The interface of the Coolpix
7900 presents information superimposed on the monitor's image.
Indications cover all the basic camera settings, those selected
by the user, and the camera-shake warning symbol when the
shutter speed is low enough to potentially cause a blurred
image. Missing are any indication of either the shutter speed
or aperture selected by the camera.
In addition to the camera shake symbol, the camera provides
an option, enabled in the Setup menu, which pops up a notification
screen if it detects a photo that has just been captured is
blurred by camera shake. The pop-up window indicates that
the image is blurred, and offers the option to save it or
not.
The other aspects of the interface, the menus and their presentation,
follow current norms. By default, the shooting menu, which
is the most extensive, spreads options over 3 pages that flow
from one to the next after the last option is reached on any
one page. The other menu screens, those provided for the Scene
modes, are composed of icons which graphically depict the
framing assistance that is available via outlines that appear
as overlays on the monitor.
Alternatively, an option in the Setup menu makes it possible
to see the options of all menus as icons, effectively
showing all the options on a single screen page much like
the various Scene programs accessible through the Scene position
of the Mode dial.
Worth noting, any menu option, be it with the Scene modes
or the standard Auto shooting mode is supplemented by a Help
screen. This help, which provides a short text explanation
of the option, or the mode, or the assistance offered, is
displayed (on/off) by pressing the T (Telephoto) zoom
button while the option is highlighted on the monitor.
This same system also applies to the basic camera configuration
options offered by the Setup menu, which is displayed
when the Mode dial is turned to the SETUP position:
Welcome Screen: selects what will be displayed
on the LCD monitor when the camera is turned on. Options
are the Nikon Coolpix logo, a Coolpix animation, a photo
selected from those stored in the camera, or nothing.
Date: serves to set the time and date on the Coolpix
7900. A sub-option allows selecting a secondary time zone,
a destination, and the camera automatically calculates the
time and date for that time zone based on the home time.
Monitor Settings provides settings to control the
LCD monitor, spread over 2 sub-options:
Photo Info controls how and when information
is superimposed on the monitor:
Show Info, which displays some of the camera's
current settings;
Auto Info, which displays settings for
5 seconds;
Hide Info, which only displays the shooting
mode;
Framing Grid, which overlays a framing
grid on the screen and displays current settings
for 5 seconds;
Monitor Off, which turns off the monitor.
Brightness: serves to adjust the monitor brightness
over 5 levels.
Date Imprint decides whether or not the date, or
date and time are permanently imprinted on the image. Options
are: Off (default); Date; Date and Time; and Date Counter
which allows inputting a date such as the start date of
a trip, and which will print the number of days that have
elapsed from the start date to the date on which the photo
is captured.
AF Assist: selects whether or not the AF-assist
lamp turns on when the subject is poorly lit.
Sound Settings: has three sub-options to
control Button Sound (sounds made by the camera when buttons
are pressed); Shutter Sound; and Start-up Sound.
Blur Warning: selects whether or not the camera
performs a camera-shake check.
Auto Off has 2 sub-options:
Auto Off decides the delay before the monitor
automatically shuts down: 30 seconds (default), 1, 5,
or 30 minutes.
Sleep Mode: On or Off which lets the camera
enter the Sleep mode based on the delay set in the Auto
Off option.
Format: to format the internal memory, or a memory
card if one is present.
Language: presets the interface language. The options
are English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish,
Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, or Korean.
Interface has 2 sub-options:
USB offers either PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol),
used for connecting to a PictBridge printer, or Mass
Storage.
Video Mode: decides the video output signal
(NTSC or PAL).
Auto Transfer: On or Off. When On, the default
setting, all pictures are automatically marked for automatic
transfer when the camera is connected to a computer. When
Off, only those images that have been selected using the
OK button in Playback are automatically transferred.
Reset All: returns all camera settings to the original
factory settings.
Menus: decides whether menus are presented using
text, or icons.
Firmware Version: displays the version of the firmware
(1.1 for the camera tested here).
Nikon provides a printed version of the camera's manual.
With the exception of a couple of options that are not explained
as clearly as they could be, overall the manual does a good
job of explaining the functions and operation of the camera.
Software
(Note that the software included with any camera can vary
from country to country)
Two CD-ROMs are included with the Nikon Coolpix 7900 as retailed
in Canada: one is Picture Project 1.1 (Microsoft Windows
or Macintosh); the other is the reference manual itself, offered
in a variety of languages.
Nikon's Picture Project is only one of six elements
on the disc:
PTP drivers for Coolpix cameras,
Drivers for D1 series cameras,
Arcsoft's Panorama Maker 3,
QuickTime 6,
Picture Project 1.1,
Microsoft DirectX 9.
Picture Project can be used to display
the properties of any image, including the basic shooting data,
and offers some possibilities to adjust the image for brightness,
colour, sharpening, or changing the image to black and white
or sepia. Beyond these adjustments, the program provides tools
for auto red-eye removal, rotating an image to the left or right,
and performing D-Lighting HS which automatically brings out
details in overexposed or underexposed areas.
Picture Project can also be used to create
slide shows, prepare photos to be used as e-mail attachments,
view movies recorded with the camera, or record CDs or DVDs.
Panorama Maker 3 is a separate program from ArcSoft
which takes advantage of the overlap achieved with the Coolpix
7900's panoramic mode to assemble series of photos into panoramic
images.
QuickTime 6 from Apple serves to view the movies captured
with the camera.
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Interface & Software
