Nikon CoolPix 885More Pixels, More Features, (a little) More Money - Nikon extends their sub-compact Digicam line!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 9/19/2001 |
Exposure
Exposure control on the Coolpix 885 is pretty extensive. Not only do you have the benefit of a Manual exposure mode (available in the CSM menu), but you also have a large selection of "Scene" modes (available in the Scene menu), which set up the camera for specific shooting environments. There's also fully Automatic, Programmed, and Custom exposure modes as well. The Auto Exposure mode is self-explanatory, in that the camera controls the aperture and shutter speed settings, along with all other exposure options except Flash and Image Quality and Size settings. This is a great option for someone who wants a purely "point & shoot" camera, and Nikon's Matrix Metering delivers accurate exposures under a wide variety of conditions. Under the Programmed Auto exposure mode (also available in the CSM menu), the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture values, but unlike the Auto mode, you have control over ISO, white balance, contrast, brightness, sharpening, exposure compensation, etc. The Manual exposure mode gives you the same level of control, but with access to both aperture and shutter speed. (Note: the preset, electronically controlled aperture has only two steps: f/2.8 and f/7.6 at wide-angle; ranging up to f/4.9 and f/7.6 at telephoto. This is one of the few areas of significant limitation relative to the higher-end Coolpix 995.) Shutter speeds range from 1/1,000 to 8 seconds in normal mode, and can be as long as 60 seconds when set to the Bulb exposure.) The Custom mode simply means that you can select a variety of exposure settings and then save them as a "mode" to be used again under the same shooting conditions. For example, if you take a lot of pictures with the same lighting conditions, you might want to save the exposure settings to be used whenever you shoot in that environment.
The Scene mode is pretty unique among digicams in our experience (although we're starting to see more and more cameras offer some version of it), embodying Nikon's concept of "Assisted Creative Photography." Nikon has created a menu of preset "scenes" for you to choose from, which set up the camera to photograph specific shooting environments. Preset scenes include Portrait, Party / Indoor, Night Portrait, Beach / Snow, Landscape, Sunset, Night Landscape, Museum, Fireworks Show, Closeup, Copy (for text or drawings) and Back Light (for backlit subjects). These modes relieve users from needing deep understanding of exposure dynamics, and let them focus instead on capturing the moment. If you can distinguish the basic scene type you're dealing with (pretty easy, in situations like Beach / Snow vs. Party / Indoor), your chances of getting a good photo are greatly increased. You'll find a more complete description of the 885's Scene modes in the Camera Modes and Menus section.
ISO: The standard ISO setting is 100, which the camera can automatically increase as it sees fit when the ISO setting is set to the "Auto" option. ISO can be manually adjusted through the CSM menu while shooting in Programmed or Custom modes, with fixed options of Auto, 100, 200 and 400 ISO available. ISO can also be set by holding down the EV / Delete button and pressing the "T" button on the Zoom control.
Metering: The camera's metering mode can be changed to one of four options: Matrix, Spot, Center-Weighted, and Spot AF Area. Matrix metering is the default mode for Auto Exposure mode. It measures the exposure in 256 areas of the frame and then evaluates those values to determine the proper exposure for the entire image. Spot metering simply takes a reading from the very center of the image. Center-Weighted metering measures a small area around the center of the image, and Spot AF Area measures the light in the current autofocus target area (either in the center or from one of the five target areas, and established through the Focus menu option).
Exposure Compensation: Exposure compensation on the Coolpix 885 is controlled by the EV / Delete button on the back panel, and is adjustable from -2.0 to +2.0 exposure values in one-third-step increments. The setting is not available in full Manual exposure mode, and automatically reverts back to 0.0 EV when a new mode is entered or when the camera is turned off. Exposure compensation is primarily used to adjust for extreme lighting situations, such as very bright or dark subjects / scenes, or when shooting in high-contrast settings. The general rule-of-thumb is to select positive values when photographing very bright scenes (such as snow, water, or sand), or when the background is much lighter than the subject, and to use negative values when photographing very dark scenes (such as deep forest settings), or when the background is much darker than the subject.
White Balance: White Balance compensates for the different color casts produced by various light sources. White Balance is selectable in the CSM menu with the following options: Auto (the camera determines WB), White Balance Preset (manual adjustment), Fine (sunlight), Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, and Speedlight (flash). The manual Preset adjustment is determined by selecting the White Bal. Preset option in the White Balance menu, highlighting the Measure option, holding a bright white sheet of paper in front of the camera lens, and pressing the right Arrow button. The camera will zoom out, release the shutter, and take a reading of the light coming from the paper. It then makes whatever adjustments are required to render that particular color pure white in subsequently captured images. All White Balance settings except Auto and Preset can be fine-tuned by pulling down a sub-menu after making the selection, which allows you to raise or lower the white balance and thereby make the image cooler or warmer. We found this fine-tuning invaluable in getting good exposures under indoor lighting. - We really wish more manufacturers would adopt this feature! In the case of Fluorescent lighting, the pulldown menu has three types of Fluorescent light, identified by FL1, FL2, and FL3.
Auto Bracketing: Auto Exposure Bracketing is used in situations where you're not sure of the best exposure. It allows you to take three or five photographs of the same subject at different exposure values (EV). The amount of variance between exposures is selected through the Exposure Bracketing menu in the CSM Shooting menu. Choices are +/- 0.3, +/- 0.7, and +/- 1.0 EV. While shooting in this mode, the amount of exposure variance appears in the lower left corner of the LCD monitor. WB Bracketing follows the same format, but is applied to the White Balance setting instead of exposure. When the Shutter is depressed in this mode, the camera records one exposure at the chosen WB setting, one with slightly more red, and one with slightly more blue. The Bracketing options are not available in all shooting modes. (When you're taking critical photos, the ability to automatically and routinely bracket like this is very valuable!)
Image Adjustment: The Image Adjustment menu allows you to increase or decrease the image brightness and contrast, as well as lighten or darken the image. You can also choose a black and white setting for shooting monochrome images. (Note that this is quite different than the usual exposure compensation adjustment, in that it affects primarily the midtones of the image, rather than the highlight or shadow values. Another useful feature that we'd like to see on more digicams.
Image Sharpening: The Image Sharpening menu provides several options for sharpening images in-camera. Auto Sharpening makes adjustments based on the image, so the amount of sharpening will vary from shot to shot; Normal applies the same level of sharpening to all images; High increases image sharpness, making edges more distinct (but possibly obscuring some of the finest detail in the process); Low reduces the amount of sharpening normally applied; and Off shuts down the sharpening function completely. These options are only available in Program, Manual, and CSM exposure modes. In Scene modes, the camera determines the level of sharpening based on the subject matter. (Note: The effects of Image Sharpening are not visible on the LCD monitor.) We did essentially all our shooting with the 885's sharpening option set to "auto", with good results. The low and no sharpening options are useful for photographers planning on extensive photo manipulation in the computer after the fact, or those wanting to optimize sharpening in their imaging software for particular printout requirements.
Flash
The 885 features a built-in flash with five operating modes, each of which is accessed by pressing the Flash / Index button centered under the LCD monitor. Flash mode options include: Auto, which automatically triggers the flash when the camera determines that additional lighting is needed; Flash Cancel (flash off), which prevents the flash from firing under any conditions; Redeye Reduction, which emits a pre-flash before unleashing the full flash power to reduce the effects of red-eye in the subjects' eyes, Anytime Flash (fill flash), which automatically fires the flash, regardless of lighting conditions; and Slow Sync, which combines flash and a slow shutter speed to let in more ambient light (best used for nighttime shots and backlit subjects, tripod recommended). A small icon indicating each flash mode appears at the top of the LCD monitor.
Nikon reports the flash range for the 885 to be 1.3 to 12.1 feet (40 to 370 cm) at wide angle, and 1.3 to 7.5 feet (40 to 230 cm) at telephoto. This is a rather limited flash range, but agrees with our own tests, which we shoot primarily with the lens in the telephoto position. - Under that condition, we found that the flash brightness decreased steadily from the 8 foot minimum of our test on out. Thus, a 7.5 foot range with the lens in the telephoto position seems like a reasonable rating, albeit a short one.
Special Exposure Modes
Movie
The Coolpix 885 features a Movie recording mode, accessed by turning the Mode dial to the movie camera icon. Real time action is recorded at 15 frames per second, with 320 x 240-pixel (QVGA) resolution, without sound, and stored on the memory card as QuickTime files (designated by .MOV at the end of the name). Recording begins by pressing the Shutter button once and continues for 15 seconds, or until the memory card runs out of space. You can end the recording before the 15 seconds are up by pressing the Shutter button a second time. Flash, Macro, and Infinity Focus, and Digital Zoom options are not available in Movie mode.
In Playback mode, Movie files are displayed as single image frames with a movie camera icon in the lower left corner of the LCD display. To start the movie playback, press the Quick Review button once to begin playback and press it a second time to pause. While in pause mode, the left and right arrow keys can be used to rewind or advance the movie one frame at a time.
Self-Timer
Controlled by the Focus / Self-Timer / Info button on the camera's back panel, the Self-Timer function is used to set up the camera for delayed exposures. The 885 offers two countdown durations -- 3 or 10 seconds -- determined by the number of times you press the Shutter button (once for 10 seconds and twice for 3 seconds). The shorter countdown is ideal for triggering the shutter quickly, without risking camera shake when your finger comes in contact with the Shutter button. (Very useful for low-light and macro shooting with a tripod or other camera support.) The longer countdown time enables you to frame a shot, depress the Shutter button, and quickly take up a position in front of the camera before the shutter fires. This is particularly helpful when taking group photos (just remember to bring the tripod!)
In most shooting modes, the Self-Timer is activated by scrolling through the Focus / Self-Timer / Info button options: Autofocus (no icon), Autofocus / Self-Timer (clock icon), Infinity Focus (mountain icon), Macro Focus (flower icon), and Macro Focus / Self-Timer (flower + clock icon). Only those options that display a Self-Timer icon will activate the countdown. Once the Shutter button is depressed, a Self-Timer lamp on the camera's front panel starts blinking, and will continue to blink until one second before the shutter is released, when it will glow steadily until the shutter fires. You can also track the countdown by watching the Self-Timer icon on the camera's LCD monitor, which displays the seconds remaining until the exposure is complete.
Continuous Shooting
The Coolpix 885 offers a Continuous menu, for shooting consecutive and sequenced images with the Single, Continuous, Multi-Shot 16, VGA Sequence, and Ultra HS options. In Continuous Shooting mode, the camera takes continuous exposures, at a rate of three photos / two seconds, as long as you hold down the shutter button or until the memory is full. (This mode is unavailable with the Hi (uncompressed TIFF) quality setting.) In Multi-Shot 16 mode, the camera takes 16 consecutive thumbnail images and combines them into one large image. (Image Size must be set to Full.) VGA Sequence takes a series of 640 x 480 photographs at approximately two frames per second, for as long as the shutter button is held down, great for capturing moving subjects. The Ultra HS mode takes up to 70 320 x 240 photographs each time the shutter button is pressed, shooting at approximately 30 frames per second. (Image Quality must be set to Normal for VGA Sequence and Ultra HS.)
Best Shot Selection
The Best Shot Selection (BSS) feature records continuous exposures in the same manner as the Continuous mode, except that the camera then analyzes the series and chooses only the sharpest image to record to the memory card. This is particularly useful in situations where there is an increased potential for camera shake, such as in Macro mode, when the lens is zoomed out to maximum telephoto range, or when the lighting is poor and you can't use the flash. The sequence is limited to a maximum of10 shots (but may well be less, depending on the resolution/quality mode that's selected), and Focus, White Balance, and Exposure are all set with the first image in the series. Flash is not available in BSS mode. BSS is exceptionally useful for getting sharp photos under low light conditions, but does have the disadvantage that you can lose fleeting expressions on your subjects' faces, since the sharpest image in the series may not correspond to the particular moment in time that caught the subjects with the particular expression you were looking for. - If that sort of critical "moment in time" is important to you, consider using some form of camera support and/or simply using Continuous Shooting mode to record all the images to the memory card.
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