The Nikon P50 is an 8.1 megapixel entry-level point & shoot camera. It is targeted toward new camera users and is priced accordingly at about $150-160 street. It features a 2.4″ LCD, a 3.6x optical zoom lens (28-102mm @ 35mm equivalent).
Reviews
Its images are of a good standard, and would be boosted by the VR and ISO2000 – if those features actually had some serious weight behind them. But they don’t, so what you’re left with is a standard compact that – although benefiting from a 28mm wide lens – doesn’t bring the sort of performance to be expected from Nikon.
The P50 is a no-nonsense little camera. It’s fairly compact, has a useful zoom range and doesn’t cost very much money. The build quality is good and it is constructed using pleasantly tactile materials. Many people walking into their local store will be able to pick one up, like the way it feels and go off and use it quite happily.
You can’t expect miracles at this price, and sure enough the P50 doesn’t deliver them. But it does provide a fair smattering of colour and detail given its 8 megapixel resolution, better handling of tricky exposures than expected, and boasts the advantage of that wide angle lens and broader than average (for a compact) focal range.
This is a fairly solid camera. It takes a decent photo in most situations, although you need flash pretty quickly when the light starts to drop. It scores well for ease of use, despite having one or two extra features, including a manual exposure setting.
Although the Nikon CoolPix P50 isn’t a bad camera by any means, it is really just a simple compact dressed up to look like an enthusiast’s hobby camera. It handles well enough, but it has a limited range of features, less-than-stellar build quality, average performance and the image quality is nothing special either.
Some sluggish performance aspects mar excellent image quality and low noise; nevertheless, the Nikon Coolpix P50 is almost perfectly pitched for the target market. Not bad, not bad at all.
No-one will be getting excited about the Nikon Coolpix P50, a hobbled version of the P5100. There aren’t many features but lots of tweakable settings, so the bottom line is that it is one of the most flexible compacts around, with correspondingly good image results.
Where to Buy
First off, consider going to your local camera store. By going to your local camera store, you’re supporting your community and you just might build a lasting relationship with people you can rely on when you need some help or answers. If you’re buying online, I recommend sticking with Amazon, B&H Photo or Adorama. These three vendors are reliable, trustworthy and generally have the best (legitimate) prices.
