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Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Model number: P90 | SKU: 9223743

This digital camera captures vibrant digital portraits and uses a face-priority AF that automatically isolates and focuses on up to 12 faces in a frame. It also features a high ISO sensitivity, multiple scene modes and optical image stabilization to ensure your digital captures remain crystal-clear in varying scene conditions. Learn more about the Nikon P90. (Flash demo)

Average Customer Rating:

3.8 out of 5 (88 Reviews)

60 of 88 (68%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

Customer Reviews for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Review 1 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

4.0 5

Nice Camera 11/19/2009
By laidback22 from South Jersey

Value for Price

4.0 5

Picture Quality

4.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

What's great about it: Feature packed, Good Pics, Optical Zoom
What's not so great: Low Light shooting just ok

"Massive amount of features but not overwhelming. I am by no means a pro but this camera makes sure you don't need to be. You can play with tons of settings but only if u want to, otherwise it acts like a simple point and shoot.
The zoom is awesome but you really need a tripod beyond 10x.
If I had it to do again I would still buy it."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 2 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

3.0 5

pros and cons. 11/18/2009
By Anonymous from Edinburg, Texas

Value for Price

3.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

Features

1.0 5

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What's great about it: Ease to Use & Great Zoom.
What's not so great: Missing too many Features, Bad Picture Quality, Worthless Features, etc.

"The Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black was a birthday present and I was so excited when I got it because I was used to smaller, less professional, casual cameras and when I fist saw it I loved it and I kind of still do, but not as much. :\

First of all I really hate when people write reviews about a product saying "I hate this product don't buy it!" only, as an owner of a product one should write the pros, but the cons as well and vise versa.

Said that Im going to write what I love about it first:

1.) I love the design of the camara itself, it looks elegant and shiny.
2.) I love the zoom! Omg, one of the best feture in the camera (probably the only good feature) is the zoom. It is a very good zoom and I love that!
3.) Well there is no 3 because that's about it!
Those are the only things I love about it! [unfortunally!]

Next I will write the things I dislike about it:
{and believe me, its much longer!!}

1.) I hate the photos quality! Takig pictures with this camera you need to be extremelly patient if you want to get at lest 1 or 2 pics that are ok out of 500, seriously,!
2.) I dislike the lack of a bunch of features in this camara and I wish I had check that before the 14 days deadline to return it.
3.)This camara is really loud and noisy! I dont know why,but you can hear tic-tic-tic out of the camara like an old whatch!
4.) I got to admit it; this camara is heavy! really heavy! and for such a camara with a bunch of missing stuff , it should not weight that much!
5.) And finally its slow and takes a long time to take a picture. Even if you press really hard the bottom to capture a shot,, trust me youll miss it!!!

Conclusion: If you want to start your journey in Photography with this camara DON"T DO IT! , because you will give up and lose all hope in clear beautiful shots.

But even trought out all this obstacles I have manage to capture some great shots, and like I have always thought "It's the PHOTOGRAPHER not the CAMERA!"
so please just have fun and enjoy capturing memories and beauty no matter what camera you own(:

atte; Lizz"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 3 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

1.0 5

Disappointed - Returned it. 11/17/2009
By ProfessorH from Niceville, FL

Value for Price

2.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

3.0 5

Features

3.0 5

What's great about it: Great lens, light, easy to handle
What's not so great: Autofocus was poor, no choice of focus modes, hands cover AF assist light

"I purchased this camera as a "point and shoot" for my wife to take to a couple of weddings, since her old camera had finally worn out. I have a Nikon D5000, and have had several Pro-sumer Nikons over the years, so I really like Nikon quality and thought this would be a nice camera. Unfortunately, the autofocus on the camera was buggy and unreliable. About 2/3 of the photos she took around the house and yard were out of focus, even with the image stabilization turned on. I had no better luck, amazed at how a small tree in our yard could not be photographed time after time.

Another thing we noticed was that our fingers would block the AF assist light when holding the camera, since it was positioned close to the right side where the middle finger rests. We thought this might be a problem with our low light shots, but when we were more careful, it made no difference.

I don't know if there was a "problem" with the Nikon or if it was just poor design.

We returned the NIkon the next day and exchanged it for the Canon SX20. The Canon worked flawlessly right out of the box."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 4 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

1.0 5

worst camera ever 11/17/2009
By trishaintn from Tennessee

Value for Price

1.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

1.0 5

Features

1.0 5

What's great about it: there is nothing great about this camera
What's not so great: poor quality in everything

"I had a Kodak camera for years and loved it. Everyone told me to get a nikon and i was lookin for a newer camera and decided to try this one.It is the worse camera i have ever had the pictures inside and out turn out grainy,they are eithe red, blury or distorted. I would never recommend this camera to anyone. My daughter bought a cheap Kodak at the same time and it takes better pictures than this one."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 5 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Great Camera, just read the instructions for use 11/16/2009
By Crimson72 from Atlanta, GA

Value for Price

4.0 5

Picture Quality

4.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

What's great about it: Features, Easy to use once you read thru manual
What's not so great: Time will tell

"Great Camera, if you aren't ready to make the SLR leap just yet.Easy to use and to get the most of this camera if you take the brief time it takes to ready User Manual/Instructions. I think some of the folks who complain about this just haven't used it properly."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 6 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Great Camera 11/13/2009
By DoraW5 from Colorado

Value for Price

5.0 5

Picture Quality

5.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

Features

5.0 5

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First night right out of the box

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Great clarity inside and out

What's great about it: The basics of this camera are easy to use
What's not so great: Haven't found anything bad about this camera

"I am very new to digital photography and got interested in it by accident. In July I purchased a Sony point and shoot to take pictures of clouds that I could paint.(Also a great camera) I fell in love with photography but I wanted a little more flexability. I researched several cameras and I felt that the P90 was the only one in it's class that had everthing that I wanted. I really like the adjustable screen, it makes it very easy to get just the right angle without being a contortionist! This camera can take great pictures right out of the box but it will also give a new comer like myself a challange to learn. I have taken some great shots indoors and out. I look forward to learning all that this camera is capable of. If you want a simple easy to use camera for everday use you may want to consider a point and shoot but, if you want to explore the creative side of photography, this is a great camera to start with."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 7 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

3.0 5

cameras decent 11/09/2009
By brenda53 from california

Value for Price

3.0 5

Picture Quality

3.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

What's great about it: the ease of use
What's not so great: the shaky when you zoom -battery life when you zoom to much

"camera is decent -easy to use, a bit heavy for my liking, very shaky in lcd when you zoom, takes decent pictures , forget the zoom at night ,its ok"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 8 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

2.0 5

Not the best camera 11/08/2009
By WCL from Mebane, NC

Value for Price

2.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

1.0 5

Features

5.0 5

What's great about it: The zoom is great
What's not so great: Picture quality is VERY poor.

"I bought this camera to take pictures of my sons first birthday party. I work at Best Buy so this was recommended by my peers. The camera has MANY features, but you need to read the book to actually get good pictures. If you just buy it and go take pictures you will be dissappointed. The auto shoot mode takes many grainy pictures, and if people move even a little the picture will be extremely blury. The shoot mode that works really well is the continuous shoot mode, but who wants to use that all the time. Overall the picture quality is not as good as my 8mp Olympus. I figured a 12mp would blow away my old camera, but it's really not even close."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 9 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Awesome 11/05/2009
By mine from Conroe, Texas

Value for Price

5.0 5

Picture Quality

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

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What's great about it: Everything

"This camera was recommended to me and was the best recommendation that could have ever been made. Took a picture of the moon and you can even see the craters"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 10 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

1.0 5

Don't buy it! 10/30/2009
By Firedog2 from NC

Value for Price

1.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

Features

4.0 5

Reviewer Images
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Notice the white lines - they are supposed to be straight!

What's great about it: Size, weight, tilt view finder
What's not so great: Picture quality is AWFUL! Very grainy, straight lines are "hatch marked".

"I thought I had found the perfect camera that was just shy of a DSLR. It has all the features I wanted - light weight, tilt viewfinder, sports action mode, image stabilization, reasonable price - the whole nine yards. Then, I took some pictures. Anything that has a straight line to it comes out distorted and the overall quality is very poor - in the camera, on a computer, and worst on a TV. I am very disappointed because I really like the concept of this little camera. Spend the extra bucks and get yourself a true DSLR. I am going to."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Review 11 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Awesome Camera 10/26/2009
By pstorrandy from scottsville, va

Value for Price

5.0 5

Picture Quality

5.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

What's great about it: ease of use, awesome picture quality
What's not so great: zoom takes a little getting used to

"Have been looking for a camera to carry in the field with me for 2-3 years. Picked the Coolpix because of its MP and optical zoom ratings. For those having pic quality issues, read the manual. Choose the correct mode and the shutter speed for the type of pictures you're taking and the pic quality will be incredible! Have had the camera for about 3 weeks and taken about 1000 pics and been disappointed with only 4. Great camera for the money!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 12 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

4.0 5

Very versitile 10/21/2009
By Rross from whitehall, PA

Value for Price

5.0 5

Picture Quality

4.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

Features

5.0 5

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D5000

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Nikon P90

What's great about it: Diverse abilities, comprable to higher end DSLR's
What's not so great: Low light photos grainy if not done right

"My wife and I bought new cameras within 2 weeks of each other. Her the P90 (per my suggestion) and me the D5000. Both are 12 MP cameras and both have similar user interfaces. Like other people who have reviewed this camera, I too had trouble with taking lower light pictures, but I changed to a few different pre-programmed user settings and came up with some pretty decent shots. Being an photo-enthusiast, I'm no stranger to how cameras are "supposed to work," and Nikon is giving you your money's worth with this one.
RESEARCH THIS PRODUCT BEFORE YOU BUY IT!!!!! This is classified by Nikon as an "ADVANCED POINT & SHOOT." You might want to read up a little on what ISO means and how to use it, also, how to use shutter priority and what f-stop means. These are not things that you have to worry about on a standard point and shoot. If you don't want to, learn about this stuff then this isn't the camera for you. If you want to get the most out of this camera and utilize its full potential, than this is the camera for you.
So, we took our cameras out for a side by side.... P90 vs. D5000. As much as I hate to say it (cuz of how much more I spent on mine) the P90 puts out VERY comparable to my D5000. This camera is definitely worth the price."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 13 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

4.0 5

Very Good Camera 10/19/2009
By Tom34 from Robesonia, PA

Value for Price

4.0 5

Picture Quality

4.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

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What's great about it: Zoom, Features, Outdoor picture quality
What's not so great: Auto Focus indoors, takes some trial and error

"I've had this camera a week now and I must say I understand why some people don't like this camera. I'm very happy with the picture quality of outdoor pictures. I've been able to take some very good indoor pictures, but it will take a while to get the right settings for different indoor lighting. I'm still tweeking it looking for the best possible setting.

The auto focus works well out doors, but indoors it can take numerous tries to get the focus window to turn green. Again, once you dial it in it seems to work better.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this camera, but all I have to go by is a 9 year old Sony with the floppy disc, so compared to that, I'm quite impressed.
It also helps if you have some knowledge of shutter speeds and ISO settings."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 14 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

2.0 5

You can do a lot better 10/16/2009
By egm from New Bedford, Mass.

Value for Price

2.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

Features

4.0 5

What's great about it: Long zoom
What's not so great: Pictures; isn't that why you get a camera?

"If you've never used other cameras in this class, you'll be happy with this one - just look at all the glowing reviews here from people who fit this description. Unfortunately, it falls down in the most important factor in a camera: the quality of the pictures it takes. Nikon makes excellent DSLRs, but its Coolpix line comes from a different division and doesn't have nearly the quality. People buy Nikon for the name without truly evaluating what they'll get. The Coolpix line is competitive at the lower end, but when you get up to this level you'll do much better with Canon or Panasonic (which I have now). The P90 isn't a total disaster, many people are happy with it, but they tend to be people who have no basis for comparing it with what else is out there for the money in 2009."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 15 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Top 1000 Contributor

Customer Rating

4.0 5

Could be better 10/09/2009
By VonJose from Waterfor, Connecticut

Value for Price

4.0 5

Picture Quality

3.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

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ISO 60 distance from subject is 15ft

What's great about it: Compact DSLR, ZOOOOOOOOM is great!
What's not so great: Grainy pictures., not good for indoors.

"I purchased this because of the price. features are at par with the highend cameras. The only thing i've noticed was the grainy pictures,

If you are a beginner, then this is ok. But if you want a higher quality picture get the Nikon D40. Pictures are better."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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Review 16 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

2.0 5

All Looks, No Quality... 10/06/2009
By RWM1479 from Skillman, NJ

Value for Price

1.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

2.0 5

What's great about it: Easy to use, 24x zoom, 3.0" LCD
What's not so great: PICTURE QUALITY IS HORRIBLE, Very Grainy, Auto-capture is bad.

"If your looking for a camera with amazing, superior, high-definition picture quality, then this camera IS NOT IT.

This Camera has the looks of something worth buying, until you get home and find out that a $10.00 disposable camera takes better pictures...

On the other hand, if you are still thinking of purchasing this camera, the controls are very basic. The features include all of your basic options and then some, making it perfect for amateur photographers."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 17 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

1.0 5

Washed out pictures 10/05/2009
By BeaverFood from Carmel, ME

Value for Price

1.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

What's great about it: Features
What's not so great: Picture quality and short battery life

"The auto setting results in over-exposed pictures. I even have difficulty getting a good looking picture with my own settings saved to U1."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 18 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

1.0 5

READ THIS REVIEW!!!!!!!! 10/03/2009
By Danya from San Jose, CA

Value for Price

1.0 5

Picture Quality

1.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

1.0 5

What's great about it: IT LOOKS COOL
What's not so great: ITS SUX! WORST PICTURES EVER!

"okay, so i went to costco to buy this camera and i was soooo excited! Then when i was about to pick it up this costumer stopped me and he was like DO NOT GET IT! WORST CAMERA EVER...and i REALLLLLYY wanted it because it had amazing reviews...so i thought well ill try it and if the guy is right i can always return it. i went home all excited that i FINALLY got this camera. its an amazing size, it has an amazing screen...BUT IT TAKES DISGUSTING PICTURES! i thought okay...maybe i just have to learn how to use it...and i did learn...IT STILL SUCKED. it took grainy pictures and the video...UGH! the video looked liek those olden day videos were u couldnt see anything! IM NOT OVER DOING IT! its horrible...DO NOT BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 19 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

3.0 5

Not the camera for me 09/16/2009
By williams2262 from North Carolina

Value for Price

3.0 5

Picture Quality

2.0 5

Ease of Use

4.0 5

Features

4.0 5

What's great about it: good price and easy to use
What's not so great: VERY POOR picture quality

"I bought this camera because i have twin 19 month old boys. I wanted something that i could use to get the action of them playing. This camera has poor picture quality. It produces grainy indoor pictures, where of course i take most of my pictures. I took this camera back and upgraded to the Canon Rebel SLR camera."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No

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Review 20 for Nikon Coolpix 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

Customer Rating

5.0 5

Great camera for the price 09/07/2009
By kim321 from Littlestown, PA

Value for Price

5.0 5

Picture Quality

4.0 5

Ease of Use

5.0 5

Features

5.0 5

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What's great about it: Many features
What's not so great: None

"My husband bought me this camera for my birthday. He knew I wanted a camera like this because we own a boat and I wanted to capture the beautiful sunsets over the water. I have used it everyday since I've had it. It's great. I love to use the "Aperture" feature which allows you to take a close up picture of a subject and everything in the background is blured. I have already framed many pictures that I've taken. The Panorama feature is awsome and is easy to use. I burn thru the battery life quickly, so I will be getting another battery for a backup. Eventhough this camera has a lot of features, the book is easy to read and that makes the camera easy to use. It is hard for me to take a steady picture, so I love that this camera will steady itself before taking the picture. All you have to do is hold the button down half way and it will focus and steady the camera for you. I recommend this camera to everyone!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes

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