Nikon Coolpix P50 Digital Camera - Black (8.1MP, 3.6x Optical Zoom) 2.4" LCD

 

 

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Have had the P50 for a few months, and taken over a 1000 shots in a variety of conditions. My comments:

1) The photos.
The camera uses the smallest chip around 1:1/2.5 - don't know what that means, just that it's Very small. With 8m pixels crammed on this sensor, low light non-flash shots are quite noisy. However, flash shots are near enough perfect, distance and close up outdoor shots also give good detail. Usable dynamic range across highlights and shadows - Managed to keep the balance in bright outdoor shots without blowing out the blue sky or plunging the shaded foreground into gloom.

All photos benefit with a bit of sharpening in photoshop (Pics straight out of camera are a little soft, which is a Nikon P series trait apparantly), but still perfectly usable straight out the unit. Exposure hard to fool, but white balance you need to keep an eye on (especially in custom, which if combined with flash gets you a blue hued photo). Overall very pleased with picture quality.

2) The design.
Easy to hold, looks good finished in all-black. Slightly slimmer and feels better put together than the Canon A570IS (4x zoom but no wide-angle). Uses AA batteries - sucks them dry quite quickly so recommend getting decent rechargeables as soon as you can. Looks a bit like it's elder siblings P5000/P5100 from the front, round the screen back it has a more conventional layout - most functions easily accessed through a combination of the rotating dial at the top of the camera (different modes) and the menu key on the back, which depending on the mode you're using gives you access to a wide range of set-up options.

Menu system not totally intuitive, but makes a good stab at it. One thing about the body, if you hold the camera with both hands whilst using the flash, need to be careful not to let a finger stand proud even slightly over the top of the body above the flash - it'll result in a shaded area at the top of your photo. Never had this before on any other camera, but it's just a design thing you have to adapt to.

Viewfinder for emergency use only.

3) Functionality.
Full manual on cd-rom - I still do hanker after the A5 or A6 sized manuals of old. Bought this camera because of it's combination of wide-angle lens, some manual flexibility, things like face detection and (electronic) image stabilisation all at c£150 or so. It's now down to around £120. Had tried and returned a Olympus FE-290 the week before because it was the same price, with wide-angle, but didn't have any of the additional functions mentioned above.

The electronic image stabilisation (e-VR) works ok at the wide-angle end of the zoom, with some surprising hand held results in low light, but effectively useless once you start to zoom in. You need to get to the P5000 level before they bring in the superior, optical/mechanical image stabilisation - which is a bit cheap of Nikon, since Canon uses a mechanical system on their cameras in this price range.

In manual mode you can adjust shutter speed (8secs to 1/1000) and aperture (only two options). Image size can be adjusted too (in all modes), including 16:9 mode that's a decent 3200x1800 resolution (about 5.8mp - quite a few cams have 16:9 resolution at about 2mp).

For some modes you can select image colour (softer, vivid etc) which I've kept mostly on vivid, for more dramatic photos. White balance includes manual adjustment which I find most useful for lower light flash free shots - noisy but usable, and keeps the yellow cast away. WB also has flash option, which works at keeping colours non-washed out in a flash photo. Flash intensity can be adjusted, which can make a surprisingly big difference to your final shots. Face detection quite skittish(like most 1st gen FD, whatever the camera).

Nikon also includes Best Shot Selector (BSS) which takes a sequence of shots and you choose the best, and D-Lighting, which is an in-camera exposure function that brightens and brings out detail in shadows.

Metering has four options including Spot AF, and continuous shot has five options - in the latter case continuous, BSS, multi-shot are unavailable if Noise Reduction is switched on. Auto focus has 4 area options including face priority, centre, and manual adjustment, the latter which allows you to frame the shot whilst moving the focal point onto your primary subject.

And finally.
Overall a wide range of functions that encourages you to explore the commendable limits of this camera. Wide angle coupled with functions coupled with competitive price make this a winner. Slow focusing and post-shot processing (even w an SDHC card) limits your moving-subject type shots. Battery indicator only shows up when you're about out of juice which seems a backward step in technology (I've got an old Sony p-120 which could tell you the battery life to the minute). This is really a 4.5 star review as the last two points only take half a star away.

Have had the P50 for a couple of weeks now, and taken a couple hundred shots in a variety of conditions. My comments:

1) The photos.
The camera uses the smallest chip around 1:1/2.5 - don't know what that means, just that it's Very small. With 8m pixels crammed on this sensor, low light non-flash shots are quite noisy. But this is compared to a fuji f31fd which has to be the best low light p&s around, so maybe I'm spoilt. If it's dark, use the flash - flash shots are near enough perfect (and flash intensity can be fine tuned too), distance and close up outdoor shots also give good detail. Handles highlights quite well and brings out detail in shadows. Managed to keep the balance in bright outdoor shots without blowing out the blue sky or plunging the shaded foreground into gloom. All photos benefit with a bit of sharpening in photoshop, but still perfectly usable straight out the unit. Exposure hard to fool, but white balance you need to keep an eye on (especially in custom, which if combined with flash gets you a blue hued photo).

2) The design.
Easy to hold, looks good finished in all-black. Slightly slimmer and feels better put together than the Canon A570IS (4x zoom but no wide-angle). Uses AA batteries - sucks them dry quite quickly so recommend getting decent rechargeables as soon as you can. Looks a bit like it's elder siblings P5000/P5100 from the front, round the screen back it has a more conventional layout - most functions easily accessed through a combination of the rotating dial at the top of the camera (different modes) and the menu key on the back, which depending on the mode you're using gives you access to a wide range of set-up options.

Menu system not totally intuitive, but makes a good stab at it. One thing about the body, if you hold the camera with both hands whilst using the flash, need to be careful not to let a finger stand proud even slightly over the top of the body above the flash - it'll result in a shaded area at the top of your photo. Never had this before on any other camera, but it's just a design thing you have to adapt to.

Viewfinder for emergency use only.

3) Functionality.
Full manual on cd-rom - I still do hanker after the A5 or A6 sized manuals of old. Bought this camera because of it's combination of wide-angle lens, some manual flexibility, things like face detection and (electronic) image stabilisation all at c£150 or so. Had tried and returned a Olympus FE-290 the week before because it was the same price, with wide-angle, but didn't have any of the additional functions mentioned above.

The electronic image stabilisation (e-VR) works ok with three shaky shots out of around 300, but really it hasn't been tried in extremis, and it's not a mechanical system. You need to get to the P5000 level before they bring in the superior, optical/mechanical image stabilisation - which is a bit cheap of Nikon, since Canon uses a mechanical system on their cameras in this price range.

In manual mode you can adjust shutter speed (8secs to 1/1000) and aperture (only two options -F2.8 OR F5.6). Image size can be adjusted too (in all modes), including 16:9 mode that's a decent 3200x1800 resolution. For some modes you can select image colour (softer, vivid etc) which I've kept mostly on vivid, for more dramatic photos. White balance includes manual adjustment which I find most useful for lower light flash free shots - noisy but usable, and keeps the yellow cast away. WB also has flash option, which works at keeping colours non-washed out in a flash photo.

Metering has four options including Spot AF, and continuous shot has five options - in the latter case continuous, Nikon's Best Shot Selector, multi-shot are unavailable if Noise Reduction is switched on. Noise reduction helps mop up noise with lower light/slower shutter speed shots - fine for up to 5x7 prints, and larger if you take it on a photo by photo basis. Auto focus has 4 options including face priority and manual, the latter which allows you to frame the shot whilst moving the focal point onto the primary focal spot. Flash exposure can also be usefully adjusted.

And finally.
Overall a wide range of functions that encourages you to explore the commendable limits of this camera. Wide angle coupled with functions coupled with price make this a winner. Slow focusing and post-shot processing (even w an SDHC card) limits your moving-subject type shots. No battery indicator until you're a few shots away from a dead battery, I'd like a normal indicator that lets you know how much charge you have (I used to own a Sony P-120 that told you how many shots you had left with the battery - why has tech gone backwards?). This is really a 4.5 star review as the last two points only take half a star away.

a brief non-technical review- we bought this camera because we are both artists looking for a pocket sized notebook/travel camera. After three nikon digital cameras this one was a welcome replacement- it ticks all the boxes- it's light, but feels solid, good positive dial functions and a very nice layout. good screen size and easy menu, fantastic crop function means it doesn't stop being creative when the picture has been taken. The simple anti-shake allows clear photos even when flash isn't allowed or appropriate. Easy batteries-AA rechargeables, or emergency from any corner shop. Wide angle lens for landscape. stunning macro. Great large scale prints, no purple fringing,
It looks like a camera, it works very hard, it feels as if it will carry on for as long as we need it, and print quality is what we expect from nikon. At this price I plan to buy another, because we don't want to share.

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4.0 out of 5 stars In the picture
Very pleased with this camera. It is hard to find a small digital camera with a viewfinder and this I find is essential when taking outdoor photographs. Read more

Published on 21 April 2009 by J. Hilton

4.0 out of 5 stars Great camera THE 1GB SAN DISK MEMORY CARD AMAZON ARE ADVERTISING IS INCOMPATIBLE
Love the camera. Great value.
It is a basic camera but is reliable to do great shots of my daughter. Read more

Published on 6 Aug 2008 by M. Cook

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Wide-Angled Compact Camera
My mother recently decided to dabble in the digital camera field, and after a bit of deliberation vs the Canon A720IS, she decided to go for this Nikon P50. Read more

Published on 27 April 2008 by A. Simmons

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