Best Nikon cameras for 2020

It would be great to be able to use your memory like folders on a computer or smartphone: if you want to remember any moment in your life, you just need to open the necessary folder with the image and plunge into the past, looking at the image with all the details. But, alas, our memory is not so phenomenal in order to resume any of the lived moments to the smallest detail. Fortunately, the camera comes to the rescue, the main task of which is to capture any moment.

Our article presents a rating of the best and highest quality cameras from Nikon. For beginners, we will provide recommendations that will help you choose the type of camera you need.

A bit of history

The first image people were able to get back in the IV-V century BC. The camera was a pinhole camera, which is a light-tight box with a small hole in one of the four walls. The result was a small upside-down photograph. And the first color photograph was obtained only in 1861; James Maxwell became the "discoverer".

What are the cameras

Digital cameras can be divided into 5 types:

• Ultra compact. There are many people who want to capture as many moments as possible during the day, but few of them want to carry a standard-size camera with them that takes up a lot of space and at the same time has a lot of weight. It is for such people that ultra-compact cameras are suitable, which, despite their compact size, have a fairly large LCD screen. The screen size can be up to 2.5 inches. The ultra-compact device has a beautiful and bright appearance.
  If we talk about the disadvantages of an ultra-compact device, then there are many of them, but the user will be able to get very good photos. Among the minuses, we highlight the following: lack of a variety of manual settings, small size of the matrix, close arrangement of buttons, small battery capacity.
• Compact. Compact cameras, aka “Soap Dishes”, are an excellent option for reproducing amateur photography. The larger size, in contrast to ultra-compact cameras, only benefits. Since the large dimensions allow you to easily place the buttons of the device at an acceptable distance from each other, in order to exclude accidental pressing and simply inconvenient use of them.
  Also, the compact device has a number of other advantages: various manual settings, improved optics, the ability to use a tripod for image stabilization. Also the presence of models with a rotary screen, macro mode, good battery capacity.
  Compact cameras perform well in good lighting conditions, but at night or in poor lighting conditions in the evening, the user will have to try to get average image quality.
• Ultrasounds. Ultrazoom has a very impressive appearance. From a distance it may seem that you are holding an expensive professional camera. This effect is produced by a large lens, there are also large bodies. Basically, ultrazoom has similar parameters to compact cameras.Their main difference is a wide zoom range and more functional optics. This type of device is an excellent, inexpensive alternative to DSLR cameras. Expensive cameras have a minimum focal length of 50x, budget options - 20x.
  Ultrazoom is far from DSLR cameras, they cannot boast of a large sensor size and create photos of the highest quality. But for representatives of their price segment, the devices perfectly cope with their task, showing very good image quality.
• Semi-professional mirrorless. Semi-professional cameras are designed for beginner photographers as well as experienced hobbyists. Mirrorless cameras have high sensor characteristics, there is the ability to change the lens, support for saving photos in RAW format and large flash cards, good battery capacity, as well as advanced manual adjustment. When used properly, shots taken with a mirrorless camera are extremely difficult to distinguish from professional shots.
• Mirrored. Cameras for professionals are capable of producing the highest quality footage. The devices have a high resolution, a large memory buffer, an optical viewfinder, a large fleet of optics, interchangeable optics, fast focusing, high-speed shooting, excellent ergonomics and a huge list of possible manual settings.

Rating of the best Nikon cameras

The rating includes cameras of the following categories:

• The best professional SLR cameras - Nikon D850 Body and Nikon D750 Body;
• Best mirrorless camera - Nikon Z 6 Kit
• Best Super Zoom Camera - Nikon Coolpix P1000
• Best compact camera - Nikon Coolpix P310

Nikon D850 Body

The flagship DSLR camera supports an interchangeable lens, Nikon F mount. The CMOS sensor is a 35.9 x 23.9 mm full frame, 45 megapixel resolution, back-illuminated support and cleaning function. The camera has a wide range of photosensitivity - from 64 to 25 600, expandable up to 102 400. The shooting speed with standard equipment is up to 7 frames per second, when using the battery grip, the shooting speed increases to 9 frames per second.

The D850 features a tilting touchscreen display with a resolution of 2,359,000 dots. The angle of inclination of the display upwards is about 120 degrees, downwards - 90 degrees. The liquid crystal screen with a diagonal of 3.2 inches has good color rendering and brightness. With Live View, you can display the grid, basic settings, virtual horizon, and histogram. In the tracking mode, the focus points are displayed in the viewfinders, the horizon is a grid. The TTL SLR viewfinder has a 100% field of view.

Features of SLR Camera:

• Support for photos in JPEG, TIFF and RAW formats, video - MP4 and MOV. The frame size is supported up to 8 256 x 5 504 pixels, video resolution up to 3 840 x 2 160 pixels;
• Support for shooting with reduced resolution up to 26 or 11 megapixels;
• Supports SDHC, SDXC, SD and XQD memory cards;
• Silent electronic shutter mode in Live View mode;
• The phase detection autofocus has 153 AF points, of which 99 are cross-type. Only 55 points are available for use, the remaining 98 points are used as auxiliary ones, to increase the accuracy of focusing. Live View uses contrast focusing;
• Button illumination is provided for night shooting;
• Exposure with X-Sync shutter speed and shutter speed, manual adjustment, automatic processing, exposure compensation, metering and bracketing;
• Video recording in 4K format without cropping, at a speed of up to 30 frames per second;
• SnapBridge app for transferring finished images in original format to smartphone;
• Dust and splash resistant magnesium alloy body.

Nikon D850 Body takes pictures of the highest quality, with excellent color reproduction and detail. The camera shows minimal noise when ISO is selected at 25600 (below is an example of a photo at ISO 6 400 taken at night). Focusing works at lightning speed even in the dark.

Nikon D850 Body - suitable for professional photography of any format, whether it be landscape or portrait photography. This model will be an excellent partner for professionals.

• ease of use;
• silent shooting mode;
• high ISO range;
• excellent burst shooting speed;
• fast and high-quality autofocusing;
• button illumination;
• inclined display;
• high quality footage.

• focusing is slightly slower in Live View.

Nikon D750 Body

The Nikon D750 Body full-frame DSLR is a cheaper member of the "Body" line, which offers a number of high characteristics. The D750 has good build quality: the case is made of high strength plastic and magnesium alloy. There is protection against dust and splashes.

The device has a vertically rotatable LCD display with a diagonal of 3.2 inches and a resolution of 1,230,000 pixels. The viewfinder has a 100% field of view and 0.7x magnification.

The full-frame CMOS sensor is expressed in 35.9 x 24 mm and 24.3 megapixel resolution. The matrix has a cleaning function. The maximum possible resolution is 6,016 by 4,016 pixels. Sensitivity range from ISO 100 to ISO 51,200, color depth - 42 bits. The camera shows excellent results at high ISO: up to 1600 the picture is perfect, as well as at 100, when choosing 3 200 you can notice a little noise. From ISO 12 800 it is necessary to set manual noise reduction (below is an example of a photo when ISO 100 and ISO 1600 are selected).

The autofocus system Multi-CAM 3500 II consists of 51 points, of which 15 are cross. The speed and accuracy of phase detection autofocus is at altitude, even in the dark. However, the autofocus speed can be a little frustrating when choosing Live View, but the quality will not be affected. The burst rate is 6.5 frames per second.

The D750 not only takes very high quality photos, but also excels in video shooting. Available stereo recording, Full HD, Flat. Photo and video settings are separated. Conveniently, the camera remembers all the video settings, so there is no need to change the settings on subsequent transitions from photo to video shooting.

Nikon D750 Body is an affordable, high-quality device that meets the stated characteristics and perfectly copes with photo and video shooting at any time of the day.

• affordable price;
• compactness and lightness;
• accurate and fast phase detection autofocus;
• good ISO range;
• high quality photo and video filming;
• decent battery life;
• display with a variable angle of inclination.

• small memory buffer;
• slow autofocus in Live View;
• the camera is quite noisy in silent mode.

Nikon Z 6 Kit

The appearance of the Z 6 is almost identical to Nikon DSLR cameras. The device is easy to use and very lightweight, as it is made of high quality plastic. The case is protected from moisture and dust. On the back of the device is a 3.2-inch LCD screen. The display is rotary, moves in a vertical plane and has 2,100,000 points. Electronic viewfinder with 3.69 million dots covers 100% of the field of view.

The full-frame CMOS sensor has 24.5 effective pixels. The maximum resolution is 6,048 by 4,024, the color depth is 42 bits, the crop factor is 1. There is a matrix cleaning function.

Nikon Z 6 Kit has an excellent 5-axis stabilization system. Shots are as sharp as possible, even with a shutter speed of 1/20. Also, the camera has excellent shooting speed, the maximum possible number is 12 frames per second.

The 273-point hybrid autofocus system quickly focuses on both moving and non-moving subjects. The frames are clear. Difficulties in the operation of autofocus arise in low light and in 3D tracking.

The camera has a wide range of photosensitivity: from ISO 50 to ISO 204 800. When you select ISO up to 800, there is no noise, ISO 1600 will have a little noise, and in 3 200 and 6 400 the noise will be much stronger, but the photo will be of good quality especially in post-processing.
For external recording via HDMI, you can use advanced recording mode: 10-bit video, logarithmic tone curve.

Nikon Z 6 Kit is suitable for both professionals and experienced amateurs. The camera shows decent results in video and photography.

• excellent stabilization system;
• high working ISO;
• ergonomics;
• full-frame sensor;
• high speed and good clarity of autofocus;
• rotary display;
• excellent image quality;
• good autonomy.

• lack of a second slot for a memory card and support for only XQD format;
• lack of autofocus performance in low light conditions.

Nikon Coolpix P1000

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 camera currently offers the best optical zoom in its class - a 125x 3000mm lens.

This model is very heavy, so when working with a tripod, you should be careful in order to prevent the camera from falling. In addition, the 1,415 g weight will not be comfortable for long-term use.

The camera is easy to operate, all elements are easily accessible. On the back is a 3.2 "LCD screen. The display can be rotated sideways and vertically 180 degrees. The built-in electronic viewfinder has 2,359,000 pixels. Below is a photo of the moon taken with Nikon Coolpix P1000.

The device has a CMOS matrix with 16 effective megapixels. The pixel pitch is 1.34 microns, the crop factor is 5.62, the matrix size is 1 / 2.3. The maximum available resolution is 4,608 by 3,456.
Good lighting and the use of a tripod are essential to get a good result using the full capabilities of the camera at a focal length of 3,000mm. Unfortunately, it will be impossible to get a high-quality shot in low light conditions. Autofocus also performs well in sufficient light, but problems arise in low light.

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 has a macro mode, with a shooting speed of 7 frames per second and with a minimum distance of 1 cm.

The minimum sensitivity range is 100, the maximum is 6 400.But you won't be able to take advantage of the full range at the maximum focal length, since up to ISO 800 there is quite high noise, and at ISO 1600 the quality is completely unsatisfactory.

The P1000 does an excellent job of shooting video, the quality of the footage is excellent. The only thing is that there is no way to use the maximum approximation.

Please note that this model is not suitable for those looking for perfect shots in any lighting with maximum pixels. The Nikon Coolpix P1000 is a wonder for wildlife, planets in the solar system, and other shots that require maximum zoom.

• good photo quality with sufficient lighting;
• excellent stabilization system;
• high-quality viewfinder and flash performance;
• unique optical zoom;
• good build quality.

• slow and noisy sensor;
• unsatisfactory photo quality in low light.

Nikon Coolpix P310

The compact camera is made of metal and plastic and has a matte paint finish on top that protects the camera from prints and scratches. There are rubberized inserts for convenient use.

The camera comes with a belt, battery, AC adapter, video / audio cable, USB cable and software disc.

The BSI CMOS sensor is expressed in 16.1 million effective pixels, the size is 1 / 2.3, the crop factor is 5.52. The maximum resolution is 4,608 by 3,456, which will allow you to print your photos at rather large sizes. Among the functional capabilities of the device: built-in flash, automatic white balance and sync. There is an image stabilizer.

The camera lens has a high aperture ratio - f / 1.8-4.9, which, together with a good stabilization system, allow you to take high quality pictures in any lighting conditions. The focal length of the camera is from 24 to 100.80 mm, the optical zoom is 4.20x. The shots are good. Movies recorded with the Nikon Coolpix P310 are also of good quality.

The focusing system makes itself great in the daytime, but in low light, sharpness and speed are significantly reduced. The maximum speed for continuous shooting is 6 frames per second. The series consists of 5 pictures. With low resolution, you can get 60 and 120 frames per second.

The range of photosensitivity is from 100 to 12 800. At ISO up to 400, there is practically no detail in the photo, the detail is good, in the range of 800 - 1600 noise increases significantly, the detail deteriorates. At maximum range, there is high noise and extremely poor detail. An example photo taken by Nikon Coolpix P310 below.

On the back of the device is a 921k-dot LCD screen. The display is clear and manual focusing is highly accurate. The screen has wide viewing angles, and an anti-reflective coating is provided for good visibility in sunny weather.

Nikon Coolpix P310 shows high results, both photography and video shooting. At a fairly low price, this is a great option for those who like to capture important or just beautiful moments in life.

• efficient operation of the optical stabilizer;
• high aperture rates;
• low noise level when choosing high ISO;
• many modes;
• good build quality;
• high-quality photo and video.

• it is difficult to achieve good quality in low light;
• low autonomy.

Conclusion

The review presented the best representatives of SLR, mirrorless, compact cameras, as well as ultrazoom from Nikon. Based on your needs and capabilities, you can choose the most suitable option for yourself.