The side of the Nikon P1100. Image credit: Amy Davies
The all-in-one ultra-zoom bridge camera remains as popular as ever – with Sony recently announcing the new RX10 V! With a 1inch sensor, and premium 24-600mm equivalent lens the price is currently $2300/£2200! Far out of the reach of many photographer’s budgets. However, if you want LOTS of zoom – in fact the World’s longest telephoto zoom camera ever made, then the Nikon Coolpix P1100 is just that, and currently roughly $1000 / £1000 new. With a 125x optical zoom lens the zoom range is an incredible 24-3000mm equivalent – 6000mm if you use the “fine zoom” feature! No other camera offers this much zoom range, so whether you are shooting colourful mushrooms, music events or even the moon, you can reach further than anything else.
The Nikon Coolpix P1100 manages to get such an impressive amount of zoom, thanks to the use of a much smaller sensor when compared to the 1-inch sensor used in the Sony RX10 V (with 25x zoom), and some smartphones, but it’s difficult to argue with the laws of physics, as a smaller sensor, allows for a narrower field of view, and a smaller lens than would otherwise be needed. With DSLR-like styling, it comes with a vari-angle screen, and an electronic viewfinder, as well as the all-important 4K video recording.
It’s worth noting that due to the small sensor, and all-in-one superzoom, image quality is not going to be as good as a mirrorless camera with an equivalent lens… but here’s the thing: 3000mm lenses don’t currently exist! (outside of specialist telescopes that cost 17x the price of this camera) The closest might be found by using a 150-600mm lens on a Micro Four Thirds camera (giving 300-1200mm equivalent – combined with a 2x teleconverter, giving 600-2400mm), but this lens is over twice the price of the Nikon camera, on its own, without the camera, and without the teleconverter. And that’s the truly impressive bit – the price for this whole package – a camera with an incredible zoom range, autofocus, image stabilisation, 16MP sensor, 4K video, and electronic viewfinder, really can’t be beaten.
Nikon Coolpix P1100 at a glance
- 125x optical zoom lens, 24-3000mm equivalent, with optical image stabilisation (VR)
- 16MP BSI-CMOS sensor (6.2 x 4.6mm)
- ISO 100-6400, 7fps burst shooting
- 3.2in 921k-dot vari-angle LCD
- 2.36m-dot OLED electronic viewfinder
- 4K video at 30p, 1080p at 60p
- 260-shot battery life
- 146.3 x 118.8 x 181.3mm, 1,410g (including battery and SD card)
An update to the P1000, the Nikon Coolpix P1100 has the same 125x optical zoom lens, the longest on any camera making it an appealing ultra-zoom bridge camera, if you don’t mind the size, and weight. The 125x optical zoom lens offers the equivalent to 24 – 3000mm from ultra-wide to super telephoto zoom optically but – enable the 4x digital zoom – and this goes up to 12,000mm equivalent!
Prices correct at time of publication but may change at any time, please check the retailer’s website. Amazon is a market place, so check the retailer selling before purchasing. Find more great deals.
- Sony RX10 V review – the return of the king of bridge cameras
- Save big money on a ‘phenomenally capable’ Sony compact camera with 8.3x zoom
- Best Nikon cameras for photography and video
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About
Joshua Waller has been reviewing cameras since 2004, originally setting up an online review site DigiCamReview. Following this he joined ePHOTOzine in 2011 as Technical Editor where he was in charge of reviews, and setting up a detailed test system. Josh joined Amateur Photographer in 2021, and as Online Editor, is responsible for bringing great content to the site, as well as reviewing cameras, lenses, smartphones and more.
