Nikon P610 review

Photo tests

My photo tests revealed a similar mix of strengths and weaknesses. Focus was sharp right into the corners of the frames throughout most of the zoom range – a superb achievement. The only notable weakness was at the maximum telephoto zoom setting, where fine details became a little vague and there was a hazy glow around highlights, but it wasn’t particularly noticeable at normal viewing sizes.

Some noise was visible even in brightly lit shots and fine details were a bit fuzzy, but again, you’d have to magnify or crop the image to see these issues. I had expected image quality to plummet when shooting at the long end of the zoom in overcast weather, but it held up surprisingly well. These aren’t photos you’d print out and frame, but they’re fine for sharing online. The camera used surprisingly slow shutter speeds in order to keep the ISO speed – and noise levels – down, but the optical stabilisation managed to avoid blur due to camera shake in most instances. It couldn’t do anything to avoid blur due to subject motion, though. This is a camera that’s much better at shooting static subjects than moving ones. I also found that the metering over-exposed some of my test shots.

^ Flattering colours and sharp focus in this wide-angle shot. (1/1,000s, f/3.3, ISO 100, 24mm equivalent)

^ The other end of the zoom from the same vantage point. Direct sunlight keeps the ISO speed low and image quality up. (1/250s, f/6.5, ISO 110, 1440mm equivalent)

^ Returning to the same spot in overcast weather means the ISO speed has been pushed up to 720. Noise reduction has smudged fine details but it’s still a decent result. (1/250s, f/6.5, ISO 720, 1440mm equivalent)

^ Another decent telephoto shot, but the dark background has led to an over-exposed subject and there’s some blooming around clipped highlights. (1/250s, f/6.5, ISO 400, 1440mm equivalent)

^ Great skin tones and plenty of detail in the skin, hair and clothing textures. (1/100s, f/4, ISO 100, 55mm equivalent)

^ The automatic exposure mode found this scene surprisingly difficult. (1/320s, f/4, ISO 100, 45mm equivalent)

^ Dense foliage looks vague but lens sharpness is hard to fault – all the more remarkable considering the huge zoom range. (1/60s, f/5, ISO 110, 135mm equivalent)

^ The camera has picked a surprisingly slow 1/15s shutter in this scene to keep noise down, but the optical stabilisation kept shots consistently sharp. (1/15s, f/5, ISO 450, 135mm equivalent)

^ Optical stabilisation can’t compensate for moving subjects. 1/4s is far too slow for portrait shots. (1/4s, f/4, ISO 800, 45mm equivalent)

^  Raising the ISO speed manually inevitably pushes up noise levels but it’s a passable snapshot. (1/20s, f/4, ISO 3200, 45mm equivalent)

Conclusion

There’s not much to criticise about the P610, but its lens and sensor combination simply don’t capture enough light to give the levels of rich, clean detail offered by the Panasonic FZ1000. Then again, it doesn’t cost £600. £265 is an extremely reasonable price for a camera that makes a decent stab at wildlife photography – as long as it’s relatively sedentary. I still prefer the Panasonic FZ330 or its predecessor, the FZ200, which use a 24x zoom lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture. This means they capture five times as much light as the P610 at the long end of the zoom, giving a significant boost to image quality. However, for some people, the Nikon P610’s 60x zoom, Wi-Fi and GPS may tip the balance back the other way.