Nikon Coolpix 5400A solid update to Nikon's upper-midrange Coolpix. 5 megapixels, 4x zoom, tons of features!<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 07/12/2003 |
Optics
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The
Coolpix 5400 has a 4x Nikkor 5.8-24mm lens, the equivalent to a 28-116mm lens
on a 35mm camera. This extends to a significantly wider-angle coverage than
the zoom lenses typically found on prosumer digicams, a welcome feature for
many photographers needing true wide-angle shooting capability. The all-glass
lens is made up of nine elements in eight groups, and uses ED glass for improved
optical characteristics. (The 5400's lens has unusually low barrel distortion
at its wide-angle setting, and much lower than average chromatic aberration.)
The maximum aperture varies from f/2.8 to f/4.6, depending on the focal length
setting of the lens, with the largest aperture available when the lens is at
its maximum wide angle position. The aperture is adjustable in 10 steps with
1/3 EV increments, and is created by a six-blade iris diaphragm, avoiding the
distracting diffraction patterns from specular highlights that sometimes result
from irises with fewer blades in them.
Focus on the Coolpix 5400
operates under either automatic or manual control, and ranges from 0.4 inches
(1.0 centimeters) to infinity, including the macro range. The Coolpix 5400's
autofocus system employs a contrast-detection method, and the focus can be determined
from a five-area multi-pattern or spot AF area, in the same way as on the 5000
and a handful of previous high-end Coolpix models. There are five possible focus
zones (center, top, bottom, left, right), which can be very useful for achieving
accurate focus on off-center subjects. The Focus option under the settings menu
allows you to select modes in which the camera chooses the most appropriate
focus zone automatically, or in which you can explicitly set the location of
the focus area (a nice feature that works well when combined with the spot metering
mode, which can likewise be directed to determine exposure based on the same
five zones). In the "Auto" option for focus area selection, the camera
chooses the focus area corresponding to the object closest to the camera. When
the area focus option is set to Off, the camera bases focus on the central area
alone. (One Playback mode information screen displays a focus area overlay,
and shows which focus area was employed for each image, by highlighting the
appropriate set of marks in red.) Two autofocus modes are also available: Continuous
AF and Single AF. Continuous AF mode means that the camera constantly adjusts
the focus. In Single AF mode, focus is only determined when the Shutter button
is halfway pressed. (Continuous AF might be helpful in tracking moving subjects,
but in my testing, I found that shutter delay for a stationary subject was actually
a little longer with Continuous AF mode enabled than with it not.)
The manual focus option is accessed through the rear-panel AF button, used in conjunction with the Command wheel. The Coolpix 5400 offers 71 focus steps from 0.4 inches (1.0 centimeters) to infinity, but doesn't tell you the actual focus distance. Instead, a status bar appears on the LCD and shows a range from macro to infinity, with the focus step number reported below it. (I personally found this rather frustrating to deal with, as I had a hard time telling when I was even approximately in the right distance range. Also, the thermometer-bar display seemed to react somewhat sluggishly to the operation of the command dial.) However, the Coolpix 5400 does offer a clever Focus Confirmation option, available as a menu selection in record mode. When activated, this feature seems to apply a strong image-sharpening operator to the LCD display. The result is that the LCD image very clearly "snaps" into focus when proper focus is achieved, making the LCD display much more useful than it ordinarily would be for manual focusing. Focus Confirmation can be set to be on all the time, off all the time, or only on when the camera is being manually focused. The AF button on the back panel also activates an Infinity focus mode, as well as Macro and Self-Timer modes.
The lens itself has a set of body threads around its base, allowing it to be used with many of the broad range of Nikkor accessory lenses developed for previous Coolpix models. These include accessory lenses for wide-angle, telephoto, macro, and fisheye focal lengths, as well as a slide copying adapter. (Nikon has one of the broadest range of high-quality add-on lenses for their Coolpix cameras, of any manufacturer in the industry.)
The Coolpix 5400's digital telephoto feature is enabled through the Zoom option under the Setup menu, and enlarges images up to 4x. An indicator on the LCD monitor displays the range of digital zoom at each step (from 1.1x to 4.0x). Keep in mind that digital telephoto only enlarges the center of the image, resulting in reduced resolution and more artifacts as more digital zoom is used. The Zoom menu option also offers a Fixed Aperture setting, which keeps the aperture fixed as the lens zooms. This is very handy when working with studio strobes or other strobes with fixed output levels. (Note though, that the maximum aperture of the lens is larger at wide-angle than at telephoto, so the aperture will change if you start your zoom at the wide-angle end of the range, regardless of whether the Fixed Aperture option is set or not. Also, there does appear to be an 0.2 f-stop change as the lens zooms from telephoto to wide-angle, at least as shown by the aperture value reported in the LCD monitor.)
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