Nikon Refreshes Flagship Ultra-Zoom

2025.02.05

Nikon brought back the ultra-zoom from near extinction with an updated flagship. The last Nikon ultra-zoom was launched over six years ago and the only major manufacturer to produce any during that time is Panasonic. This cameras used to be hugely popular and are among the few that cannot be replaced by cellphones.

The new Nikon Coolpix P1100 is the ultimate ultra-zoom, using same unmatched 125X optical zoom lens as the P1000, its focal-range spans 24-3000mm in Full-Frame equivalent terms. The lens is necessarily dim, with its maximum aperture ranging from F/2.8 at ultra-wide-angle to F/8 at the extreme limit of its zoom range. At those focal-lengths, a tripod is a necessity. Shooting is help by builtin optical image-stabilization which is effective to 4-stops compared to hand-holding. This is one-stop less than the P1000, most likely due to a different protocol for testing.

This all-in-one digital camera packs a 16 megapixels CMOS sensor with ISO 100-1600 sensitivity range. This can be expanded to ISO 6400 but with a 1/2.3" sensor, this is unlikely to be very usable. The mechanical shutter of the P1100 supports a range of 1/4000-30s, plus up to 1 minute of Bulb exposure. This camera is equipped with full-manual controls and features dual control-dials to operate them efficiently.

This full-featured prosumer digital camera packs a high-resolution 2.4 Megapixels 0.39" EVF that shows 100% coverage at an unspecified magnification. Given its size, the view should be comparable to an EVF on a cropped sensor mirrorless. These is also a huge 3.2" LCD on the back which oddly shows 99% coverage. It is rare these days to have anything less than 100% but since the viewfinder is preferable, this is not much of any issue.

The Nikon P1100 is a sizable camera weighing 1.4kg. This is less than mirrorless super-telephoto lens though! This camera is expected some time this month for $1100 USD or $1500 CAD. It is already possible to preorder one at Adorama or B&H Photo.

• Digital Camera