diagonal of 3.2 inches and a resolution of 921 thousand pixels; this is an excellent resolution. 

Very pleased with the presence of the electronic viewfinder; it will be useful to those who are used to shoot SLR. This facilitates sight in bright sun when the display can not see anything, and also, it saves the battery. 

To the right of the lens, there is an additional zoom lever. It can be configured in the menu as a control for manual focusing. This option is precious for advanced amateur photographers who are used to focus manually, where autofocus may not correct accents. The camera is equipped with a built-in flash and the socket to be mounted on a tripod. Also, it has a GPS module, which allows you to record the coordinates of where the shooting was carried out. It will be useful to fans of travel.  

Nikon Coolpix P520 Optical Quality

The camera has a non-removable Nikkor lens with a 4-180 mm (24 - 1008 mm in 35 mm equivalent) focal length and a variable aperture f/3-f/5.9. 42x multiplicity. This range covers almost all subjects, from panoramas to remote objects. The multiplicity of 42x is an extensive range. For clarity, here is an example is taken from the same place at the minimal and maximal focal length.

4mm f/4.2 1/1000 iso 80

The red frame is marked zone approximation in the maximum focal length.

180mm f/5.9 1/500 iso 220

As you can see with this approach, you can freely shoot wildlife and other distant objects. Now consider the quality on the long end; as an example, we take 100% crop of the same size picture.

Crop 100% size of the previous image

As you can see from the example, the sharpness is good. I must say that the photos were shot on a bright sunny day. Therefore, the conditions close to ideal. In severe shooting conditions, the result may be worse. Now consider the sharpness and quality on the short end.

4mm f/3.0 1/800 iso 80

The red frame represents the fragment shown below in size 100%.

Crop 100% size of the previous image

As seen in the normal quality, but it seems to me that the lens aperture does not allow pixel by pixel 18 megapixel. The picture was taken in automatic mode and manual mode. If the diaphragm covers a couple of stops, sharpness should be higher.  

Nikon Coolpix P520 Picture Quality in Samples

To bring clarity, images are captured in different conditions to see the picture quality that gives the camera.

16mm f/4.1 1/250 iso 80

The camera gives quite vivid pictures; there are several settings preset color images. Most of these examples are made in the NORMAL mode that shows the colors close to the real. 

21mm f/7.5 1/60 iso 80

In sunny weather, the colors are bright and rich.

4mm f/3.0 1/160 iso 80

When cloudy weather camera also behaves with dignity, and the result is good. The camera shoots in JPEG format with the ability to select different sizes. The maximum size of the photo is 4896x3672 px. The disadvantages include the lack of shooting in RAW format. It saddens many advanced amateurs because it reduces the possibility of post-processing of images.

21mm f/4.0 1/10 iso 800

An example shooted under ambient light, without flash. At iso 800, the noise is normal. Regarding the noise, I want to say that they are more than a simple DSLR camera such as the Nikon D3100, for example, are affected by the size of the sensor, but for amateur shooting, the result is quite normal.

4mm f/3.0 1/125 iso 900

36mm f/4.6 1/320 iso 80

5mm f/3.1 1/125 iso 80

The angle at the 4mm focal length, the same as at 24mm on a full-frame sensor. This measure is wide. And it allows you to shoot a variety of interesting scenes. 

8mm f/3.4 1/800 iso 80

53mm f/4.8 1/100 iso 400

Backlight the lens keeps well, but sometimes when exposed to light at a certain angle, you can catch the flare.

4mm f/3.0 1/50 iso 80

It can be used as an artistic device.

71mm f/4.8 1/400 iso 450

With the combination of aperture and focal length, I not say about the blurring of the background, as well as on the beautiful bokeh, but it is sometimes possible to catch images with an interesting artistic bokeh.

71mm f/4.8 1/200 iso 110

Nikon Coolpix P520 Video Recording

This camera has realized a good opportunity to shoot Full HD video. The maximum video resolution is 1920x1080 px, while the frame rate of 25 frames per second. Format Codec H.264 / MPEG-4. You can select the AF mode AF-S - frame by frame and AF-F - continuous. Autofocus is pretty quick. The sound is recorded in stereo mode.  

Nikon Coolpix P520 Battery

The camera uses a Li-On battery EN-EL5. Charging with a USB adapter, which is included in the camera. According to the Nikon of the battery lasts an average of 200 shoots. If you are planning a big load on the camera, you can purchase a separate charger and spare battery to be volatile. The battery is fully charged in about four and a half hours.  

Summary

Nikon Coolpix P520 is a good versatile amateur camera with good video recording.

13mm f/3.9 1/100 iso 80