Nikon Coolpix P950 brings fresh features to one of the last great megazooms

Your phone's camera lens is a joke compared this.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice

Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.

Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials

More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.

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Joshua Goldman

Jan. 6, 2020 6:00 p.m. PT

Digital point-and-shoot cameras used to be a huge part of CES, but those days are long gone. Still, Nikon announced an update is coming to its 83x zoom Coolpix P900. The new P950 is mostly the same as its predecessor, hence only the minor name change, and still uses the same lens that starts at an ultrawide 24mm and ends in an astounding 2,000mm. It's paired with the same small 1/2.3-inch 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, too.

What's new is that you can capture video in 4K Ultra HD resolution and capture raw images, which means you can likely rescue some fine image details from the grasp of Nikon's heavy-handed noise reduction.

Nikon also added a larger, higher-resolution electronic viewfinder; a hot shoe that also works with its DF-M1 Dot Sight (great for birding); a mic jack for using an external mic; and Nikon's SnapBridge wireless system for transferring shots to your phone for sharing.

The Nikon Coolpix 950 arrives in February for $800. If none of that sounds necessary for your needs, Nikon will sell current P900 stock until it's gone, and it can be found for less than $500.