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Nikon Coolpix 5400 A solid update to Nikon's upper-midrange Coolpix. 5 megapixels, 4x zoom, tons of features! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet C5400 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on C5400 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:Viewfinder Review First Posted: 07/12/2003

Viewfinder

The Coolpix 5400 offers a real-image optical viewfinder, as well as a color LCD monitor for composing images. In my tests, the optical viewfinder's accuracy ranged from a bit better to a bit worse than average, 92 percent frame coverage at wide angle, down to 83 percent coverage at telephoto. While 92 percent is pretty accurate, I wish that the accuracy at telephoto was a bit better, and also that it didn't vary so much as a function of focal length. (This makes it hard to know just how much to compensate for the viewfinder's coverage on critical shots.) The optical viewfinder zooms along with the lens, but naturally does not reflect any digital zoom (which requires the LCD monitor to be active). A diopter adjustment dial adjusts the view to accommodate eyeglass wearers. The viewfinder optics have a really high eyepoint, meaning that most eyeglass wearers should have no trouble using the optical viewfinder for framing. Another nice touch is that the viewfinder eyepiece is close enough to the left edge of the camera that right-eyed users can use it comfortably without mashing their noses against the back of the camera. (Very good viewfinder ergonomics overall, kudos to Nikon's designers on this front.) A set of focus brackets in the center of the frame indicates the main AF area, and crop marks at the top of the frame show more accurate framing guidelines for closeup shooting.

The 1.5-inch, 134,000-dot, advanced TFT LCD monitor features a swivel design and a white LED backlight. The LCD monitor actually lifts up off of the back panel, flipping out toward the left side of the camera. Once opened, the LCD monitor can swivel around to face upwards or downwards with a radius of 270 degrees. You can also turn the LCD monitor around to face the camera and then close it to protect the monitor from any accidental scratches. I've always liked swiveling LCD designs, as they greatly increase a camera's shooting flexibility, allowing you to hold the camera at a variety of angles and still clearly see the LCD display.

A nice touch in the Coolpix 5400's LCD viewfinder implementation is that you can adjust not only the viewfinder brightness, but its color (hue) as well. A menu option lets you adjust the viewfinder color either towards the blue or towards the red, to help match the viewfinder display to the actual color balance of the captured images. While I still wouldn't recommend relying on the LCD for critical color or exposure determination, the level of adjustment provided is definitely a welcome addition, and should at least get you in the ballpark most of the time.

The 5400's LCD deserves special mention for two reasons. First, it's almost 100% accurate when used as a viewfinder (I measured it at 97%), making it a useful tool for critical framing. The second feature is almost more important though: You can actually see this LCD in direct sunlight! This looks like the same excellent LCD that we first saw on Nikon's Coolpix SQ consumer model. - At the time of that review, I commented that I hoped we'd see the same LCD on other, higher-end Nikon cameras in the future, and it looks like Nikon was listening. Overall, the 5400's LCD is arguably the best and most easily visible unit I've seen to date! Big kudos to Nikon for this one!

The Display button adjacent to the lower right corner of the LCD monitor controls the image and information displays.When first powered on, the LCD shows a viewfinder display with an information overlay reporting camera mode, flash setting, user mode, file size and quality settings, aperture and shutter speed, and the exposure mode. Other camera settings will come and go as set (such as macro mode, self-timer, etc.). Pressing the Display button once cancels the information display, and a third press disables the LCD altogether.

A particularly nice feature is the "quick review" function, which lets you quickly check the last exposure while still in record mode, simply by pressing the Quick Review button. This isn't an uncommon feature on digicams, but what's unique on the Coolpix cameras is the"picture in picture" review mode (shown here), which opens a playback window in the upper left-hand corner of the display screen, keeping the viewfinder image live on the remaining LCD area. The review isn't restricted to just the most recently captured photo, either -- you can scroll through all of the images on the memory card by pressing the rocker button arrows. The first press of the Quick Review button activates the picture in picture review mode, a second press enables full-screen playback, and a third press returns you to full capture mode. At any point, pressing the Shutter button returns you to capture mode and snaps a picture.

 

In Playback mode, the LCD offers a wealth of information via several display pages. In total, no fewer than six information screens are available, accessed by turning the Command wheel. The first display is the standard Playback information readout, which reports the date and time of the shot, file name, quality setting, and the image number on the card. The next three screens report a long listing of camera and exposure settings, including the firmware version, focal length, shutter speed, ISO, etc. A fifth information page shows a histogram view of the image, displaying a graph of brightness values in the image, with the left edge corresponding to pure black, and the right edge to pure white. Once you learn how to read it, a histogram is very useful in determining whether you've managed to capture a good exposure or not. Ideally, a well-exposed image would produce a histogram curve that just filled the graph from left to right, indicating that it contained a full range of tonal values. The same screen that holds the histogram display also shows a small thumbnail of the image in question, where any blown-out highlights will blink black and white. - This is very handy, as lost highlights will often occupy too few pixels in the image to show up as a spike on the right side of the histogram, but they're often of great importance to the picture. (Nikon was one of the first digicam companies to employ this "blinking highlight" display, but several other manufacturers now use it as well.) The final information screen shows lens, shutter, and focus settings, and indicates (by the red brackets) what the autofocus system had locked onto when the picture was taken.

Also in Playback mode, the LCD offers a thumbnail index display, showing nine images to a page. A playback zoom feature enlarges captured images up to 6x, letting you get a reasonably good idea of how well-focused the image is, check the framing, and examine details to see if you got the shot you wanted.