Nikon Coolpix P610 Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification

The Nikon Coolpix P610 was announced in February 2015 and is a bridge camera which features a 60x optical zoom lens, tilting LCD screen, electronic viewfinder, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS. The P610 updates the P600 and is available in black and red for around £336.

Nikon Coolpix P610 Features

The Nikon Coolpix P610 has a 16.1 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor and a 60x optical zoom lens, which is a 35mm equivalent of 24-1440mm. There is optical image stabilisation to help reduce blur and camera shake, the lens has a minimum focusing distance of just 1cm for macro shots and the P600 can shoot full-resolution images at 7 fps for up to 7 shots.

The P610 has an auto mode which adjusts the settings automatically for the detected scene, with the camera choosing from 19 scenes. There is an auto HDR mode which combines two different shots taken at different exposures, the Easy Panorama mode shoots 360° and 180° panoramas by simply panning the camera. There are new bird-watching and moon photography scene modes available. 

The P610 has a 3.0 inch 921k dot vari-angle LCD screen and a 0.2 inch 921k dot EVF. It also has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC allowing you to use a smartphone or tablet as a remote control or so you can edit and share your images. You can also use the built-in GPS to geotag images. Images can be edited via playback using the retouch menu where there is a number of effects such as soft portrait and photo illustration.

Videos are recorded in full 1080p HD with stereo sound and optical zoom available. You can also record fast or slow motion videos.

Key Features

• 16.1 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor
• 60x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 24-1440mm)
• Optical image stabilisation
• 3.0 inch 921k dot vari-angle LCD screen
• 0.2 inch 921k dot EVF
• Wi-Fi, NFC and GPS
• Full 1080p HD video recording
• ISO 100-6400, Hi 1 (equivalent to ISO 12800) available when using High ISO monochrome
• 1cm minimum focusing distance
• 7 fps continuous shooting
• Auto HDR mode
• Easy panorama
• Available in red or black

Nikon Coolpix P610 Handling

The Nikon Coolpix P610 looks and feels like a small DSLR camera. It has a decent sized rubberised handgrip, with a rubberised patch on the rear for your thumb and another rubberised area on the other side of the camera - all of which aids grip.

On top of the camera is the mode dial which includes access to the PSAM modes as well as auto, scene, effects, landscape, night portrait and night landscape. There is also a user settings mode so you can save your preferred camera settings. Also on the top is the zoom rocker, shutter release, on / off and fn buttons. The function button can be set to change the ISO, white balance, drive mode and more. On the side of the camera is a button which releases the pop-up flash, just down from there on the lens is a lever which offers an alternative way to adjust the optical zoom, as well as a snap back zoom button that zooms the lens out so you can find your subject again if you've lost it.

Buttons on the rear include display, movie record, playback, menu and delete. The camera also features an eye-sensor so that it can automatically switch between the rear screen and EVF. There is a dial to adjust shutter speed and / or aperture depending on which mode you are in. There is also a d-pad which had a rotating wheel for cycling through the menus. You can use the d-pad to access exposure compensation, macro mode, self-timer and the flash.

The 3 inch screen can rotate to many angles, assisting when shooting with the camera high up or low down in particular. It has an excellent 920k dot resolution and is easy to view in bright sunlight thanks to its anti-reflective coating. When you fold the screen away the EVF automatically activates. The EVF is bright and comfortable to use, and has an increased resolution of 921k.

Battery life is rated at 360 shots according to CIPA test results, which is good for a bridge camera. 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.

The continuous H records in full 16.1 megapixel resolution, whereas 120fps and 60fps modes record VGA and 2 megapixel images respectively.

Nikon Coolpix P610 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.

Nikon Coolpix P610 Sample Photos

Sample Photos - Images are well exposed with good colour. You can change the colour saturation of the images by using the picture control option, such as vivid and monochrome. Portrait shots have good skin tones and are free of red-eye when using the flash. As the ISO setting increases the amount of detail recorded drops.

Nikon Coolpix P610 Lens test images

Lens Performance - Images have a decent amount of detail whichever end of the lens you are shooting at, and the image stabilisation system does a good job when using the long end of the optical zoom. There is a little purple fringing, particularly towards the corner of the frame, but it is generally kept low. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of just 1cm which allows for a good macro shot.

Nikon Coolpix P610 ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance - ISO100, ISO200, and ISO400 all produce good sharp images which aren't overly affected by noise. At ISO800 images become a little soft, with more detail lost at ISO1600. More detail is lost at ISO3200, but the images produced are still useable, with a noisy image produced at ISO6400.

Nikon Coolpix P610 White-balance test images

White Balance Performance - Under the incandescent lights, the Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well, although there is a slight colour cast, and there is an AWB "Warm" mode that can be used if you want to capture the atmosphere. Better results are achieved using the incandescent preset. The AWB performs well when shooting under the fluorescent lights, the fluorescent preset takes a picture with a strong magenta cast.

Panorama mode - 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 good, and well stitched together, although the resolution is a little low.

Nikon Coolpix P610 Digital filters

Digital Filters - There are a number of picture effects you can choose from to change the colour in your images. There are also a number of special effects, which have included a number of examples above.

Video - Below is a video recorded in full 1080p HD. Quality is good and the focus adjusts quickly when zooming in and out. The noise of the zoom can be heard, but it is faint. Timelapse video creation is a cool feature, which we used to create a timelapse of the recent Solar Eclipse, which you can see on our YouTube channel.