The Nikon Coolpix A900 offers a 35x optical zoom lens, and updates the S9900, offering a 20-megapixel sensor, 4K video, manual controls, a tilting 3inch screen, Wi-Fi, and built-in Bluetooth for low-power image transfer. The Nikon Coolpix A900 is available in black or silver.
Nikon Coolpix A900 Features
The Nikon Coolpix A900 offers a 35x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 24-840mm in 35mm terms, a 20.3 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, and a 3inch tilting screen - the tilting screen tilts down as well as up, letting you use it for selfies, as well as overhead. The camera can focus on a subject just 1cm away from the front of the lens, for impressive macro focus.
The camera will record 4K UHD video at 30fps, as well as FullHD, 60p video with 5-axis Hybrid Vibration Reduction (VR) which combines optical and electronic image stabilisation.
P/S/A/M modes, as well as a top command dial, and rear scroll wheel means that you can use the camera in manual mode with quick access to shutter and aperture settings. There is a quick re-touch option in playback, as well as D-Lighting, red-eye correction and glamour retouch, which can be applied to photos you've already taken. You can also apply other effects.
SnapBridge with Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth - SnapBridge lets you transfer images to your smartphone or tablet, and will use Bluetooth, rather than Wi-Fi to transfer images using less power. You can also use SnapBridge to remotely control the camera, with a live view on your smartphone.
Superlapse movie recording lets you create videos for high-speed playback. There's also a timelapse video function. The camera offers high-speed battery charging with the ability to shoot while charging.
If we look at the main competition, the options include the Canon Powershot SX730 HS, Nikon Coolpix A900, Panasonic Lumix TZ90, and Sony Cyber-shot HX90 (not shown).
| Canon Powershot SX730 | Nikon Coolpix A900 | Panasonic Lumix TZ90 | Sony Cyber-shot HX90 |
| 20mp | 20mp | 20mp | 18mp |
| 40x, e. 24-960mm. | 35x, e. 24-840mm. | 30x, e. 24-720mm. | 30x, e. 24-720mm. |
| FullHD video | 4K video | 4K video | FullHD video |
| 3inch tilting | 3inch tilting | 3inch tilting touch | 3inch tilting |
| - | - | EVF | Pop-up EVF |
| 5.9fps continuous | 10fps | 10fps | 10fps |
| - | Top control wheel | Front control ring | Front control ring |
| Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, NFC (GPS HX90V) |
| 250 shots (normal)* | 270 shots | 380 shots (screen) | 390 shots |
| 300g | 298g | 322g | 245g |
* ECO mode extends this to 355 shots
The Canon Powershot SX730 HS offers the most optical zoom, with a 40x optical zoom lens, however, the camera doesn't offer 4K video.
Key Features
- 20.3 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor
- 35x optical zoom lens, f/3.4-6.9, 24-840mm equivalent in 35mm terms
- Vibration Reduction (Optical Image Stabilisation) and Electronic VR
- 5-Axis hybrid VR system for video
- 3inch tilting screen, 921K dot (RGBW)
- 10fps continuous shooting speed
- 4K UHD video recording at 30p
- ISO80-1600
- 1cm macro mode
- Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth built-in
- Available in silver or black
Nikon Coolpix A900 Handling
The Nikon features a plastic camera body and the styling may not be to everyone's tastes, with the black version looking better in our opinion. The grip on the front of the camera gives a good rubberised area for your hand to hold on to, and this is accompanied by a rear rubberised thumb grip. This helps when using lots of zoom, although we'd still recommend holding the camera with two hands, as keeping the camera steady when using the full 35x optical zoom lens is important for sharp shots.
The controls on the camera are neatly laid out, with a fairly large mode dial on top of the camera making it easy to choose the mode you are shooting in. Next to this is the on/off button, a large shutter release button, with zoom rocker surrounding this, and a command dial. Despite the plastic camera body, it feels well built, and the screen has a solid metal hinge mechanism.
Canon Powershot SX730 HS Vs Nikon Coolpix A900 Vs Panasonic Lumix TZ90 - The Nikon offers a large rubber covered grip.
The lens extends noticeably, and as you can see in the picture above, is quite chunky. When using the optical zoom you can use a button on the back to quickly zoom out so that you can find your subject again if you've lost it. There's also the option to choose your focus point. The screen looks good and is clear, with good colour. When using the screen for a self-portrait, the displayed image will automatically reduce in size, so that you can see the whole image, without the camera blocking part of the image.
Menus – The menus are clearly laid out, with each section getting its own main section logo, starting with the photo options, then the video options, etc. This makes it easy to change and find settings, however, the clarity could probably be improved if the menu sections were colour coded, rather than just being the same colour as each other.
Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth Features - NFC makes it easy and quick to set up a connection to a compatible Android smartphone. If you have an iOS device, then you can use Bluetooth to set up the connection. You can choose between transferring 2mp images, or full-size images. If you transfer the full-size images, then these are much slower to transfer.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 270 shots according to Nikon / CIPA test results, which is a little short, especially compared to the competition. A spare battery or a portable charger is recommended. Thankfully you can charge the phone using the provided MicroUSB cable.
Nikon Coolpix A900 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Shutter Response | <0.05secs |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.2secs |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.8secs |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 1.8secs |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 1.2secs |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 1.3secs |
| Continuous Shooting - JPEG (shots before slow down) |
10fps (7 shots) |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | N/A |
Focus is quicker at the wide-angle end of the lens, and slower at the telephoto end. Continuous shooting is quick at 10fps, however, you can only shoot 7 frames before the camera stops shooting.
Nikon Coolpix A900 Sample Photos
Sample Photos - The A900 gives slightly less saturated colours on default settings - and to get more punch from your images you can adjust the hue, vividness, exposure compensation, and Active D-lighting. Active D-Lighting can be used to improve dynamic range, giving a boost to shadows or darker areas of images. Alternatively, you can use the HDR mode. There's no red-eye visible in portrait shots when using the flash. Macro performance is good, with the camera letting you focus on subjects 1cm away from the lens. The camera will also let you know on screen how much zoom is possible while using macro focus.
Nikon Coolpix A900 Lens test images
Lens Performance - Images produced by the camera are reasonably detailed for a compact camera, with slightly softer corners. If you view images at 100% on your computer, then images can appear a little soft. Chromatic aberration and purple fringing are quite well controlled unless there are areas of high contrast. The lens performs fairly well at the telephoto end of the lens, and is resistant to flare, with no signs of vignetting. Barrel and pincushion distortion is well controlled, being automatically corrected in-camera. Focusing is fairly reliable but can struggle when using the full optical zoom, depending on the subject and lighting conditions. Image stabilisation helps keep images steady but isn't infallible, and it's important to hold the camera as steady as possible when using the full optical zoom.
Nikon Coolpix A900 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - Noise performance is best at the lower ISO speeds (ISO80 to ISO200), and becomes stronger at ISO800. Images become much softer at ISO1600, but may still provide usable images, particularly if you're sharing to social media, where the reduced image size will help disguise any noise.
Nikon Coolpix A900 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) gives a warm result under tungsten lighting, with the tungsten (incandescent) preset giving a more accurate (and whiter) result. The camera performs well under mixed lighting. The AWB performs well under fluorescent lighting, with the fluorescent white balance preset giving a colour cast.
Nikon Coolpix A900 Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are numerous scene modes, with a number of effects available here (including backlighting and HDR). Under the "Custom" photo mode, there are 5 different options, and each of these produces 4 different effects, as well as taking a photo with no effect applied. This means there are lots of different effects you can apply, or alternatively, you can add effects in playback. The camera features an automatic panoramic mode, where you simply press the shutter release button and pan the camera from one side to the other. Results are reasonable and well stitched together, although they are quite low-res.
Video - The Nikon Coolpix A900 records 4K UHD (3840x2160) video at 30/25fps. FullHD video can be recorded at 60/50fps. Optical zoom is available and the camera has stereo microphones. When recording 4K video, the camera uses optical image stabilisation to help keep video steady. If you record FullHD video, you can select Hybrid IS, which is a combination of optical and electronic image stabilisation. When using the zoom, while recording, it can sometimes take a while for the camera to focus correctly.
Value For Money
The Nikon Coolpix A900 is available for around £329 which makes it good value for money. Alternatives to look at, include the following cameras, all of them include Wi-Fi connectivity. We've included the A900 as a reference:
Canon Powershot SX730 HS, 40x zoom, 3inch tilting screen, 5.9fps continuous shooting, FullHD video, £379
Nikon Coolpix A900, 35x zoom, 3inch tilting screen (up and down), 10fps continuous shooting, 4K video, £329
Sony Cyber-shot HX90, 30x zoom, 3inch tilting screen, 10fps continuous shooting, FullHD video, EVF, £322
Panasonic Lumix TZ90, 30x zoom, 3inch tilting touch-screen, 10fps continuous shooting, 4K video, EVF, £399
Have a look at more travel zoom cameras in our Top 10 Best Pocket Zoom Cameras. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Nikon Coolpix A900 Verdict
The Nikon Coolpix A900 offers a 35x optical zoom lens, in a fairly compact travel zoom camera. The camera also offers a proper tilting screen, that tilts both forwards and down. This will be useful if you often take photos at different angles. With 4K video recording, the A900 offers high-resolution video recording, although we found the Panasonic Lumix TZ90 video quality better. On default settings, the photos from the camera aren't as saturated as we'd have liked to see, and we found the image quality of the Canon Powershot SX730 slightly better, particularly for colour reproduction.
Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC make it easy to connect the camera to a smartphone or tablet, making it quick and easy to share images to social media websites. The camera is easy to use, and there are a number of scene modes and creative effects to suit the beginner. There are more advanced controls, including manual control, and with two dials, it's easy to set both aperture and shutter speeds. The Nikon Coolpix A900 is feature-packed and is competitively priced, making it good value for money.
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The Nikon Coolpix A900 offers a lot of zoom, and 4K video at a good price. |