Nikon CoolPix 880Advanced features, and "Assisted Creative Photography" in a compact 3.3 megapixel package!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 8/26/2000 |
Exposure
Exposure control on the Coolpix 880 is fairly extensive. While you're limited to only two aperture options, it seems ideal for a traditional point & shoot user looking for better results in challenging situations. Not only do you get the benefit of a full manual exposure mode, but you get a nice selection of "Scene" modes, which set up the camera for specific shooting environments. There's also the full automatic, programmed and custom exposure modes as well. The Full Automatic exposure mode is relatively self-explanatory, in that the camera controls the aperture and shutter speed settings, along with everything else except the flash and the image quality and size settings. Under the Programmed Auto exposure mode, the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture values, but unlike the Full Automatic mode, you have control over ISO, white balance, contrast, brightness, sharpening, exposure compensation, etc. The Aperture Priority setting provides similar exposure control, with the addition of the aperture value, which can be set to f/2.8-f/4.2 or f/7.8-f/11.3 (depending on the optical zoom setting). With Manual exposure mode, you get the same level of control, this time with the ability to set both aperture and shutter speed (from eight to 1/1,000 seconds and a Bulb setting). The Custom mode simply means that you can set a variety of exposure settings and them save them as a "mode" to be used again under the same shooting conditions. For example, if you take a lot of pictures with the same lighting conditions, you might want to save a set of exposure settings to be used whenever you shoot in that environment.
The Scene mode is pretty unique among digicams in our experience, embodying Nikon's concept of "Assisted Creative Photography." Nikon has created a menu of preset "scenes" for you to choose from, which set up the camera to photograph specific shooting environments. Preset scenes include Portrait, Party/Indoor, Night Portrait, Beach/Snow, Landscape, Sunset, Night Landscape, Fireworks Show, Sparkler Close-Up, Copy (for text or drawings) and Back Light (for backlit subjects). These modes relieve users from needing deep understanding of exposure dynamics, and let them focus instead on capturing the moment. If you can distinguish the basic scene type you're dealing with (pretty easy, in situations like Beach/Snow vs Party/Indoor), your chances of getting a good photo are greatly increased.
Exposure compensation on the Coolpix 880 is controlled by a button on the back panel, and is adjustable from -2.0 to +2.0 EV in 1/3 EV increments. The setting is unavailable in Manual exposure mode, and automatically reverts back to 0.0 EV when a new mode is entered or when the camera is turned off. The camera's self-timer can be set to count down from three or 10 seconds before firing the shutter, and the mode is controlled by the focus button on the back panel. ISO is manually adjustable through the Record menu while shooting in the Programmed, Aperture Priority, Manual or Custom modes, with fixed options of Automatic, 100, 200 and 400 ISO available. In all other shooting modes, the ISO is automatically controlled based on the existing light level. White balance options can also be selected through the Record menu, with settings of Auto, Preset, Fine, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Speedlight (Flash). With the exception of the Preset option, the majority of the white balance settings are relatively self-explanatory. The Preset option lets you manually set the white value by placing a white card in front of the camera and then telling the camera to balance the white value to the existing light. All of the white balance settings can be fine tuned by pulling down a submenu after making the selection, which allows you to raise or lower the white balance and thereby make the image cooler or warmer. This ability to modify the default white balance settings for common exposure conditions is both very unusual in our experience, and exceptionally useful: Very often, we've found that a camera's standard white balance setups would result in images with either warm or cool casts that we'd like to eliminate. With the "fine tuning" capability of the 880's white balance settings, the 880 provides an unprecedented level of control. We imagine it will take a little experimentation to learn just which settings best suit your own preferences, but once you arrive at a preferred configuration, the straightforward menu system makes it easy to find it again. This is a great feature that we'd like to see on digicams from other manufacturers! - Anyone listening out there?
Finally, you can also adjust the camera's metering method, choosing either Matrix, Spot, Center-Weighted or Spot AF Area. Matrix metering measures the exposure in 256 areas of the frame and then evaluates those values to determine the proper exposure for the entire image. Spot metering simply takes a reading from the very center of the image. Center-Weighted metering measures a small area around the center of the image, and Spot AF Area measures the light in the current autofocus target area (either in the center or from one of the five target areas, and established through the Focus menu option). Again, this is an unusually sophisticated system, generally not found in consumer-level cameras.
Once an image is captured, it is briefly displayed on the LCD monitor with options to pause the recording or delete the image. The Pause function halts the image recording for 20 seconds, after which, if not deleted, the image is automatically recorded. This review function can be turned on or off through the Setup menu in Setup mode, and the Coolpix 880 will allow you to fire the shutter while the image is still on the screen. (Nice feature!) The camera's Quick Review mode provides a more substantial image review. Once the Quick Review button is pressed, the image last captured is displayed in the top left corner of the LCD monitor. The same image can be displayed full screen by pressing the button again, and several of the basic Playback menu functions (such as delete and image information) are accessible. We like being able to check on the last image without having to switch over into Playback mode, as it allows you to check your shot a little more quickly than otherwise.
Flash
The Coolpix 880's built-in Speedlight flash features five operating modes: Auto, Cancel (off), Anytime Flash (fill), Slow Sync and Redeye Reduction. The Auto setting puts the camera in charge of when to fire the flash, based on the existing lighting conditions. The Cancel setting merely turns the flash off, so that it never fires. The Anytime setting fires the flash with every exposure, regardless of the light level. Slow Sync combines the flash with a slow shutter speed, best for night subjects, and the Redeye Reduction setting emits a small pre-flash before firing the full flash to reduce the Redeye Effect. Nikon estimates the Coolpix 880's flash range from 1.4 to 12.2 feet (0.4 to 3.7 m) in normal mode and from 8.0 inches to 8.2 feet (0.2 to 2.5 m) in macro mode.
Continuous Photography
The Coolpix 880 offers a Continuous menu, for shooting consecutive and sequenced images with the Single, Continuous, Multi-Shot 16, VGA Sequence, Ultra HS and Movie options. The 880 can take up to three photographs in two seconds in the Continuous Shooting mode, depending on the quality setting and amount of image information. The camera continues to fire the shutter as long as the shutter button is held down, until the memory card is full. Note that this mode is unavailable with the Hi (uncompressed TIFF) quality setting. Under the Multi-Shot 16 mode, the camera takes 16 consecutive thumbnail images and combines them into one large 2048 x 1536 image. VGA Sequence takes a series of 640 x 480 photographs at approximately two frames per second, for as long as the shutter button is held down, great for capturing moving subjects. The Ultra HS mode takes 70 320 x 240 photographs each time the shutter button is pressed, shooting at approximately 30 frames per second. Finally, the Movie mode records up to 40 second movies without sound in the QuickTime format, at the 320 x 240 image size.
Best Shot Selection
This is one of our favorite Nikon features: To compensate for slight camera movements when shooting without a tripod, the Best Shot Selection function takes up to 10 shots as long as the shutter button is pressed. The camera then compares the images and saves the sharpest photo to the memory card. This feature is best used when shooting in macro mode or with a telephoto converter, or in dark conditions, when even the slightest camera movement can affect the final image. It is not recommended for moving subjects, as the movement is usually too great.
Image Adjustment
The Image Adjustment menu allows you to increase or decrease the image brightness and contrast, as well as lighten or darken the image. You can also choose a black and white setting for shooting monochrome images. (Note that this is quite different than the usual exposure compensation adjustment, in that it affects primarily the midtones of the image, rather than the highlight or shadow values. Again, a very useful feature that we'd like to see on more digicams.
Image Sharpening
Under the Image Sharpening menu, you can alter the amount of in-camera sharpening or leave the camera in charge. The Auto setting adjusts the sharpness around the edges in the image and the intensity level varies depending on image content. You can also choose between the High, Normal and Low sharpening settings, or turn image sharpening off completely.
Auto Exposure Bracketing
This feature allows you to take several photographs with a variety of exposure compensation values, when you're not exactly sure how to properly set the exposure. Auto Exposure Bracketing varies the exposure by 1/3 EV over a series of five images, adjusting the exposure to +2/3, +1/3, 0.0, -1/3 and -2/3 EV values. While shooting in this mode, the amount of exposure variance appears in the lower left corner of the LCD monitor.
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