File:09 Chile Ristra P1000 DSCN0032.jpg

English: My back yard. Everybody in Albuquerque loves chile. For the past 2 days I have been testing my new Nikon P1000 camera out in my yard and neighborhood. I am very impressed. You have to haul a 3.5 lb camera and a hefty tripod. I used my Manfrotto 3130 tripod with a fluid head that weighs 8 lbs for telephoto shots. The fluid head facilitates video pans, but even it drifted down while shooting at far out lengths such as 3000 mm indicating a need for counter weights such as sand bags or a heavier duty tripod. You also have to use a remote control for shutter depressions and controlling the camera. I purchased a Nikon ML-L7 remote which did the job very well.

The Coolpix P1000 does not use .nef for raw files. It uses .nrw format. I could not use Adobe PS CS6 to read these files. I started saving files in both raw and jpg formats instead of raw exclusively as I do on my Nikon DLSR camera. I had to download Nikon Capture NX-D which came with Nikon Picture Control and Nikon Transfer 2 which I have not tested yet. I Downloaded and installed a Nikon NRW codec. I could not see NRW files in Photoshop CS6, Adobe Bridge CS6 or View NX V2. But I could see them in Capture NX-D, Windows photos, Win Explorer, Win movie Maker, Photo Gallery and Win Photo Viewer. It pays to purchase a 77 mm clear filter cover because the possibility of scratching the huge lens looms very high. The Jpg image size is stored in a 12:9 ratio. My other Nikon cameras are sized in a12:8 ratio. Also many functions are accessed by menu rather than buttons common on Nikon DLSR’s. I have not tested the bird or moon modes on the P1000 yet, but they look promising on paper.

All in all I am very pleased with the Nikon P1000 and look forward to having a lot of fun with it, especially for birding.