Nikon CoolPix 775Nikon packs advanced Coolpix technology & superior ease-of-use into a tiny, affordable 2 megapixel camera!<<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & ConclusionReview First Posted: 07/23/2001 |
Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed, summarizing our key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images, see the Coolpix 775's "pictures" page.
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the 775 performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, the 775 produced accurate, neutral color throughout our testing, although it had a little trouble with the always-difficult blue flowers in our Outdoor Portrait test. It had a good tonal range, managing to hold highlight detail in high contrast situations, with only a slight darkening of the midtone values. The camera's White Balance system handled most of our test lighting well, though we often noticed slight color casts in the preset values in various situations. That said, the camera's Manual White Balance did a great job with the tough incandescent lighting of our Indoor Portrait (without flash), and the Auto setting handled our studio lighting quite well. Color balance looked pretty good on our Davebox target, with the 775 distinguishing tough tonal variations and reproducing the large color blocks accurately and with good saturation. As noted above, the 775 fell victim to the tough blue flowers in our Outdoor and Indoor portraits, producing slight purple tints in the petals, although not as badly as is the case with many cameras. (These blues are a common problem among digicams, with many cameras rendering them almost entirely purple.)
The 775 did a good job on our "laboratory" resolution test chart, showing artifacts in the test patterns at 600 lines per picture height, in both horizontal and vertical directions. We found "strong detail" out to at least 750 lines. "Extinction" of the target patterns didn't occur until 850-950 lines. The 775's images had a slight softness to them in all our test shots, but the resolution target results show that the basic information is there. (On the other hand, the Outdoor Portrait shot is markedly soft in the model's hair: We've seen this before, caused by cameras' internal noise-suppression algorithms. In areas of fine detail with lower contrast, the camera tends to smoosh (a technical term ;-) the detail, thinking it's image noise. The 775 is far from the worst camera we've seen in this respect, but the effect is more pronounced than we've seen in other Nikon camera models.)
Optical distortion on the 775 proved to be a little high at the wide angle end, where we measured an approximate 0.97 percent barrel distortion. (Most cameras we test average around 0.7-0.8% barrel at wide angle.) The telephoto end fared much better, as we measured only two pixels of pincushion distortion. Chromatic aberration is very low, showing only one or two lightly-colored pixels around target elements in the far corners of the frame on the resolution test.
Though the 775 does not offer full or partial manual exposure control, it did do a pretty good job in the low-light category. In our testing, the 775 produced bright, usable images at light levels as low as one-half foot-candle, which is about half as bright as average city street lighting. The camera does capture images as low as 1/16 foot-candle, though images are very dim and difficult to distinguish. Noise was moderate throughout our low-light test series.
The 775's optical viewfinder is a little tight, showing approximately 88 percent frame accuracy at wide angle, and about 84 percent at telephoto. The LCD monitor fared much better, showing approximately 97 percent of the final frame at both wide angle and telephoto lens settings. Given that we prefer LCD monitors to be as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the 775's LCD monitor does a great job.
We were very impressed with the 775's macro capabilities, as the camera captures a very tiny minimum area of just 1.71 x 1.29 inches (43.54 x 32.45 millimeters). Though the brooch and coin details of our test subject were slightly soft due to the limited depth of field when shooting this close, resolution was quite high on the dollar bill. Details on the surface of the dollar bill were sharp and clear, and overall color was very accurate. The 775's flash proved ineffective at this close range, overexposing the top right corner of the frame and producing a shadow in the lower left corner.
Overall, we were quite pleased with the 775's performance throughout our testing. Color accuracy and saturation are both good, with good image quality as well. The 775 also handles low-light and macro shooting situations without too much trouble, making the camera suitable for a variety of shooting conditions. (Really, it's surprisingly versatile for a camera lacking extensive manual exposure controls.)
Conclusion
The Coolpix 775 is a strong entry by Nikon into the "ultra compact" digicam market. While not as tiny as the smallest of its competition (cameras like the Canon S300 and Kyocera S3), the 775 offers a very strong set of useful features. We think there's a large middle ground of users out there, who are looking for cameras with just the characteristics the 775 offers. Its Scene Program modes make it easy for relative novices to get good results in a wide variety of shooting situations, simply by selecting the correct Scene Program on the mode dial. It could hardly get much easier, yet there's very little added complexity beyond a more basic point & shoot camera. The 775's color and tonal range are very good. While we did find some softness in the 775's images, that's a relative issue: We suspect most users this camera is intended for wouldn't be able to see the softness, even on an 8x10 print. If you're looking for a camera that's a simple to use as a pure "point & shoot", but that has the capability to take excellent photos under a really wide range of conditions, the 775 would be an excellent choice. (It also offers the Nikon signature sophistication and color fidelity at a very competitive price.)
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