The interface devised for the
Coolpix P4 is simple and clear, and menus, or even functions
selected with the 4-direction control, immediately display
their possible settings on the monitor. Digital camera novices
should particularly appreciate the P4 as help, in the form
of short explanations for a function or a scene mode is available
at every turn simply by pressing the T side of the
zoom control when a menu, or the Scene mode selection screen
are displayed on the monitor.
Similarly, the use of Mode Dial positions to speed access
to the image size and quality, the ISO sensitivity, and the
white balance is effective, and rarely found on compact cameras.
Moreover, placing the Setup menu on the Mode Dial as well
makes the interface easier to navigate:
Menus: decides whether menus are presented in text
over one or more screens, or as icons, on a single page.
Welcome Screen: this option decides whether a personal
photo, or the Coolpix Logo, or a Coolpix animation is displayed
on the screen at start-up or nothing.
Date: to set the time and date on the camera. A
sub-option makes it possible to select a time zone for a
travel destination.
Monitor Settings offers 5 settings to control the
monitor:
Photo Info determines how information is displayed:
Show Info, displays the current settings
and operations guide on the monitor.
Info auto, displays the current settings
and operations guide for 5 seconds.
Hide Info shows no setting except for the
capture mode.
Framing Grid, displays a composition grid,
and the camera settings for 5 seconds only when
the camera is set to A or P.
Brightness: serves to adjust the brightness
of the monitor over 5 steps.
Date Imprint: to select if the date, or the date
and time, are superimposed on images. Options are: Off (default),
Date, Date & Time and Date Counter which imprints the
number of days between the shooting date and the selected
date on pictures.
Shot Confirmation: confirms the fact that the shutter
has been released by flashing the Self-timer lamp. (this
option is not available when the camera is set to Ultra
HS, or if the flash is used.
AF Assist: controls the AF Assist lamp that lights
when the ambient light is insufficient for the AF system
to operate reliably.
Sound Settings: controls the sound produced by
the camera when it is being operated, or the shutter release
is pressed, or when it starts up.
Auto Off serves to set the delay until the
monitor turns off automatically when the camera is unused:
30 seconds (default), 1, 5 or 30 minutes.
Format: to format the memory card or the internal
memory.
Language: Czech, Danish, German, English, Spanish,
French, Indonesian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese,
Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional
Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Thai.
Interface serves t set the USB and Video modes:
USB, provides choices of PTP (Picture
Transfer Protocol) or Mass Storage, so that the
camera can be recognized as a removable hard disk by
the computer to which it is connected.
Video Mode: serves to set the video signal
output by the P4, either NTSC or PAL.
Auto Transfer: On or Off. By default all images
are marked for automatic transfer once the camera is connected
to a computer. When this option is set to Off, only those
photos selected using the OK button when the camera
is in Playback mode will be set for automatic transfer.
Reset All: returns all options to their original
default settings.
Firmware Version: displays the version of the firmware
currently running on the camera (version 1.1 with the camera
reviewed here).
An effective instruction manual is included with the Coolpix
P4. The guide is well written and organized, and easy to understand.
Specific information can be found easily thanks to the index,
and a drawings identifying the parts of the camera, and referencing
the relevant pages of the manual. In addition a Quick Start
Guide is also provided, giving instructions to charge the
battery, install the software supplied with the camera, and
giving an introduction to the basic use of the camera.
Software
(Note that the software included with any camera
can vary from country to country.)
Two CDs are included with the Coolpix P4: Picture Project
1.6 on one disc, and the software's instruction manual —
in a wide number of languages — in PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
format on the other. Adobe Acrobat Reader is also included.
The software disc also includes PTP drivers for Coolpix cameras,
and D1 series cameras, as well as ArcSoft Panorama Maker
3,QuickTime 7 and Microsoft DirectX 9.
Picture Project serves to view images
on the computer, or images that are on a camera connected
to the computer, or images from a memory card in a card reader.
The program is also able to create slide shows, prepare photos
so they can be sent as e-mail attachments, view movies recorded
with the P4, or even burn compilations of photos and movies
to either CD-R or DVD-R.
In addition, when an image
is selected and the Edit button is clicked at the top
of the screen, editing tools are displayed on the right side
of the screen. The tools allow adjusting the image brightness,
colours, applying D-Lighting (the software version of the
P4's D-Lighting option), adjusting sharpness, or converting
the image to sepia or black and white. Other tools make it
possible to change the orientation, crop, or even remove red-eye.
Panorama Maker 3, an ArcSoft program,
serves to assemble series of images captured with the Coolpix
P4's Panorama mode, taking advantage of the overlaps produced
by the mode. Worth noting, the installation of this program
requires that Microsoft DirectX9 — also included on
the software disk — be installed on the computer.
Finally, Apple's QuickTime 7 is to review the
movies captured with the P4 without having to launch Picture
Project.
Interface & Software
