These alternatives are better fits for most photographers. But not everyone falls into the bucket of most. If the P1000's lens speaks to you, and you understand the camera's limitations and quirks, it could serve you very well.

Incredible 125x (24-3,000mm) zoom range; 7fps burst; Vari-angle LCD; EVF; Raw support; 4K video; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Image quality suffers at maximum zoom; Unresponsive after bursts; No weather protection; Pricey; Bulky; Screen omits touch support

Some glitches with the App connectivity but the zoom is amazing

It's been a while since Nikon introduced a new 'ultra-zoom' to its line-up, 3 years to be precise, so the arrival of the Nikon Coolpix P1000 Bridge Camera has got people talking. The new Nikon Coolpix P1000, quite literally, reaches for the stars with a huge zoom lens that's equivalent to 24-3000mm...

125x optical zoom lens; 4K video recording; RAW; and manual modes; Large rubberised grip; Large electronic viewfinder; Good connectivity

Heavy and Huge; Poor battery life; Tripod recommended for anything over 2000mm; Image quality beyond 2000mm deteriorates

Bridge cameras are loved by many and hated by others They offer a way to give you a little bit of everything all in one package – but perhaps the P1000 is trying to do just a bit too much. Now, if we were to judge the P1000 on its ability to deliver a market-leading zoom just “because” then it’d be very highly rated. However, as it is, it’s probably not a very practical camera for 99% of the photographer population – and therefore it’s kind of hard to recommend it to many people. Image quality is decent, in bright light and at wider focal lengths, but what you can capture at 3000mm is hardly likely to win any awards for sharpness, clarity – and with how difficult it is to frame at this length. If you want a travel camera that’s not quite so ridiculous, and offers better image quality, take a look at the Panasonic FZ2000, or the Sony RX10 IV – both sporting a one-inch sensor, you’re sacrificing a heck of a lot of zoom, but more than making up for it in image quality. Still, it’s a remarkable achievement and shows exactly the sort of clever tech Nikon are capable of producing. The next thing they need to do is shrink it all down into a much more manageable size. Right now though? It's a work in progress...

Huge zoom; RAW format shooting; 4K video;

Massively bulky and weighty; Very small sensor; Screen not touch-sensitive; Very expensive;

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 ($999.95) is beyond an audacious idea for a camera. It marries a small 16MP image sensor—about the same dimensions as what you find in a top-end smartphone—to an absurdly big, long 125x zoom lens. The result is a bit of a Frankenstein device, with a body as big as an SLR, and a large, permanently attached lens. It's not the right camera for every photographer or situation, and it requires a good deal of skill to use effectively at maximum zoom. But it does succeed in filling a niche, and will find a place in the heart and bag of some photographers, especially for use in capturing images of distant wildlife. That said, for most photographers we recommend the Canon PowerShot SX60 HS as our Editors' Choice for cameras that exceed a 50x zoom ratio. It costs about half as much as the P1000, seems to be about half the size, and is a better all-arounder. But if you laugh at a zoom with a "mere" 1,365mm reach, the 3,000mm zoom of the P1000 may lure you in with its...

The Nikon Coolpix P1000 has the longest zoom of any fixed lens camera yet, but it takes a good deal of skill to master.

Incredible 125x (24-3,000mm) zoom range; 7fps burst; Vari-angle LCD; EVF; Raw support; 4K video; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Image quality suffers at maximum zoom; Unresponsive after bursts; No weather protection; Pricey; Bulky; Screen omits touch support

Huge zoom; RAW format shooting; 4K video;

Massively bulky and weighty; Very small sensor; Screen not touch-sensitive; Very expensive;

An ultimate example of “look what we can do” from Nikon, the Nikon P1000 is definitely a remarkable feat of engineering, but it’s unlikely to be of mass appeal.

Huge zoom range, Manual controls, Raw format shooting, High price, Very bulky, Very weighty, No quick menu, Best travel cameras you can depend on, Best bridge camera: what to look out for and what to buy

High price, Very bulky, Very weighty, No quick menu, Best travel cameras you can depend on, Best bridge camera: what to look out for and what to buy

Even with its impressive focal range of 24mm to 3,000mm (35mm equivalent), this camera is a lot for the average photographer to handle. But, with patience, practice and a very steady hand, you may be able to capture unique pictures of wildlife - and even the craters on the moon.

125x 24-3,000mm (equivalent) lens; Excellent image stabilization; Fully articulating LCD; 4K UHD video; RAW capabilities

Bulky; Variable image quality; No touch screen; Short battery life

I can't imagine a more versatile camera to take on long hikes, or as a travel camera. In a relatively compact and lightweight package, it combines the ability to shoot wide enough to get a good context shot of a large building, yet with enough zooming capability to zero-in on an architectural detail...

With a ridiculous 83x zoom, people have used the super long lens on Nikon's Coolpix P900 to snap pics of Saturn or pull off the kind of shots you normally only see in spy movies. But apparently that wasn't good enough, so today, Nikon is announcing the new Coolpix P1000 featuring frankly ridiculous...