Skip to main content

Forget the edge of space, Nikon P900’s 83x lens will zoom you to the moon

Nikon coolpix P900 83x optical zoom world record - video test on moon
Just how powerful is that 83x zoom lens in Nikon’s new Coolpix P900? When we first wrote about it, we jokingly said you could get up-close from across the country. Well, that still may be questionable, but one user discovered that you could go to the surface of the moon.

A German nature photographer, Lothar Lenz (a fitting last name), tested the zoom’s reach while recording video of the moon. At 24mm, the moon appears in the day sky like a cloud. As the 1.5-minute video progresses, the camera gets closer and closer to the moon, showing the many craters and marks on the surface – a photo one normally sees from NASA. Despite having a small point-and-shoot sensor, the amount of detail the P900 was able to capture is pretty spectacular (make sure you set the video to 1080p and view it full-screen). DIY Photography notes that Lenz employed the 166x digital zoom to get even closer; while the image isn’t as sharp, you can still view the moon’s surface clearly. In the video you’ll notice some shaking. At full telephoto, even with optical image stabilization you can only do so much.

Recommended Videos

Toward the end of the video, Lenz pulls us back to Earth. If the 83x lens could take us to outer space, imagine what else you could zoom onto. Just make it legal, please.

Lenz, who goes by the username Naturbeobachtungen von Lothar Lenz (wildlife observation of Lothar Lenz, in German) on YouTube, recently posted a video of birds he filmed using the P900 (if you like watching animals in their natural habitat, he has plenty of those videos). While the video quality may not be at the level of cameras with larger sensors, it isn’t bad at all.

Nikon coolpix P900 - Videos of birds © Lothar Lenz
Enid Burns
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Enid Burns is a freelance writer who has covered consumer electronics, online advertising, mobile, technology electronic…
My favorite SD card reader is a mere $15 for Prime Big Deal Days
The Lexar USB-C SD card reader.

I take a lot of pictures on a daily basis. And while I usually get to offload them in the comfort of my home, sometimes I need to export as quickly as possible. Maybe even straight from my phone.

That's where my new favorite SD card reader comes in.

Read more
Astronaut enjoys out-of-this-world view from his bedroom window
An aurora as seen from a Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the ISS.

A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has posted a beautiful image showing an aurora over Earth.

Matthew Dominick has been aboard the ISS since March and is due to return home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on Sunday. In fact, it was from the docked Crew Dragon that he captured the stunning shot.

Read more
Best GoPro Prime Big Deal Days deals: Every model is on sale!
Best Prime Day Deals

Update 10/9/24: Day one of Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days festivities has closed out, but we've still got one more day of sales to go. Prime Day GoPro deals are still ripe for the picking, so check back here regularly if you haven't already made an action camera purchase this Prime Day.

In case you didn't know, it is now time for Prime Big Deal Day deals to heat up. Prime Day deals officialy lasts through October 9, and among them are plenty of Prime Big Deal Day camera deals that include good prices on action cameras. And, yet again, within these deals you'll find deals on what is probably the biggest name in action cameras, GoPro. The best GoPro Prime Day deals remaining offer some impressive savings on a number of camera models, as well as some accessories. Below you'll find all of the best GoPro Prime Big Deal Day deals available, so read onward for the details.
GoPro Hero 9 Black — $200 $350 43% off

Read more