As well as the switch around the shutter button, there’s a toggle switch on the lens barrel for adjusting the zoom setting. The zoom is a little slower with the side switch- which can be useful when you’re finessing the composition. We've got no complaints with the P950's electronic viewfinder, though. This has been upgraded from the 0.2-inch, 921k-dot LCD EVF found in the P900, and the P950 gets a 0.39-inch, 2359k-dot OLED unit. The size and resolution increase makes the EVF genuinely useful in the P950, whereas you'd need to be a big fan of squinting to find the P900's EVF any use.

Nikon | Download center | COOLPIX P950 Firmware Nikon | Download center | COOLPIX P950 Firmware

Nikon claims that AF speed is improved over the P900, but there's only so much that its engineers can do with a contrast-detection system when it comes to overcoming a very basic, optical problem: contrast tends to drop when you're looking at distant subjects at long focal lengths, and the more you zoom in, the thinner the zone of focus becomes, which increases the amount of work that the autofocus system has to do.

If you need the versatility of a 24-2000mm zoom range, and you want the comfort of knowing that you can shoot landscapes one minute, and heavenly bodies the next (I know the chronology of that doesn't really add up, but just go with it), the Nikon Coolpix P950 is your best option right now, without a doubt. If you want the comfort of knowing that you can shoot landscapes one minute, and heavenly bodies the next, the Nikon Coolpix P950 is your best option

COOLPIX P950 - Nikon

The P950's lens (like pretty much all lenses of this type) is best once you zoom in a little. This image was converted from Raw and I could probably have sharpened it a little more aggressively (and if I was intended to print it, I would) but cross-frame sharpness is nice and consistent. Shooting Raw has allowed me to get the white-balance exactly where I wanted it, reduce some minor blue fringing in the foliage against the bright sky, and recover a little detail from highlight and shadow areas. ISO sensitivity can be set manually, from 100-6400, and there are five Auto ISO ranges (100-400, 100-800, 100-1600, 100-3200, 100-6400). It is possible to set a minimum shutter speed from a range of 1 to 1/125 seconds, but you don't get the more advanced 'slower > faster' dynamic options that you do in higher-end Nikon cameras. Typically, the P950 prioritizes lower ISO sensitivity settings where possible, leaning on its powerful image stabilization system to keep things sharp. This works well except in lower light with moving subjects, where you might find that you need to take manual control over shutter speed to avoid blur. At 24mm f/2.8, the lens shows about 2,300 lines on an Imatest evaluation, an excellent result for the 16MP sensor, and its performance at f/4 is just about the same. Edges aren't great in either case, but that's typical for this type of camera.The P950's rated 5.5EV of image stabilization (or Vibration Reduction, to use Nikon's parlance) is unchanged from the P900, and still very impressive. The first of Nikon's modern superzoom compacts that I can remember using was the P500 (2011) and the 'snaking' in the viewfinder at long focal lengths, caused by the VR system trying to keep the image stable was literally nauseating. There's still some of that with the P950, but on the whole, provided you're not trying to handhold the camera at 2000mm in a gale, the stabilization is excellent. It's actually possible to get sharp shots at shutter speeds as long as 1/50 sec at the extreme end of the telephoto range with some experimentation, which is remarkable. With 5.5 stops of VR image stabilization, 166x Dynamic Fine Zoom, Target Finding AF capabilities and 7 fps continuous, the Nikon P950 enables stargazers and birdwatchers to capture high-quality photos or 4K UHD videos at extreme distances with ease. The new Nikon P950 also adds RAW (NRW) photo recording, an enhanced high-resolution EVF and Nikon Snapbridge to seamlessly share images or remotely control the camera. Other areas haven't been upgraded, though. Nikon hasn't done anything to improve autofocus speed or accuracy. We'd also like to see a touch screen and a current-generation USB-C interface. If you recognize yourself in that description, and you're looking for advice on whether or not you should buy the P950, I'd say that it depends on what you're intending to shoot.