Nikon Coolpix P610 Review ~ A camera worthy of bird photographers consideration

Introduction

The Coolpix P610 is my first SLR-like (bridge) camera. Over the years I have moved from medium format twin-reflex film cameras, to SLRs, and was one of the early adopters of DSLR technology. In between I have used compacts to digiscope and presently own a Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera.
My current passion is to shoot candid portraits and birds, and my DSLR and Mirrorless meet my photographic needs thanks to the assortment of lenses that I have acquired over time. So a bridge camera that only shoots JPEGs in SRGB on a small sensor made little sense from an image quality perspective.

The reason I got interested in these cameras had nothing to do with the potential image quality. Over the last few years I have been travelling across the country, trying to help beginners make better bird images. While I do cover the pros and cons of using a Superzoom compact at these workshops, the content is limited because I had no hands on experience with one. But a great majority of the audience actually use these cameras, and DSLR shooting techniques are often of little interest to them. Additionally, a large number of participants with compact cameras feel that their equipment is to blame for the quality of their images, and believe that they will shoot National Geographic standard images once they are able to make the move to the next level. I wanted to test this belief and bridge my knowledge gap with an affordable Superzoom Camera.

Why the Coolpix P610?

The trigger to start looking for a one was the launch of Nikon's Coolpix P900 – a bridge camera that sports a mind-boggling 83x zoom and covers an optical range from 24mm to 2000mm (in 35mm terms). A 2000mm stabilized lens at less than USD600 is an unbelievable package for a bird photographer looking for reach. And it would be manna from heaven if the quality of the images were at least presentable on social media!

I spent a lot of time on the internet reading up on the P900. While doing so I became aware of its smaller sibling – the P610, as also Canon's venerable Powershot SX50 HS and its upgraded version in the SX60 HS. I also visited the local store to get a feel of the Nikons.

At the end I settled for the P610 mainly because:
a) I wanted a lightweight camera which would be easy to carry and also give good results when shooting handheld.

b) Price. Having no experience with these cameras, I wanted to limit the downside in case I did not get along with it. The P610 was available at a very decent price of around USD300.

c) I liked the sample image quality on the internet and was influenced by the fact that the P610 had won the 2015 TIPA award for the 'Best Superzoom Camera'.

c) The P610 focuses significantly closer than the P900 at full zoom. For my kind of photography that ability was very important.

d) The Canon SX60 HS seemed like a terrific camera but was too expensive. The SX50 was not locally available, and in any case offered 20% less reach than the P610. But the Canons offered RAW capture – an important advantage for many users.

Giving up on the hugely popular P900 and its 2000mm reach was a difficult decision, but one I took after careful deliberation. The P610 suits my needs, the very similar P900 may be your cup of tea. Have a look at the detailed comparison between the two cameras in the included graphics at the end of this review to help you make up your mind.

Description

Coming down to the brass tacks about the Coolpix P610, it is described by Nikon as a digital camera with ultra-powerful 60x optical zoom lens, high-end grip-style design, GPS, built-in Wi-Fi and Near Field Communication technology, plus Full HD video capabilities. Nikon's stress, therefore, is on reach, ergonomics, and cutting edge technology.
At a more mundane level, the key features are:
Max resolution: 4608 x 3456 ((pixels) / Effective pixels: 16 megapixels

Sensor type/size: BSI-CMOS 1/2.3"

Shooting modes: PASM

Autofocus: Contrast-detect

Image stabilization: 5-stop Dual Detect Optical VR

ISO Sensitivity: 100-1600, 3200, 6400

Focal length (equiv.): 24–1440 mm

Lens f/-number: f/3.3 - F6.5

Shutter speed: 1/4000 - 15 sec

Continuous drive: 7.0 fps for up to 7 shots
Self-timer: 10 or 2 seconds duration

Videography: Full HD1920x1080/ 60p / MPEG-4, H.264

Storage types: SD/SDHC/SDXC

Other features: Built-in GPS; Wi-Fi Functionality, HDMI; NFC; Articulated 3” LCD: Electronic Viewfinder.

Weight: 565g; Dimensions:125 x 85 x 106.5mm 

Evaluation

I have now had the Coolpix P610 for about a month and shot almost a 1000 images with it. That does not make me an expert with the camera, nor does it mean that I have enough experience to write an in-depth quality review about it. I am, however, fairly long in the tooth as far as capturing bird images with DSLR's and telephoto lenses are concerned, and that perhaps gives me the ability to evaluate this camera as a bird photography tool from the perspective of an average user.

In the hand, this Nikon is a well balanced and light camera with an excellent grip, making it comfortable to hold. It is an ideal all day companion. The camera offers full manual controls but the lack of space results in tiny buttons, dials and wheels – all of which make setting changes on the fly a tough task. I found it the easiest to use when the setting choices are pre-selected based on available conditions. You can make minor changes like ISO level or exposure compensation, but not with the ease of a DSLR. This Coolpix offers two viewing modes – the excellent fully articulated LCD screen and a nice clear 921k-dot EVF. For bird images the EVF is the obvious choice and it does a good job as long as the subject is more or less stationary. A plethora of bells and whistles provides focusing, tracking and metering choices – and you will find one that meets your photographic needs. For most of the birds that I have shot, I was happy with the results when I used centre-weighted metering and single point AF using a 'Normal' sized Manual Focus point. The camera seems to have a propensity to shift the focus area slightly after the shutter is pressed. It could be due to the VR or operator error – either way it is a minor quibble. Shutter speeds are acceptable for this type of camera, less so the momentary blanking out of the screen as the image is being recorded. Focusing is fast and very dependable. I was able to focus on small birds partially hidden behind dark foliage at the long end of the zoom. That is perfect for those who wish to acquire this camera to document or identify their birds. In short, the Coolpix P610 is a perfectly capable tool to accurately capture near and distant slow moving subjects with ease by trading ease of control for portability.

Image quality

But what sort of images does this camera produce? That understandably is a mixed bag. The small sensor size that allows the matching of portable lenses with such reach leads to making inevitable compromises on image quality. Packing 16 megapixels is a 1/2.3” sensor results in a plethora of quality issues, sensor noise being on top of the heap. One way to deal with the noise is to allow photographers to control the effects during post-processing. Some companies (read Canon and Panasonic) give you that choice by offering RAW capture options. Nikon's way with these cameras is to control noise in-camera. This it does at all ISO's and all settings. And the result is images with unsightly smeared blotchy patches smoothing out subject detail, read feather details for birds! The happy fact, that still makes the camera useful, is that there is method in the madness of noise removal. The removal is particularly aggressive for out-of-focus distant subjects, and acceptable at low ISO on well focused frame-filling subjects. This makes the camera fairly hopeless for those looking to use the wide end for detailed landscape photography, but its long zoom comes to the aid of those who want to capture a well focused subject in detail. And a smeared background may not give you the perfect bokeh, but it moderates another weakness of the camera – the lack of shallow depth-of-field at all apertures. However, even though compact cameras can capture RAW files, their sensors tend to generate a lot of noise at higher ISO settings which makes extracting fine details well nigh impossible. So you may not be that much better off with Superzooms that offer RAW capture when it comes to final output.

Which brings us to the million dollar question, why buy a camera that does not give you crisp details across focal lengths and usable ISOs ? The answer is the quality of the optics, and what you can achieve as an end result thanks to the glass.

Consumer zooms are usually far behind professional primes in resolving detail and making eye-capturing images. It would not have been a surprise if the P610 offered middling resolution at the price point, especially considering that even semi-pro zooms suffer at the long end. But here is where I found that Nikon had pulled off a near miracle with the camera. This glass is very good and captures fine details even at the farthest end of the zoom. Coupled with an astonishingly efficient Vibration Reduction image stabilization system, quality focus, and accurate metering, the lens delivers sharp images with very little drop-off in corner clarity making you nearly ignore the overzealous noise reduction. Photography is all about capturing light accurately and effectively and the main driver for this is glass quality. You can have the best processing unit inside the camera, but it will be worthless if the glass in front is sub par. To my mind Nikon produces a winner with the Coolpix P610 because of the quality of the optics which more than compensates for the handicaps inevitable with a mass produced and aggressively priced camera.

But this is just my own opinion, you can make yours based on the accompanying images.

Image samples

Unless otherwise stated, all images are shot hand-held on Aperture priority using Centre-weighted metering. Post-processing has been done with Adobe PS. Some of the images are slightly cropped from the original. Focal lengths are 35mm equivalents.

In good light and with close subjects, the camera takes very useful bird images

1440mm I1/400s I ISO100 I f/6.5 I -0.3EV

You can make fine close-ups of larger birds too!

 1440mm I 1/1600s I ISO100 I f/6.5 I -0.3EV

The lens gives great results at shorter focal lengths...

650mm I 1/80s I ISO100 I f/5.6

... and distant backgrounds are fairly well handled for a sensor of this size

900mm I 1/320s I ISO100 I f/5.6

As you can see here also

1440mm I 1/125s I ISO100 I f/6.5 

But where this camera steals the show is the magical image stabilization. This is near impossible at 1/25s handheld with anything else.

600mm I 1/25s I ISO100 I f/5.6

 
Birds in flight were very tough, and I had many misses before managing a few shots. This image also shows the quality at ISO 400

450mm I 1/640s IISO400 I f/5.6 I +1.0EV

Video capture is a snap and I captured a few minutes, handheld, of this Oriental Skylark singing

900mm I 1/640s I ISO100 I f/5.6 I -0.3EV

The link to the video is here: https://youtu.be/VtIKpFt88Z4

The lens resolves details very well and even managed to capture the bee in flight

1100mm I 1/800s I ISO100 I f/5.6

It also does street candids with ease

Converted from colour capture. 625mm I 1/100s I ISO 100 I f/6.3 I --0.3EV

Even from a fair distance

Monochrome capture. 1440mm I 1/50s I ISO 100 I f/6.5

I have little experience with macros, so I leave the images to speak for themselves. 

40mm I 1/13s I ISO 100 I f/6.7 I VR off

62mm I 1/13s I ISO 100 I f/7.6 

No Superzoom review is complete without a mandatory moon shot, so here is one! 

1440mm I 1/100s I ISO 200 I f/6.5 I -0.3EV I VR off

I had poor experience when pixel-peeping landscapes, they don't look so hopeless when downsized

24mm I 1/400s I ISO100 I f/7.6

But you do not want to buy this camera for landscapes, you want it for what it can show 160 meters away!

1440mm I 1/400s I ISO 100 I f/6.5

The big debate is always about the superiority of DSLR's and quality primes. While there is no issue about the image quality differences, they do become less evident when the big zoom of the P610 comes into play

The next image compares a DSLR with the P610, with both covering the same image perspective

(L) P610: 500mm I 1/250s I ISO 100 I f/5.6  (R) D7100 and 300f/4D: 450mm I 1/640s I ISO 100 I f/4

The DSLR image is, overall, arguably better when both images are downsized. The difference that the P610 makes is evident when you see the 100% crops below. Both images are shot from the same spot.

(L) P610: 1440mm I 1/250s I ISO 100 I f/6.5  (R) D7100 and 300f/4D: 450mm I 1/640s I ISO 100 I f/4

And I really loved the 'Time Lapse' feature. You can watch an example here: https://youtu.be/ElG2cO-sxZo 

Nikon Coolpix P610 Pros & Cons

Pros:

Quality lens - good at resolving detail

Fast and accurate auto focus

Accurate White Balance selection at Auto WB

Class leading Vibration Reduction system

Light and comfortable despite the huge zoom

Works well at full optical zoom

Inbuilt GPS with logging function

Good for wildlife, candids, moon and macros

Cons:

Only captures sRGB JPEGs, no RAW capture

Fairly strong in-camera JPEG smudging

Image quality suffers beyond ISO 400

Focusing on fast moving subjects is very difficult

Lacks shallow depth-of-field at all apertures

Not as convenient as a Point and Shoot camera

Adjusting settings is cumbersome and time consuming

Battery can only be charged inside the camera

Subject disappears after shutter is clicked

Poor for landscape photography

Conclusion and Verdict

The Nikon Coolpix P610 is a very useful tool for bird watchers who also want to record their sightings. Its long reach, simplicity, portability and ability to make pleasing images makes it a no-brainer for a full day of birding. The camera is also not a slouch as a companion for your specialized long lens DSLR kit. It provides flexibility over superior image quality and is a Swiss Knife of a camera which sometimes produces results comparable to much more expensive kits. The 1cm minimum wide-angle macro focusing ability provides great close-up photography opportunities and the unobtrusive size and long reach makes street-candid photography a cinch. And goodies such as built-in GPS, slow motion video, interval timer and “Bird Mode' add more value to an already good camera.

In the end it is all about your intended use. If you are one of those that want every image to be of superior print-worthy quality, then this is not the camera for you. If, however, you are happy to capture images that are fun to make, meet the resolution needs of social network sharing, give you something to refer to or document, and is affordable, then you can't go wrong with the decision to buy this camera - especially if you like shooting small distant objects.

Or maybe you are like me and relish the challenge to get the most out of a good bargain and expose the myth that price is the only determinant of quality. So go ahead and make that winning image despite, and not because of the camera you use. This is the perfect camera for that test of your photography skills!

Happy shooting!

Bonus!

Comparison between Coolpix P610 and P900