Nikon P520 18.1 MP

I recently reviewed Nikon’s second-generation version of their flagship ultra-zoom P&S digicam, the Coolpix P510 that an acquaintance had purchased for a bargain price.  Due to the very good sale price my friend got on the P510 I suspected the third generation model was already (or soon to be) available so I wasn’t too surprised (just a couple of months later) to receive an e-mail offering me a Nikon Coolpix P520 for review.  At first glance the P520 appears to be more a cosmetic makeover than a radical update of the P510. Nikon retained the 42x zoom of the P520’s predecessor and most of the internals, but there are some minor  differences between the two cameras.

First, the P510 had a flip-out LCD, but the P520’s LCD is fully articulated – which means it also swivels.  The P520’s ISS (image stabilization system) is now “active” meaning always on as opposed to the P510’s “Shoot only” IS system which engaged only after the shutter button was pushed – this should provide marginally faster shutter response, but at the cost of significantly increased battery drain.  The P510 claimed 240 exposures on a fully charged 3.7V 1100mAh Nikon EN-EL5 lithium-ion battery while the P520 only claims 200 exposures from the same battery.  The P510 captured HD video at 1920x1080p at 30 fps with stereo audio and the 42x zoom could be used during filming – the P520 ups the ante a bit by adding a 1920x1080p @ 60i fps option to the mix along with slo-mo shooting at up to 120 fps.  The Nikon Coolpix P520 offers a1/2.3” Back Side Illuminated CMOS sensor with 18.1 megapixels (the P510 is a 16 megapixel digicam), which should reliably result in marginally higher noise levels. 

The P520’s sensitivity range of ISO 80 to ISO 6400 (the P510’s lowest ISO setting was ISO 100 and the highest was ISO 3200). The P520 also provides a full range of manual shooting modes, burst shooting at seven frames per second, a 99-point autofocus system, a 3D shooting mode, a built-in GPS receiver, support for an optional Wi-Fi device that can send images and movies wirelessly to virtually any smart device, and a 3.2-inch 921K-dot vari-angle LCD screen.  Finally, in addition to the standard zoom toggle ring surrounding the shutter release button, the P520 features a secondary zoom control button on the lens barrel - ostensibly for improved zooming when shooting video.

NUTS & BOLTS
Ultra-zooms (also called Mega-Zooms, Super-zooms, and Monster-zooms) are a relatively new class of digital cameras that feature exceptionally long zoom lenses, typically 35x to 60x.  A digital camera with a zoom lens that can go from true wide-angle to super telephoto allows photographers to cover virtually the entire spectrum of outdoor photographic genres - from classic landscape shots to tightly framed head and shoulders portraits and from macro shots to group shots of performers on distant stages at outdoor concerts. 

I've reviewed "ultra-zoom" P&S digicams from a variety of manufacturers and all of them share similar shortcomings – slow maximum apertures (typically f3.5 to f4.0), very complex multi-element zoom formulas (which reduce contrast), noticeable barrel distortion (straight lines bow out from the center of the frame) at the wide-angle end of the zoom, increased purple fringing (chromatic aberration), more image noise than most other classes of digital cameras, and fuzzy/soft images at the telephoto end of those very long zooms. The P520 is guilty on all counts, but less guilty than the worst offenders and no more guilty than the best performers in this class.

Viewfinder/LCD/Display
Like most currently available ultra-zooms the P520 provides an EVF (electronic viewfinder) so shooters can use either the LCD screen or the EVF for framing/composition, image review, GPS receiver, and menu access chores. The P520 features a relatively large 3.0-inch LCD monitor with 921K resolution. The wide-viewing angle TFT monitor is sharp, bright, hue accurate, and fluid.  The default info display provides all the information this camera's target audience is likely to need. The LCD gains up (automatically increases brightness) in dim lighting and brightness can also be adjusted to the individual shooter's preferences. The anti-glare/anti-reflection coating (applied to both sides of the LCD's protective cover) is substantially better than average for digicams in this class. Finally, the P520's LCD tilts/flips and swivels which is an improvement over the P510’s LCD monitor which doesn't swivel.

The P520's EVF is a 0.2-inch unit with 200K resolution, but there is no diopter adjustment for those who wear glasses. The EVF is a nice retro composition tool, and provides some much tighter viewing stability when shooting at the long end of the zoom. 

Zoom Lens
With Ultra-zoom digicams those exceptionally long Pinnoccio like zooms are the star of the show - so in the final analysis everything comes down to just how good those monster optics really are.  When the P520 is powered up, the lens automatically telescopes out of the lens housing. When the camera is powered down, the lens is fully retracted back into the lens housing and a built-in iris style lens cover closes to protect the front element. Not so long ago 10x was considered a long zoom so adding an f3.3-f5.9 24mm -1000mm (equivalent) zoom is a game changer - like Carrol Shelby adding the small block Ford V8 that turned the sedate English AC sports car into the fire breathing Cobra that dominated drag strips and road racing during the late sixties. That 42x optic allows P520 users to stand in one spot and cover everything from grand vista wide-angle landscapes to super telephoto shots of distant wildlife.

The P520’s f/3.3 maximum aperture is a barely fast enough for shooting indoors, but should be more than fast enough for most outdoor shooting. Center sharpness is pretty good overall, but at the wide-angle end of the zoom corners are slightly soft. I didn't notice any vignetting (dark corners) and both barrel and pincushion distortion are visible, but appear to be well corrected. Contrast is balanced (but a little flat) and colors are hue accurate, though visibly oversaturated. Chromatic aberration is remarkably well-controlled, but color fringing is always visible in the color transition areas between dark foreground objects and bright backgrounds. Zooming is smooth, but fairly slow when compared to cameras with shorter zooms. Where lens noise is concerned – the P520 is like its predecessor is much quieter than expected.

With most ultrazooms the maximum telephoto setting can often be more of a curse than a blessing since long zoom digicams produce images that are notoriously soft at the maximum telephoto setting. Nikon's optical and mechanical engineers did a remarkably good job on the 42x zoom. The lens is reasonably compact and a bit sharper (at the long end of the zoom) than expected.
 
Image Stabilization (IS) 
Consistently capturing sharply focused pictures with a P&S digicam that sports a remarkably long zoom offers some unique optical engineering challenges. Nikon claims the P520 can counter involuntary camera shake in seven ways. Optical lens-shift Vibration Reduction and electronic IS are combined for Nikon’s nifty Hybrid VR, both systems work hand in glove to ameliorate the effects of camera shake), High Sensitivity (up to ISO 3200) reduces the risk of blurred images with faster shutter speeds, Motion detection compensates for subject movement, Night Landscape mode, and backlight mode also decrease image blur by improving low light performance.  P520 users should avoid trying to handhold the camera at (or near) maximum telephoto – Image Stabilization is an amazing electro-mechanical-optical tool, but it doesn’t do magic – if you’re shooting anything important at the long end of that incredible zoom, turn off IS and mount the camera on a tripod.
 
Auto Focus (AF)
The P520 features the same 99 point TTL Contrast Detection AF system as its predecessor - with face detection AF, automatic (multi-point) AF, Single point AF, Center AF, Tracking AF, and Targeting AF.  In all automatic exposure modes, the camera analyzes the scene in front of the lens and then calculates camera to subject distance to determine which AF point is closest to the primary subject (closest subject priority) and then locks focus on that AF point. In manual modes, 9 of the 99 AF points are user selectable.  AF is reasonably quick, but the P520 occasionally hunts for focus at the telephoto end of the zoom.  Image sharpness is dependably very good to excellent, somewhat better than average for cameras in this class, except at the long end of that incredible zoom - and even at the "fuzzy" end of that massive zoom the images were slightly sharper than expected.

GPS
The P520 utilizes the same GPS system (with built-in electronic compass) as it’s predecessor to record position information when shooting still photos or recording video, including a log function for geo-tracking position (even when the camera is off) and the GPS also provides point-of-interest data for (according to Nikon) about 1,700,000 locations worldwide.

Flash  
The P520's multi-mode (Auto, off, Auto with red-eye reduction, Fill flash, Slow synch, and Rear curtain synch) pop-up flash sits directly above the zoom - in the classic maximum red-eye configuration. The flash is fairly small and typically, a bit on the weak side, but it provides an adequate selection of artificial lighting options. Flash use in portraits will provide harsh unflattering lighting up close (with lots of red-eye problems) and at longer distances the weak flash will provide poor coverage and uneven lighting. 

Memory Media
The P520 saves images and video to SD, SDHC or SDXC memory media.

Power  
The P520 draws its juice from a proprietary 3.7V, 1100mAh Nikon EN-EL5 lithium-ion battery. Nikon claims the P520 (with a fully charged battery) is good for about 200 exposures – lower than the average for cameras of this type. I do a lot of shoot, review, delete, and re-shoot so I don't usually keep track of exposures, but I only charged the battery once while I had the camera and I shot a lot of stills and three or four video clips - plus the P520 suffers a slight, but continuous power drain from the GPS receiver - so I'd speculate that Nikon's power duration claims are fairly accurate. The EN-EL5 lithium-ion battery is charged in-camera and requires about two hours for a full charge from standard house current. The P520 can also be charged via USB, but I didn't try this option so I can't comment on its efficacy.

EXPOSURE
The Nikon Coolpix P520 features Nikon's standard point-and-shoot auto exposure system, one of the best I have ever used; in fact Nikon’s auto exposure system is so good that I suspect most P520 users will put the camera in Program mode and leave it there. Auto ISO, auto WB mode, default AF, and the default 256-segment matrix metering system work nicely together to virtually guarantee very good to excellent images in a broad range of outdoor shooting scenarios in program mode.

White Balance (WB) & Sensitivity (ISO)
The P520's Auto White Balance mode is dependably accurate over a wide range of lighting conditions. In fact, Nikon's latest P&S white balance system is one of the best I've seen to date. The P520 provides several WB options including Auto 1 (normal lighting), Auto 2 (warm lighting), Preset Manual WB, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, and Flash settings.
 
The P520 provides an adequate range of sensitivity options, including auto (ISO 80-800) and user-set options for ISO 80 - ISO  6400. ISO 80 ISO100 images are very sharp with intense colors, very low noise levels, and balanced but slightly flat contrast. ISO 200 images are essentially identical. At the ISO 400 setting, noise levels are beginning to rise and there's a very minor, but (barely) perceptible loss of fine detail.  Indoor image quality is acceptable at lower ISO settings, but as sensitivity rises to overcome lower levels of ambient lighting, noise levels rise noticeably and color intensity suffers a bit. Noise levels are quite reasonable up to ISO 400, but they increase noticeably and rapidly after that point.
 
DESIGN, BUILD QUALITY, CONTROLS & ERGONOMICS
The P520 is a rather utilitarian looking DSLR-sized digital camera that is very similar in appearance to it's predecessor.  The P520 will appeal to amateur photographers who want to be able to cover a very broad zoom range of photographic genres without having to carry a heavy DSLR, a sturdy tripod, and a bag full of lenses. The P520's user interface is uncomplicated and its robustly constructed metal-alloy/polycarbonate body provides good fit and finish and adequate dust/weather/moisture seals.
 
The P520’s control layout is efficiently designed and buttons are logically placed and come easily to hand for right-handed shooters, but they are all rather small (with the exception of the shutter button), in fact the on/off button is so small that it usually requires a couple of attempts to turn the camera on or off.  The top deck features a standard mode dial, a large raised shutter button (with zoom toggle surround) and the aforementioned tiny on/off button. Nikon's fn button (now located on the top deck) is not like Canon's "func" button (which calls up a shortcut menu to directly access often changed settings), rather the Nikon Fn button provides direct access to one (image size, picture control, WB, metering, continuous shooting mode, ISO, or AF area) user selected function.  The P520's control pad functions in the familiar compass switch configuration - up/down (flash/macro), left/right (self timer/exposure compensation), and center "OK" button. Additionally, the control rotates, which makes for super fast menu scrolling and function selection. Where Nikon's nifty rotary multi-controller really shines is for easy back and forth review and comparison of saved images. 

The P520's one-touch video Record/Stop button is a bit smaller than it should be and it is somewhat awkwardly positioned, but it can still be used without requiring the shooter to look away from the LCD/EVF when starting or stopping video.  Finally, in addition to making it easier to zoom while capturing video, I liked the new lens housing zoom button best for adjusting the lens length while shooting verticals – much easier than using the standard zoom toggle surrounding the shutter button.  Since I shoot about 65-70 per cent of my images in vertical format I found this new zoom control especially useful.

Menus and Modes
The P520's four tab menu (Shooting menu, Movie menu, GPS menu, and Set-up menu) system is reliably logical, user-friendly, and easily navigated. The large high resolution LCD and reasonable font size make reading menus simple – even for older shooters.

Here's a breakdown of the P520's shooting modes:

Auto: Point-and-shoot mode with limited user input - In Auto mode (which is actually closer to Program mode) the camera selects the aperture and shutter speed, but allows users to control sensitivity (ISO), white balance, color/saturation, and exposure compensation.
Scene Auto Selector: Automatically selects the most appropriate Scene mode for the shooting situation from Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close-Up, Food, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, Backlight, and Panorama Assist.
Night Landscape Scene Mode: Automatically selects a smaller aperture to increase the area in focus and a longer shutter speed (to help capture detail) in dim/low lighting conditions.
Landscape Scene Mode: All exposure parameters are maximized for classic landscape pictures.
Backlighting: Automatically adjusts exposure parameters (HDR) to balance backlighting and ambient lighting for more accurate exposures.
Effects: Soft-focus, Sepia, High contrast monochrome, High key, Low key, Selective color, and Painting.
User Settings: Custom
Program: Auto exposure with limited user input.
Aperture priority: Users select the aperture and the camera selects an appropriate shutter speed.
Shutter priority: Users select a shutter speed and the camera selects an appropriate aperture.
Manual: Users select all exposure parameters.Movie:

There is no dedicated movie/video setting on the mode dial - simply press the P510's one touch movie start/stop button at any time (in any exposure mode) to switch to video capture mode.

In the Field/Handling & Operation
I got an e-mail offering me a brand new Nikon Coolpix P520 P&S digicam for review.  I would be able to keep the camera for a week and then return it via the pre-paid FedEx return shipping document.  I agreed to the terms (via e-mail) and received the camera the following afternoon.  After allowing the battery to charge overnight, my first outing with the P510 was to Louisville’s Extreme Park.  

The Extreme Park is the “go to” place for local photographers looking to capture some action shots. Skateboarders and BMX bikers are drawn to the park to perfect their moves in the industrial sized full pipe, 5 interconnected bowls, and twelve-foot half pipe. Many of the kids at the Extreme Park are talented athletes and most of them love showing off for the camera. BMX bikers move faster than skateboarders and they need a bit more frame space to accommodate their bikes, so shooting bikers is a bit tougher than shooting skateboarders. With most cameras (especially consumer P&S digicams) I have to anticipate the peak action moment by ¼ to ½ of a second (so the camera has time to lock focus and trip the shutter) and that was (as expected) the case with the P520.  We’ve been having a series of unseasonably hot days so the Extreme Park was packed with adrenaline junkies looking to refine their skills.  I watched the action for half an hour and then selected a likely candidate.  Numerous Extreme Park users display pictures that I’ve shot on their facebook pages so I had one of my friends introduce me to the kid I’d been watching.  He was happy to trade a little time showing off for a couple of images of him in action. I got set up and quickly captured a couple of my subject’s signature moves.  After looking at the images with my new friend I got his e-mail address (so I could send him the pictures he liked best) and decided to call it a day because it was so hot.

The following morning I thought I would try and beat our ongoing heat way by starting early.  I was at Cave Hill Cemetery just before 9:00am. Cave Hill is one of the best remaining examples of 19th century U. S. landscape architecture and a popular destination for local photographers.  Even in the middle of the winter, there is always something to photograph at this old burying ground. In the summer Cave Hill’s 300 acres are filled with an almost dizzying collection of (native and exotic) trees, shrubs, bushes, and plants – and something is always in bloom, plus there are thousands of old native limestone headstones, dozens of ornate mausoleums, a rustic old groundskeeper’s cottage, and a small lake (with hundreds of resident ducks, geese, and swans).   The last month or so we've had some really nasty weather in the Ohio River Valley – incredibly hot humid days and lots of rain, too.  I spent the morning shooting a wide variety of subjects – weatherworn old tombstones in the oldest section of cemetery and blooming flowers and shrubs around the native limestone Victorian administration building.  I also shot images of folks feeding the (always hungry) waterfowl around the lake.

Early that same afternoon (in order to stay out of the heat) I took the P520 to a nearby coffee shop and shot informal indoor portraits of several of the patrons after first asking permission from both the barrista in charge and the folks I photographed.  Everybody at the coffee shop liked the camera (I had the black version – the camera is also available in red and silver) and all of those photographed really liked the pictures.  I shot near the front of the old north facing building, using window light, and the P520 performed like a champ – rendering pleasingly naturally lit images with vibrant colors and excellent detail capture. 

My next outing with the P520 was to Louisville’s colorful old Highlands neighborhood to shoot an anti-war/Don’t bomb Syria demonstration.  The demonstrators were noisy, enthusiastic, colorfully dressed, and many of them held handmade signs.  Demonstrators in Louisville like feedback, so many of the demonstrators were going through some impressive gyrations trying to get the passing traffic to toot their horns in solidarity.  This made for some excellent photo opportunities.  I was directly across Bardstown Road from the demonstrators in a crowd of fellow photographers (including a TV camera crew from one of our local TV stations), neighborhood folks checking out what all the noise was about, and two counter demonstrators with signs of their own.  The weather was miserably hot (over ninety degrees) and there was precious little shade on our side of the street, so I didn’t stay long.  I did get one interesting shot of a very fat lady in a green golf hat holding a “give peace a chance” sign in one hand and a tiny Yorkie in the other.  Every time she waved at a car to get it to honk – she gave that Yorkie a ride that must have been equivalent to the best roller coaster at Six Flags over Dallas.  

I also took the P520 to two farmer’s markets and my final trip with the camera was to nearby Iroquois Park.  Iroquois Park is an almost 800 acre expanse of old growth forest surrounded by the suburbs of Louisville’s south end.  The huge old glacial knob that comprises the heart of the park is the highest point in the Derby city.  I hiked to the top of the hill (vehicular traffic is prohibited) to get a couple of shots of the panoramic view of the city from the top of the hill.

Image Quality
I have reviewed ultra-zoom digicams from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, and Samsung and the Nikon P520, in my opinion, produces the best quality images of any of those cameras except for the Samsung WB2100 – which takes the top spot because of its neutral color rendition.  The Nikon Coolpix P520 takes the more traditional road - image files produced by the P520 are optimized for the slightly oversaturated that veteran shooters refer to as "consumer" color. Recorded hues are accurate but noticeably more intense than in real life. The bottom line is that the P520's color interpolation, while a bit more intense than neutral, is consistently and dependably hue accurate. The colors I saw on my monitor when I reviewed the images I shot with this camera were acceptably close to the colors I saw when I shot the pictures.

The Nikon Coolpix P520's image quality is very good for an ultra-zoom P&S digicam – noticeably better than the average for cameras with small image sensors and very long zooms. Outdoors, in good light, the P520 dependably captures very good to excellent images in all shooting modes. Indoors, the camera performs with a little less aplomb due to the slow maximum aperture and the complexity of the optical design - the farther out you zoom indoors, the worse the image quality will become.  The P520's handles noise quite well and up to ISO 400 the images delivered by this camera are better than expected  ISO 800 and higher is a different story - noise, color fading, and loss of fine detail all get progressively worse as users move from ISO 800 to ISO 3200.  I didn’t try ISO 6400.   and finally the unusable 6400 setting. Still images are a (typically) a bit soft right out of the camera at the default settings, but users can easily counter this minor problem by increasing the in-camera sharpening or post-exposure in an application like Adobe Photoshop.

Video Quality
The P520 captures HD video at 1920x1080p at 30 fps (and other resolutions) with stereo audio and the 42x zoom can be used during filming. This camera also provides an HDMI out so that users can watch their HD video clips on their wide screen HD TVs.  The P520's video mode appears to be slightly better than the P510’s was.  With the P510 when users pressed the start/stop control to start recording - the P510's LCD goes dark for a full second before video capture begins, which rather defeats the purpose of having a “instant” start/stop button. Since video capture didn’t start until a full second after you pushed the start button, it was necessary to anticipate the beginning of your video and press the start button at least a full second before the action commences. The P520 shortens that slow start to around ½ a second, the LCD still blacks out when you press the start button, but for a shorter period.

CONCLUSION
The P520, with its monster zoom, can easily handle landscape/scenic photography, wildlife photography, event photography (festivals, concerts, parties, family gatherings), and travel photography. The camera does OK with sports/action photography, but it’s not quite fast enough to keep up with really rapid action.  Overall, I really liked the P520 - a DSLR shooter would need a camera bag full of lenses to cover the same range as that 42x monster zoom. The Nikon Coolpix P520 is a mostly cosmetic makeover of last year's P510 - adding a more flexible LCD monitor, but even that change comes with baggage.  The P510 had a dedicated button to switch between the LCD and the EVF, but the P520 eliminates that button in favor of having to reverse and close the LCD screen to activate the EVF.  There are a couple of other areas which Nikon’s product development folks could have addressed that would have radically improved the P520’s potential such as direct access to  ISO settings and other often changed functions, adding RAW format support, and including a hot shoe so that external flash units could be used.  The Nikon Coolpix P520 would be an almost ideal choice for an aspiring photographer on a budget, an excellent choice as a family camera, and a very good choice for travelers who want a tough easy to use digicam with lots of reach.

 

Recommend this product? Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 379.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts