The Coolpix 7900 is
one of two new cameras from Nikon, the other being the Coolpix
5900, a similar looking camera with a 5-megapixel resolution,
while the 7900 has a 7-megapixel resolution.
Both these models are extremely compact, and yet provide
a 2-inch LCD monitor, and a 3X zoom.
The Nikon Coolpix 7900 feels solid.
The exterior is metallic, finished in a metallic black paint,
and the lens barrel and its trim are silver, matching the band
that divides the front and back of the camera.
Starting with the Power
Switch, which is mounted on the right, two other controls,
the 2-stage shutter release and the Mode Dial,
complete the controls on top of the Coolpix 7900.
The
Mode Dial has eight positions, and the modes it accesses are
common to many current compact digital cameras produced by
Nikon, starting with the Auto mode which is the primary
still image shooting mode:
Auto is much like the Program mode
of many cameras. It gives the user control over all the
available settings while the camera handles the selection
of aperture and shutter speed.
The next setting going up the dial is the
position, the access point to the Coolpix 7900's 12 subject-specific
shooting modes:
Party/Indoor is designed
to capture background details when shooting indoors under
artificial lighting or candlelight. The flash is preset
to Auto with red-eye reduction.
Beach/Snow is for use
with unusually bright subjects such as snow, beaches,
or sunlit water. It enhances colours and sets the flash
mode to Auto, but the other modes remain available.
Sunset: warms colours
slightly to enhance sunset colours. The flash is forced
to Off.
Dusk/Dawn: preserves
the way colours appear in weak natural light. The flash
is forced to Off.
Night Landscape: uses
a slow shutter speed (2 seconds), and auto ISO (up to
200 ISO) to capture night shots. Focus is set to infinity
and noise reduction is used.
Close-up: turns on
the Macro mode, allowing the camera to focus on subjects
as close as 4 cm (1.56 in.) from the lens when the zoom
is at the wide-angle setting. Continuous auto focus is
used.
Museum: turns off the
flash and uses the Best Shot Selector (BSS) to ensure
the best possible image at low shutter speeds.
Fireworks Show: uses
a slow shutter speed while forcing the flash and setting
the focus to infinity.
Copy: captures the
image in black and white so that text or printed materials
are clear. The flash and macro mode remain useable.
Back Light: forces
the flash to fire to counteract the influence of backlighting.
Panorama Assist:
serves to capture a series of photos that can be assembled
into a panorama. After the first photo, the camera overlays
a semi-transparent part of the previous image so that
the new image can be overlapped, to ensure clean seams
in the final panoramic image.
Underwater: for use
with underwater images, and with the optional waterproof
case (WP-CP4).
Image Quality: selects
the image compression level (see the Characteristics
section).
Image Size: selects
the image size (see the Characteristics section)
In addition to these 12 Scene
modes, the Coolpix 7900 has 4 Assist modes that can
be selected individually directly on the Mode Dial. Each of
these modes provide specific assistance through the use of
outlines that are overlaid on the screen to guide the user,
and which ensure that the focus will take place where it is
desired. With all 4 modes, the assistance is selected using
the menu button (see further), which displays the type
of assistance available in the specific mode, and in addition
provides an access to both the Image Quality and Image Size:
Portrait Assist uses a wide aperture
to soften background details and produces a better result
if the zoom is used. The framing assistance for the Portrait
mode is in the form of various outlines for one or two
people that can be used to position subjects in the frame.
Landscape Assist slightly sharpens
outlines, colours and contrasts. Assistance is provided
as guidelines to align distant landscapes, or architecture,
or groups of people posing in front of a subject either
on the right or left.
Sports captures images at a rate
of 1.7 frames per second as long as the shutter release
is held down. With the image size set to 7 megapixel,
and the compression set to Normal (an average compression)
the camera can capture approximately 29 frames.
Sport Spectator sets the focus to the hyperfocus
point (4m or 13ft to infinity) to make it possible to
capture shots quickly. The continuous mode captures
images at the same rate as mentioned above.
Sport Composite captures sixteen
400 x 300-pixel shots in about 2 seconds and stores them
in a single 1600 x 1200-pixel frame.
Night Portrait is to capture portraits
against dimly lit backgrounds or at night. The flash is
set to red-eye reduction, and noise reduction is used.
The frame assist functions are similar to those of the
Portrait mode.
The SETUP mode is next on the Mode Dial, and it displays
the Setup menu (for a detailed list of the settings controlled
by the Setup menu, see the Interface and Software section
of the review).
Last is the Movie Mode:
serves to record video clips with sound
at any one of three image sizes:
TV movie :
captures a 640 x 480 pixel movie at 30 frames per
second.
TV movie: captures 640 x 480 pixel movie
at 15 frames per second.
Small size 320: captures a 320 x 240 frame
size at 30 frames per second.
Smaller size 160 :
captures a 160 x 120 frame size at 30 frames per second.
The length of the movie depends on the capacity of
the memory card in use. Focusing can be either Single
AF, which locks the focus at the beginning of the
recording; or Continuous AF, which is constantly
adjusted. Single AF is recommended to avoid having the
noise of the camera focusing being recorded.
The white balance and optical zoom position are set
at the first frame, but exposure is adjusted as necessary.
A 2X digital zoom can be used, as can Electronic Vibration
Reduction, which reduces the effect of camera shake.
In addition to the control on top of the camera, the Coolpix
7900 has another 6 buttons near its 2-inch, 115,000 pixel
monitor.
The first of these is above
the monitor, to the right of the LEDs that indicate flash
charging and auto focus, and which are stacked on the edge
of the optical viewfinder:
In the capture
modes this button serves to Delete the last image
to have been taken, while in the playback mode it can
be used to delete any one image currently under review.
While on the far upper right, the
zoom buttons are separated by a small raised area, and both
these buttons offer additional functions:
The W (Wide) button
also has a function in Playback:
showing first
4 then 9 thumbnails per screen of the photos saved on
the camera.
While the T (Telephoto) button:
serves to zoom
into an image and magnify it up to 10X so it can be checked
in greater detail.
Furthermore, the T button
has an extra use when any of the menus are on the monitor:
displays a short description
of the option, or in the case of the Scene menus, a description
of the mode.
Below the zoom controls two little round buttons serve to
call up the
appropriate to the mode in use, or start the Playback
mode [].
Worth noting, pressing the Playback button for more than a
couple of seconds when the camera is turned off starts the
Coolpix 7900 directly in the Playback mode, without deploying
the lens.
The 4-direction Multi selector occupies the remaining
space below the Menu and Playback buttons. As always, the
control serves to make selections in the camera's menus, and
go from one photo to another in Playback, while the OK
button at is centre serves to confirm choices, it can also
be used to start the automatic picture transfer mode when
the Coolpix 7900 is connected to a computer running Nikon's
supplied software.
In Playback, the OK button turns on the D-Lighting
process []
when an image is on the monitor.
The D-lighting (Digital Lighting) feature
makes it possible to brighten areas of the image that are
too dark, either because it was captured backlit, or the flash
was insufficient, and then re-save it as a new image.
Above and beyond the functions just explained, each of the
directional arrows of the Multi selector serve to call up
a photographic setting using a small on-screen menu:
The up arrow control
is used to choose the Flash mode: Auto, Auto with
Red-eye reduction, Forced off, Fill Flash, or Slow Synch).
The right arrow displays
the Exposure Compensation menu. Exposure Compensation
can be set over ± 2 EV in 0.3 EV increments.
The down arrow starts
the Macro mode. The Macro mode lets the camera
focus on a subject as close as 4cm (1.6 inch) from the
front of the lens.
The left arrow starts
the Self-timer which can have a 10 second delay,
or a 3 second delay if the shutter release is pressed
twice instead of just once.
OK
button is a touch too small, and that it is easy to accidentally
press one of the arrows of the Multi selector instead. Similarly,
the Mode Dial protrudes from the body, and is easily unintentionally
rotated while the camera is handled.
Ergonomics
The
Mode Dial has eight positions, and the modes it accesses are
common to many current compact digital cameras produced by
Nikon, starting with the Auto mode which is the primary
still image shooting mode:
position, the access point to the Coolpix 7900's 12 subject-specific
shooting modes:
:
captures a 640 x 480 pixel movie at 30 frames per
second.
appropriate to the mode in use, or start the Playback
mode [
].
Worth noting, pressing the Playback button for more than a
couple of seconds when the camera is turned off starts the
Coolpix 7900 directly in the Playback mode, without deploying
the lens.
when
the Coolpix 7900 is connected to a computer running Nikon's
supplied software.
]
when an image is on the monitor. 
