Nikon CoolPix 5700Nikon expands their 5 megapixel offerings, with a long zoom, a new body, but the same legendary Nikon feature set!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 5/29/2002 |
Exposure
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Nikon digital cameras have consistently provided extensive exposure controls, and the Coolpix 5700 is no different. The camera offers a choice of Program AE, Flexible Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes, accessed by pressing the Mode button and turning the Command dial. Available shutter speeds range from 1/4,000 to eight seconds. (Although the 1/4,000 shutter time is only available when the lens is set to its smallest aperture. The fastest shutter time is 1/2,000 otherwise.) A Bulb mode allows longer exposures up to one or five minutes. (The maximum bulb exposure time defaults to one minute, but can be increased to five minutes via a menu option.) Like other recent Coolpix models, the 5700 uses a noise reduction technology that's based on a form of "dark frame subtraction," whereby a second exposure is snapped immediately after the first, but with the shutter closed. The pattern of noise in this "dark frame" is then subtracted from the image itself, resulting in a drastic reduction in apparent noise levels. (I suspect that the actual algorithm is more complex than simple subtraction though, involving data substitution to prevent black pixels where the noise current saturated the CCD photosite.) This Noise Reduction can be enabled via a menu option, and is applied to any exposure longer than 1/4 second.
Adding to the usefulness of the fully-automatic Program AE mode, the Flexible Program AE option lets you select from a range of exposure settings by turning the Command dial. (Simply turn the Command dial on its own while in Program mode, and an asterisk appears next to the "P" in the LCD display. Further rotation of the Command dial cycles through the available combinations of shutter speed and aperture that correspond to the exposure level the camera has selected.) Flexible Program AE lets you choose from several equivalent exposures, allowing you to decide between a faster shutter speed or a smaller lens aperture. Personally, I find this more useful than the more common aperture- or shutter-priority metering options, as it gives the camera more latitude to get the shot you want, while letting you express a "preference" for larger or smaller aperture settings.
The Coolpix 5700 uses the 256-Segment Matrix system by default, but also offers Center-Weighted, Spot, and AF Spot metering options. The 256-Segment Matrix setting meters the exposure based on several areas in the frame, averaging the values together to determine the best overall exposure. Center-Weighted metering measures light from the entire frame but places the greatest emphasis on a circular area in the center. Spot metering is pretty self-explanatory, taking a reading from the dead center of the image (best when using the AE Lock function). With AF Spot, the spot metering actually centers on the specific focus area selected, giving you the option for off-center spot metering. (See the previous Optics section of this review for a discussion of the 5700's AF Area focusing mode.)
An ISO adjustment option offers a range of values, including Auto, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ISO equivalents. The ISO 800 option produces a lot of image noise, so the camera warns you when it's selected by highlighting the ISO numbers on the LCD screen in red. White balance choices include Auto, Fine (daylight), Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Speedlight, or Preset (which lets you manually adjust the white value by using a white card or object as a reference point). All white balance settings except Preset can be adjusted from -3 to +3 units on an arbitrary scale. There's also a White Balance Bracketing mode, which captures three images at slightly different white balance adjustments, so you can pick the best image when you get them all back on your computer. I think both of these options are very useful, as I often find myself wanting to tweak one of a camera's preprogrammed white balance values to my liking. White balance "tweak" adjustments like this are becoming more common, but I wish even more manufacturers would adopt them.
Exposure compensation on the Coolpix 5700 is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments, in all exposure modes. The Auto Bracketing feature takes three or five shots of the same subject with varying exposure values determined either by the photographer in Manual mode or by the camera in all other modes. Exposure settings for bracketing can vary from -2 to +2 EV (values are added to the already chosen exposure compensation value), with step sizes of one-third, one-half, or one EV unit, and the bracketing biased toward either underexposure, overexposure, or centered around the main exposure value.
Another signature Nikon feature is the Image Adjustment menu. This menu offers options to increase or decrease contrast, as well as lighten or darken the entire image. An interesting feature about these tonal adjustments is that the 5700's "lighten" and "darken" options adjust the midtone values of the image without affecting the white and black values. (That is, "lighten" will brighten the middle brightness values in the image, without blowing-out white areas, or lightening black ones.) Like other recent Coolpix digicams, the 5700 also provides a range of color saturation options, including Maximum, Normal, Moderate, Minimum, and Black & White. Additionally, a Sharpness adjustment controls the amount of in-camera sharpening applied to the image.
One of the really unique Nikon digicam features, the Best Shot Selector (BSS) captures several images in rapid succession, and lets the camera choose only the sharpest (least blurred) to be saved. Best Shot Select makes it feasible to handhold the camera for surprisingly long exposures - I've routinely handheld 1/2 second exposures and gotten good results with Coolpix cameras. You can also check your own work immediately as the camera gives you a quick preview of the captured image and gives you an option to delete or save the image. I've really enjoyed the available-light and low-light photos BSS has let me bring home those times when I've taken a Nikon digicam with me on a trip or outing. Since it chooses the sharpest image from among several that it shoots though, it's at its best when you have a fairly static subject. When shooting people-pictures, it tends to miss fleeting expressions. Still, it's a remarkably useful photographic tool, one I'd be happy to see on cameras from other manufacturers. (I seem to be saying that a lot when talking about unique Nikon features.)
The Coolpix 5700 lets you save up to three sets of user settings for focus, exposure, and other camera options, for rapid recall via the setup menu. This is a real time saver in rapidly switching between widely different sets of shooting conditions. My one complaint about the implementation of the User Settings on the Coolpix 5700 is the same that I had on the 5000 model: You have to select one of them, or you can't access any of the camera's powerful special features. The default "A" user setting corresponds to the camera's full auto mode. This isn't a big deal, just confusing on first exposure to it. (I had trouble with this on the 5000 model, and had to actually read the manual to find out how to enable the camera's advanced capabilities. In my opinion, if I have to read the manual to figure something out about a camera, it's way too obscure for "normal" users.) I doubt this will actually prevent anyone from enjoying their Coolpix 5700, but do think the distinction between "auto" and "advanced" modes should be made a lot more clear in the user interface.
Finally, a Self-Timer mode provides a short countdown between a full press of the Shutter button and the actual exposure. The Coolpix 5700 lets you select either a three- or 10-second delay. The shorter delay is great for those times when you're talking a long exposure on a tripod, and want to use the self-timer to trip the shutter so you won't jiggle the camera. Coupled with the Noise Reduction option mentioned above, the Coolpix 5700 also offers a Clear Image Mode, something we first saw on the 5000 model. Intended to reduce image noise and improve color and tonal gradation in images of SXGA resolution (1,280 x 960) and smaller, the mode snaps three exposures for each image, two with the shutter open, and one with it closed. The camera then compares these and averages the results to reduce the noise in the image. I didn't find this terribly useful on the 5000, and frankly don't find it much more so on the 5700. I guess no reason not to have it, but I don't see anyone buying the camera purely because of it.
Flash
The Coolpix 5700 features a built-in, pop-up flash with five modes available, including Auto, Flash Cancel, Anytime Flash, Red-Eye Reduction, and Slow-Sync. The Slow-Sync option is useful when shooting subjects with darker or dimly-lit backgrounds (such as night scenes) because the camera leaves the shutter open longer, firing the flash before the shutter closes. This allows more ambient light into the image, avoiding the starkly-lit appearance of standard nighttime flash shots. It can also provide a nice motion blur effect. Red-Eye Reduction mode fires a pre-flash before the main exposure, to reduce the reflection from the subject's pupils.
The top-mounted hot shoe accommodates a more powerful external flash, either a Nikon dedicated unit, or a generic third-party one. The shoe connects to Nikon Speedlight models SB-80DX, 50 DX, 28DX, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, and 22, although I was again surprised to see that the shoe mount didn't make use of the zoom head on an SB-80DX speedlight I had here. The higher-end Nikon speedlights can focus their flash heads, to match the angular coverage of the lens you're shooting with. Thus, when shooting with a telephoto lens, the illumination from the speedlight is focused into a relative narrow beam, concentrating its power and providing greatly increased flash range. While you can always manually zoom the head, it's obviously much more convenient if the camera does it for you automatically. It's hard to understand why Nikon didn't implement this functionality on the Coolpix 5700. By not taking advantage of the advanced features of their own speedlights, it seems to me that Nikon is figuratively tying one hand behind its back in the area of flash performance.
The other obvious "missing feature" relative to Nikon speedlights is autofocus assist illumination. Several of Nikon's higher-end speedlights incorporate infrared autofocus assist illuminators, which likewise aren't utilized by the Coolpix 5700. Given the nature of these features, there's little or no hope of them being added to the 5700 via a firmware upgrade, but let's hope the Nikon engineers read this review and consider adding them in future models. (Actually, the IR AF assist light may have fundamental issues, given that the 5700's AF is based on the signal coming from the CCD, and the CCD has an IR filter over it to improve color rendition. Some of Nikon's strobes (like the SB-80DX) do have a normal incandescent AF illuminator though. I really don't see any excuse for leaving out control of the SB-80's and 50's zoom heads regardless of any other considerations.)
Continuous Shooting Modes
The Coolpix 5700 offers a number "motor drive" rapid-exposure modes for capturing quick sequences of images. Four modes (Continuous L, Continuous H, Ultra High Speed Continuous, and Multi-Shot 16) are selectable under the Continuous option of the settings menu. Continuous L mode captures as many as three frames, at three frames per second. Continuous H mode captures as many as four frames, at three frames per second. In Ultra High Speed Continuous mode, the Coolpix 5700 captures as many as 100 frames at 30 frames per second, in the QVGA resolution size. Multi-Shot 16 mode subdivides the image area into 16 sections and captures a "mini-movie" of small images (400 x 300 resolution), which fills-in a 4x4 array within a single high-resolution image as the shooting progresses. Frame rates in Multi-Shot 16 are as fast as five frames per second.
Movie Mode
The Coolpix 5700 also records moving images with sound. In Movie mode, the
camera captures movies for a maximum of 60 seconds, at approximately 15 frames
per second. Movies are recorded at QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) resolution.
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