Coolpix 900, reviewed in these pages when megapixel
was barely 2 months old, in December 1998.
The Coolpix S4, offering
a 6-megapixel resolution and a 10X zoom lens, is only the latest
to use the concept. Metal clad and finished in a mix of brushed
steel and chrome, the Coolpix S4's body is gently curved in
the front and flat in the back, the lens section bulging out
to accommodate the 10X zoom.
The monitor section of the
camera supports all the external controls, four of which are
on top. First is the 2-stage
shutter release, which has the zoom control
around it. The zoom control not only controls the optical
zoom, but if held towards the T side for 2 seconds
after the lens has reached its maximum telephoto setting,
the control engages the digital zoom (4X). As usual,
the zoom lever also controls the image display when the camera
is in Playback mode: the W side serves to display thumbnails
of the captured photos (4 or 9 per screen), while the T
side magnifies them up to 10 times.
Moreover, as has been the case
with recent Nikon cameras, the T side also serves to
display Help screens []
for every item contained in the menus.
The Power Switch is positioned to the left of the shutter
release, and is flanked by a small LED that glows green when
the camera is on. Further to the left is the Mode Selector.
The Mode Selector has three
positions:
Auto is a point and
shoot mode, but still provides user control over 7 shooting
options for such things as white balance, sensitivity,
etc.
Scene is
the access point to the 15 SceneModes,
of which 4 are Assist modes:
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
and which provide focus zones for the camera.
Landscape Assist: forces the
sensitivity to 50 ISO, and 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
on either the right or left.
Sports: captures images
at a rate of 1.3 frames per second as long as
the shutter release is held down. Using the largest
image size and highest quality, the camera can
capture approximately 11 frames before pausing
slightly and then capturing more shots.
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.
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. Sensitivity is forced to 50 ISO.
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. The sensitivity
is forced to 50 ISO.
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. Sensitivity varies between 50 and 100 ISO.
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. Exposure is determined at
the first image.
Three other items are accessible when the Coolpix S4
is set to the Scene position:
Setup:
presented as the first option of the Scene menu,
the access to the camera's Setup menu is
a feature of all the menus. (For more information
about the content of the Setup menu, see
the Interface and Software section of the
review).
Image
Size and Compression(see the Characteristics
section of the review).
Voice Recording:
allows the S4 to be used as a digital voice recorder,
with a maximum recording time that is only limited
by the space available on the memory card, or the
charge of the batteries, whichever is less.
The third position of the Mode Selector is to capture videos:
Four movie capture modes are offered:
TV Movie 640: captures a 640 x 480 pixel
movie at 15 frames per second, with sound.
Small Movie 320: captures a 320 x 240 pixel
movie at 15 frames per second, with sound.
Smaller Movie 160: captures a 160 x 120 pixel
movie at 15 frames per second, with sound.
Time Lapse Movie: can be used to capture
a 640 x 480 pixel frame size at a selected time interval
(30 seconds, 1, 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes), which when
played back can create an accelerated silent movie
of something, such as a flower opening.
The length of movie recording depends on the capacity
of the memory card in use. Focus can be AF-S (Autofocus
Single), which locks the focus at the first frame, or
AF-C (Autofocus Continuous) which adjusts the focus
as the subjects move. However, AF-S is recommended to
avoid the noise of the AF motor from being recorded.
White balance and zoom position are set at the first
frame, but the exposure is adjusted as the recording
progresses, and a 2X digital zoom is available.
There is no optical viewfinder
on the Coolpix S4. Instead, the camera is equipped with a
2.5-inch LCD screen with 110,000 pixels. The monitor occupies
most of the screen section, and the remaining five external
controls of the camera are positioned directly above the screen.
The primary control is the Multi selector, effectively
a small joystick.
The Multi selector serves to
navigate the menu and review photos in playback, and when
pressed in at the centre, confirm selections made in the menu.
In addition, 3 of its 4 directions control other functions
when the camera is set to any of the capture modes:
Pressing the
Multi selector down places the S4 into Macro
Mode, making it possible for the lens to focus on
a subject that is 4 cm (1.6 in.) from the front element
of the lens.
Pressing the Multi selector
to the left starts the 10-second Self-timer.
And pressing it up
selects the Flash Mode: Auto, Auto with Red-eye
Reduction, Forced Off, Forced On, or Slow Synch.
Furthermore, the centre button, labelled OK, which
as noted above is used to confirm menu selections, has an
extra use when the camera is set to the Playback mode:
With a photo on
the screen, the OK button can be used to activate the
D-Lighting function which digitally processes the
image so that its darker zones are brightened.
And, when the camera is connected
directly to a computer, the OK button can be used to start
the automatic transfer of images, as long as the USB connection
is set to Auto Transfer in the Setup menu.
Starting on the left of the Multi
selector, the four remaining buttons have a single function
each:
Starts the Playback mode.
The button can also be used to start the camera directly
in Playback mode if held for more than 2 seconds.
MENU
Calls up the menu
that is associated with the mode in use (Auto, Scene,
Movie, or Playback).
Presents a short menu superimposed
on the monitor which offers the option of deleting the
image currently under review.
Cycles back and forth, either
in the recording modes or the playback mode, between a
display with superimposed information about camera settings,
and one with minimal information. And, when the camera
is being used as a voice recorder, the button can be used
to turn off the monitor.
The external controls of the Coolpix S4 are responsive, and
as the camera is effectively a point and shoot with few advanced
functions, quick to master. Nevertheless, in use the joystick-like
Multi selector turns out to be a bit imprecise and difficult
to operate completely reliably at first.
Ergonomics
of the captured photos (4 or 9 per screen), while the T
side magnifies them up to 10 times. 
]
for every item contained in the menus.
