Nikon CoolPix 4500Nikon updates the hugely successful Coolpix 995, adding a full 4.0-megapixel CCD!<<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & ConclusionReview First Posted: 5/29/2002 |
Test Results
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As always, I strongly urge readers to study my sample pictures page for the 4500, which has far more detail on the results of my tests than you'll find here in this condensed summary.
Overall, the Coolpix 4500 delivered excellent image quality, with good resolution and excellent color throughout my testing. (Astute readers may notice a lot of similarity between my comments for the 4500 and 5700: Nikon seems to have settled in on a very consistent (and accurate) color handling for their cameras, which they successfully carry across even fairly disparate models. In the case of the 4500 and 5700, color and tonality were very similar to each other.) Colors were natural and accurate, with appropriate saturation levels. (Strong yellows end up slightly undersaturated, but the effect isn't too evident except in highly saturated yellows.) The camera's automatic white balance setting produces good results under a wide variety of lighting conditions. Like most cameras I test, the auto white balance had a very hard time with the very yellowish light provided by household incandescent lighting (a very common light source for amateurs to shoot under), but the 4500's manual white balance option performed superbly under that shooting condition.
As with the 5700, my main criticism of the 4500 is that images shot with it under harsh lighting conditions (eg, full noonday sun) came out very contrasty, with a tendency to lose highlight detail when the midtones anywhere near bright enough. The "low contrast" option on the 4500's shooting menu doesn't help much either, only seeming to affect overall brightness, darkening the image, without really decreasing the contrast any. This one quibble about the contrast aside, the 4500 delivered very pleasing images. Under more normal lighting, its tonal range was acceptable (although still slightly more contrasty than I'd personally prefer), and its color rendition was very good as well. I also liked the control offered by the camera's color saturation adjustment, which provided a useful range of variation.
Image noise on the 4500 is pretty good, although not as low as that of its big brother, the 5700. On long exposures, the 4500 uses a "dark frame subtraction" noise reduction method to eliminate "hot pixels"(isolated, bright pixels) from the final images. This is quite effective, and low light shots are surprisingly "clean." The camera can time exposures out to 8 seconds, but bulb exposures as long as 5 minutes(!) are possible. Low light focusing is another matter though, as the 4500's autofocus system only worked at light levels of 1/2 foot-candle (5.5 lux) or above in my tests. (This is a factor of two darker than typical city night scenes, so the camera will work fine for typical outdoor night scenes under good illumination, but the camera can acquire bright well-exposed photos in conditions much darker than it can focus in. - And the lack of any distance readout in manual focusing mode further hampers its low light aspirations.) On a positive note though, the 4500's optical viewfinder is usable in lighting as dim as you can see in. - There are no limitations imposed by an electronic viewfinder.
The Coolpix 4500 performed well on the "laboratory" resolution test chart. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns at resolutions as low as 800 lines per picture height vertically and horizontally. I found "strong detail" out to 1,250 lines horizontally and 1,200 lines vertically, and "extinction" of the target patterns didn't occur until about 1,450 lines. Excellent job!
Optical distortion on the Coolpix 4500 is moderately high at the wide-angle end, where I measured a 0.84 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end fared only slightly better, as I measured a 0.63 percent pincushion distortion. The barrel distortion is about typical (although still too high in my opinion) for the cameras the 4500 competes with, while the pincushion distortion at telephoto is a good bit higher than average. Chromatic aberration is moderate, showing about five or six pixels of coloration on either side of the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.)
The Coolpix 4500's optical viewfinder was a little tight, showing approximately 88 percent frame accuracy at wide angle, and approximately 92 percent at telephoto. (This is a bit better than average though, among consumer digicams I've tested.) The LCD monitor was much more accurate, showing 98 percent accuracy at wide angle, and about 100 percent at telephoto (just a hint "loose" here, with only very slight cutoff.) I generally prefer LCD viewfinders to be as accurate as possible, so the Coolpix 4500 performs very well here.
Like the rest of Nikon's Coolpix line, the Coolpix 4500 performed very well in the macro category, capturing a tiny minimum area of just just 0.84 x 0.63 inches (21.2 x 15.9 millimeters), one of the best macro areas I've seen. Resolution was very high, with excellent detail in the printed details of the dollar bill I use as part of my test target. Color was also good. The Coolpix 4500's flash does a good job throttling down for the macro area, although it did create just a small shadow at the bottom of the frame. An excellent job! (If you really need to do a lot of close macro shooting, it's hard to beat the Coolpix line!)
Overall, I liked the Coolpix 4500 a lot, most particularly its very natural, "filmlike" color rendition. As I've noted elsewhere, Nikon seems to have hit upon a particular "look" in their color and tonal handling and have done a good job duplicating it across their product line. In the case of the 4500, the color is very much in line with other Coolpix models, but the camera's tone curve produces more contrasty images than other models I've tested. In the areas of its greatest strength, its macro and low light capabilities are really exceptional. My favorite feature is the (magical) Best Shot Selector feature, which lets me capture reasonably sharp handheld exposures at shutter times as long as 1/2 second.(!) All in all, I think the 4500 will prove to be a very popular digicam.
Conclusion
With its larger, 4.0-megapixel CCD and a return to an all-metal body, the Coolpix
4500 looks like a great update to what was already an excellent digicam, the
Coolpix 995. In working with the prototype unit, I was really struck by how
well it fit my hands, and how pleasant it was to interact with. The smaller,
sleeker body looks like a real winner, if my own reaction is any indication.
The 4500 offers the same great exposure control and image attribute options
of the 995 model, but with the addition of a maximum five-minute bulb exposure
time and 16 preset scene shooting modes. The ease of full automatic exposure
is great for consumers who just want to point and shoot, while the variable
exposure controls offer room to learn and all the features an advanced user
could wish for. With its flexibility and extensive options, the Coolpix 4500
should satisfy a wide range of users, from novices to pros. About the only significant
disappointments I found were a slower than average shutter response and slightly
higher than normal contrast. Apart from those issues though, the 4500 is an
excellent performer that fits the hand well, snaps good photos, and that caters
equally well to relative novices and advanced users.
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