My favorite ever Nikon camera (and the wackiest camera it ever made) has just been given a firmware update… a month after Nikon killed it off
(Image credit: Nikon)
It's springtime in the Northern hemisphere, which means that all the camera manufacturers have been releasing shiny new firmware for their shiny new cameras. And then there's Nikon, which has released some shiny new firmware for a bunch of much older cameras.
We've just seen new firmware for its flagship DSLR, for example. But while it's not so surprising that the Nikon D6 got an update, I found it hugely surprising that the manufacturer released new firmware for a camera that it recently discontinued: the Nikon P1000. Which, in case you missed it, is the most bananas camera Nikon has ever made.
The Nikon Coolpix P100, to give its full name, is a bridge camera with a truly jaw-dropping 24-3000mm focal range. That's an optical zoom of 125 times, which is almost impossible to visualize, so here's what it actually looks like in pictures:
Image 1 of 4
(Image credit: Ben Andrews/Digital Camera World)
24mm
Above is a selection of four images demonstrating the P1000's optical zoom range, with shots of the same scene taken at 24mm, 80mm, 500mm and 3000mm.
(Image credit: Future)
80mm
(Image credit: Ben Andrews/Digital Camera World)
500mm
(Image credit: Ben Andrews/Digital Camera World)
3000mm
While the zoom range is technologically incredible, the rest of the camera isn't quite as impressive. The 16MP resolution isn't so much the issue as the 1/2.3-inch sensor itself, with a maximum ISO of 6400, which leaves a lot to be desired if you pixel peep (so… don't do that, is my solution).
Anyway, I was and will forever be a huge fan of this wacky camera – along with its effective replacement, the Nikon Coolpix P950, which is still a current product and has also just received new firmware.
The upgrade for both the P1000 (Version 1.7) and P950 (Version 1.5) contains the same minor fix: "Changed the default password displayed on the connection menu after all the camera's settings were reset."
Kudos to Nikon for continuing to update its older models, even if they're only minor fixes rather than true quality-of-life improvements. The fact that it's still actively supporting cameras from 2018 (the P1000) really is commendable.
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James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.
