Nikon Coolpix 7900

Reviewed June 2005

Characteristics

The Coolpix 7900 is equipped with a 1/1.8 inch, 7.41 million pixel CCD, of which 7.1 million pixels are effective to produce an image size of 3072 x 2304 pixels. Using the Auto mode the user can set the CCD sensitivity from a range of 50, 100, 200, and 400 ISO, or use the Auto mode, which lets the camera adjust sensitivity over a range of 50 to 200 ISO, as required by the available light.

For this camera, Nikon has made use of a lens that is either the same, or very similar to a lens used with the Coolpix 5200. A 3X Nikkor zoom, it is composed of 7 elements in 6 groups and has the advantage of having ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass to minimize chromatic aberrations and improve image contrast and colour. The zoom has a focal length of 7.8 to 23.4 mm, which corresponds to a 38 to 114 mm.

The lens has 2 apertures which, when the zoom is set to the wide angle end, are f2.8 and f4.8, while at the telephoto end these are f4.9 and f8.2. These apertures work in combination with shutter speeds, both of which are under the control of the camera, that cover from 1/2000 second down to 2 seconds.

A 4X digital zoom is also provided. The digital zoom is always on, and the camera moves from optical zoom into the digital zoom zone when the T button is held down for more than 2 seconds. The digitally zoomed image interpolates the centre area of the frame to the currently selected image size and, as usual, the interpolation process lowers the image quality noticeably (For more information on digital zooms, see our article.)

By default, the autofocus system of the Coolpix 7900 selects the focus point from one of five areas clustered in a cross shape near the centre of the frame, and is assisted by a bright LED when the ambient light is too soft. Moreover, if selected in the menu, the focus point can be selected by the user from 99 points in the frame, or forced to the centre.

Six images sizes are available with the Coolpix 7900:

Whatever the image size, photos can be saved at any one of three JPEG compression levels: Fine, the highest image quality, giving preference to the image quality over the file size; Normal, an average compression that tries to balance file size and image quality; and Basic, a format that gives preference to a smaller file size over image quality.

While the Scene modes offer minimal access to settings, the Auto mode on the other hand provides a menu that gives the user quite a number of controls over how the camera captures images:

• Image Mode: serves to select image size and compression, as explained above.
• White Balance: offers settings for Auto; Preset (which allows setting the white balance for specific lighting conditions); Daylight; Incandescent; Fluorescent FL1 (Warm White), or FL2 (Daylight white or natural white); Cloudy; Shade; or Speedlight (flash).
• Metering serves to select the metering mode:
  • Matrix, the default, is a 256-segment metering pattern that compares the content of the frame against a library of typical compositions to calculate the exposure.
  • Centre-weighted evaluates both the centre of the frame and the area around it, but gives more importance to the centre than to the rest when calculating the exposure.
  • Spot concentrates the metering on a small area at the centre of the frame.
  • Spot AF Area meters an area the same size as Spot, but is tied to the focus point, wherever it is placed in the frame.
• Continuous: selects the rate at which photographs are captured:
  • Single: captures one image at a time.
  • Continuous: captures photos at a rate of 1.7 frames per second while the shutter release is held down for up to 29 shots using an image size of 3072 x 2304 and Normal image quality; and 9 shots when the quality is set to Fine.
  • 5-Shot Buffer: provides a rate of 1 frame per second, but only the last 5 images in the burst are saved.
  • Multi-shot 16: captures 16 frames at a rate of 1.7 frames per second and arranges them into a single 7-megapixel (3072 x 2304 pixel) frame containing 4 pictures and 4 rows, each measuring 768 x 576 pixels.
• Best Shot Selector: when the Best Shot Selector is active, the Coolpix 7900 captures up to 10 frames while the shutter release is held down. The frames are then compared and only the one that exhibits the best sharpness is saved. When the Best Shot Selector is active the flash cannot be used.

• Colour Options serves to change the colour tone of photos: Standard colour (the default), Vivid colour (enhances saturation), Black and White, Sepia, Cyanotype (gives the image a blue cast).
• Image Adjustment is to adjust the image contrast: more contrast, less contrast, normal, or Auto, which lets the camera adjust it automatically.
• Sharpness: offers 5 settings: Auto, High, Normal, Low, or Off.
• Sensitivity: determines the CCD sensitivity. Auto lets the camera adjust the sensitivity between 50 and 200 ISO; or sensitivity can be selected from a range of 50, 100, 200 or 400 ISO.

• Auto Bracketing:
  • provides automatic bracketing of the exposure by capturing 3 exposures, one at the normal exposure level, the next with -0.5EV, and the last overexposed by +0.5EV.
  • or white balance compensation by capturing 3 shots, the first with the normal white balance, the second with a bluish cast, and the third with a reddish cast.
• Saturation allows increasing or decreasing the colour saturation: Enhanced, Normal (default), or Moderate.
• AF Area Mode: to choose the way the autofocus point operates:
  • Auto: allows the camera to select the auto focus point from 5 points near the centre of the frame.
  • Manual: allows the user to select the focus point by first pressing the OK button, and then using the Multi-controller to move the focus point to the desired position in the frame.
  • Off: forces the focus to take place at the centre of the frame.
• Autofocus Mode:
  • C-AF (Continuous AF): allows the camera to focus continuously but drains the battery faster,
  • S-AF (Single AF): auto focuses only when the shutter release is pressed to the halfway point.
• Noise Reduction: Turns Off or On the noise reduction system.

If the menu options of the Still image shooting mode are relatively extensive, those of the Movie mode are much more succinct:

• Movie Options controls the frame size and frame rate of the recording:
  • TV Movie 640 .
  • TV Movie 640.
  • Small Size 320.
  • Smaller Size 160 .
• Auto Focus Mode: Single AF or Continuous AF.
• Electronic VR: On or Off. Electronic VR reduces the effect of camera shake on the image, acting somewhat like an optical stabilizer.

• Print Set: serves to create a print order using DPOF (Digital Print Order Format), listing the photos to be printed, the number of prints to make of each, and the information (time, date etc.) to be included on each print. The Coolpix 7900 is PictBridge compatible, and the print order information can be used to print directly on a PictBridge-enabled printer when the camera is connected to it via USB. (Note that a special menu containing printing options is displayed when the camera is connected directly to a printer.)
• Slide Show: serves to start an automatic slide show of the images in the camera which can be shown on a television, or on the camera's monitor. Each image is displayed for about 3 seconds, and the slide show can be set to loop back to the beginning, if desired. The maximum play time for a show is 30 minutes.

• Delete serves to delete selected images, or all images.
• Protect allows selecting images for protection, preventing them from being accidentally deleted. Note that formatting the memory will delete all data, including protected images.
• Transfer Marking is to choose which photos will be automatically transferred when the Coolpix 7900 is connected to a computer running Nikon's software. Up to 999 images can be selected for transfer.
• Small Pic serves to make a smaller size copy of a photo at any of 3 image sizes: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, or 160 x 120 pixels.

• Copy: allows copying images back and forth between the camera's internal memory (see further) and the memory card, or vice versa.

Additionally, as noted in the Ergonomics section of this review, by pressing the OK button photos can be processed with D-Lighting so as to brighten any section of the image that is somehow underexposed. Furthermore, 2 other functions are available when the camera is in Playback, both involving the use of the Shutter release. First, pressing the shutter release while an image is displayed on the screen allows recording a sound bite that can be up to 20 seconds long. Second, pressing the shutter release while an image is magnified on the monitor allows saving it as a new cropped image at a smaller size.

No memory card is included with the Coolpix 7900 as it provides a 13.5 MB internal memory. However, it is compatible with SD (Secure Digital) memory cards and, although not specified in the manual, appears to accept MMC (MultiMedia) cards as well.

The chart below shows how many photos can be stored in the internal memory and with a optional 256 MB SD memory card:

Power for the camera comes from a Lithium ion battery (EN-EL5). The battery slides into a slot on the right side of the bottom of the camera, and is held in place by a clip. The Coolpix 7900 can also be powered using an optional AC adapter (EH-62A).

The AC adapter slides into the battery compartment, and a small grey plastic door on the right side of the camera can be opened to let the wire through, which allows the battery compartment door to be closed.