Nikon CoolPix 995Nikon updates the hugely successful Coolpix 990, adding a pop-up flash and Type II CF support!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 4/25/2001 |
Exposure
Like most of Nikon's cameras, both digital and film-based, the Coolpix 995 offers very flexible, extensive exposure control. A range of exposure modes are available, including Program, Flexible Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and full Manual modes, when the camera is set to the Manual capture mode on the Power/Mode dial. Thanks to a user interface design that makes extensive use of external buttons and a Command Dial, changing the 995's modes and exposure settings is very fast, and you very rarely will need to delve into the LCD menu system under normal shooting conditions.
Nomenclature with the 995 gets a little confusing, as there's both a "Manual" capture mode on the Power/Mode dial, and a "Manual" exposure mode accessible via the "Mode" button/Command Dial combination. Just to be thoroughly confusing, you can only access "Manual" exposure mode when you're in "Manual" capture mode. The main difference between the Auto and Manual operating mode options on the Power/Mode dial is the availability of certain functions: In Auto capture mode, the camera completely controls the exposure, from shutter speed to white balance. In Manual operating mode, the camera allows access to the full range of exposure options, giving you as much or as little control as you need. Within Manual capture mode, a total of five exposure modes are available: Program mode, Flexible Program mode, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Full Manual mode.
Program mode places the camera in control over shutter speed and aperture, while you set the white balance, exposure compensation, etc. The Flexible Program option goes a step further by letting you select from a range of shutter speed and aperture combinations, simply by rotating the Command Dial while in Program exposure mode. The camera determines the required exposure, but you can choose whether it achieves that exposure with a shorter shutter speed and wider aperture, or a longer shutter speed and smaller aperture. (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 will cycle through the available combinations of shutter speed and aperture.) Shutter Priority lets you select shutter speeds from 1/2,300 to eight seconds, while the camera selects the appropriate corresponding aperture. Likewise, under Aperture Priority, you can select the lens aperture while the camera selects the best shutter speed. Manual mode gives you control over both aperture and shutter speed, but increases the shutter options to include a Bulb setting for longer exposures (up to 60 seconds). In any mode, if the camera's metering system disagrees with your exposure choices, the shutter and aperture values will flash in the display to indicate that this may not be the best exposure option. Important note: The 1/2,300 shutter speed is only available in Shutter Priority and Full Manual exposure modes: Maximum shutter speed in Aperture Priority and Program modes is 1/1,000.
Basic Exposure Adjustments
Exposure compensation is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third increments by pressing the +/- button and turning the Command dial. Additionally, under the Image Adjustment option on the settings menu, you can increase or decrease contrast, as well as lighten or darken the entire image. An interesting feature about these tonal adjustments is that the 995's "lighten" and "darken" options allow you to 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.) We also noticed a new Color menu option, which provides a black and white mode, as well as an extensive number of saturation adjustments.
ISO Options
The Coolpix 995 offers a full range of sensitivity settings, including an Auto adjustment, as well as ISO equivalents of 100, 200, 400, and 800 (activated by pressing the ISO button and rotating the Command dial). We were pleased to see the addition of the 400 and 800 ISO equivalents, which greatly extend the camera's low-light shooting range. In-camera sharpening is adjustable to Auto, High, Normal, Low or Off under the Sharpening option of the settings menu.
Noise Reduction!
We mentioned earlier that the Coolpix 995 has a "bulb" exposure mode that allows exposures as long as 60 seconds. This is an exceptionally long exposure time, but would normally be almost useless due to the amount of CCD noise that can accumulate in that interval. Borrowing a page from their latest high-end digital SLRs, Nikon's implemented a noise reduction mode in the 995 that actually makes exposures this long practical. Details were sketchy as we were writing this review, but it appears that the noise reduction technology in the 995 uses 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. (We 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.) By its nature, this sort of noise reduction only comes into play on very long exposures, but the results are pretty dramatic, and we can speak from personal experience that 30 second exposures from the 995 are very usable indeed.
White Balance Options
White balance options include a matrix-based Auto setting (meaning it uses color information from multiple points across the frame to gauge color balance) as well as Fine (Outdoors), Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Speedlight (flash balanced), and Preset (or Manual). The Preset option lets you set the camera's white balance to almost any lighting condition, simply by pointing the camera at a white object and saying (in effect) "make this white". We found the Preset white balance option worked by far the best under household incandescent lighting. A nice touch, carried forward from the 990, is that you can also adjust the fixed white balance settings (all modes except Auto and Preset) from -3 to +3 in arbitrary units, to increase the warm or cool tones in the image. This is very handy, as we often find that the programmed white balance options on cameras end up a bit too warm or cool for our liking. The color balance adjustment lets you tweak the color to exactly what suits you. A new feature on the 995 is the White Balance Bracketing option, which sets up the camera for a series of three images at different white balance settings. After the first image is taken at the regular white balance value, the camera alters the white balance with a reddish tint, and then a bluish tint. (Each adjustment is enabled by the subsequent press of the Shutter button, until the series of three images has been taken.) This strikes us as handy for situations when you're in a hurry and can't be bothered with going into the menu system to tweak the white balance manually for each shot, but still want to get a range of variations to choose from when you get back to the computer.
Metering Patterns
By default, the Coolpix 995 employs a 256-segment Matrix metering system, which divides the image into 256 segments and balances the exposure based on readings from each segment. Through the Record menu, you can change the metering system to Center-Weighted, Spot, or Spot AF Area. Center-Weighted metering bases the exposure on a large area at the center of the image, while Spot metering takes a reading from the very center, good for high contrast subjects. The Spot AF Area mode works with the autofocus target system, basing the exposure reading on the same target location that you've assigned the AF area to (through the Focus Options sub-menu).
FlashThe Coolpix 995 features a popup flash design, new to the Coolpix line. Five flash modes are available, including Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye Reduction, and Slow-Sync. Through the settings menu, flash power is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV). The Slow-Sync option is useful when shooting subjects with dark backgrounds (such as night scenes) because the camera actually leaves the shutter open longer and then fires the flash before the shutter closes. This allows more ambient light into the image and can 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 995's pop-up flash gives it an advantage in the Red-Eye category, as it provides enough space between the flash and the lens to largely avoid Red-Eye. On the previous 990 and the 950 models, the flash tube was much too close to the lens, and Red-Eye was a real problem with those cameras. Keep in mind that the flash is automatically switched off when shooting in the Infinity focus mode; the Continuous, 16 Shots or VGA Sequence modes; when using the Best Shot Selector; using a lens converter; or when the AE Lock option is on.
An external sync socket means you can connect a more powerful external flash, and the camera allows both external and internal flashes to work together. (The socket connects to Nikon Speedlight models SB-28, 28DX, 26, 25, 24, and 22, using the proprietary three-prong Nikon sync connector.) The external sync connection provides a "quench" signal to the flash, allowing the 995 to control the total light delivered by the external strobe unit. Note though, that there are limitations here when compared to the flash capabilities of Nikon's film cameras. First, the flash metering is not TTL (through the lens): The flash exposure sensor is located in a tiny window immediately below the internal flash head. Second, since the external sync connector only transmits a quench signal to the remote strobe, no distance-feedback information can be passed, limiting the capabilities of Nikon's high-end speedlights. - If you're planning on buying a high-end Nikon SLR at some point in the future, go ahead and get the SB-28DX speedlight. Otherwise, there's relatively little advantage to buying anything but the least expensive speedlight available.
Continuous Shooting
The Coolpix 995 offers several "motor drive" rapid-exposure modes for capturing quick sequences of images. Five modes (Continuous, Multi-Shot 16, Ultra High-Speed Continuous, VGA Sequence, and Movie) are selectable under the Continuous option of the settings menu. The Continuous mode captures frames very quickly, at whatever resolution and image quality the user has selected. Multi-Shot 16 mode subdivided the image area into 16 sections and captured a "mini-movie" of small images (400 x 300 resolution), which filled-in a 4x4 array within a single high-resolution image as the shooting progressed. The VGA Sequence captures a sequence of VGA-resolution frames, stored as separate files on the memory card, also at a very rapid rate. (Maximum sequence length and capture speed are dependent on image information and available memory card space.) Ultra High-Speed Continuous mode captures approximately 30 frames per second, up to about 80 QVGA-sized images (320x240 pixels). Finally, the Movie mode captures up to 40 seconds of moving images without sound at approximately 15 frames per second (QVGA size).
Other Features
We liked the fact that you can save up to three sets of user settings for focus, exposure, and other camera options, for rapid recall via the setup menu. This can be a real time saver in rapidly switching between widely different sets of shooting conditions. (Switching between the stadium and locker room for sports coverage? Indoor and outdoors at a family party? - You get the idea...) We also greatly appreciated the programmable Function buttons, which can really facilitate one-handed operation of the camera. (These normally control exposure mode and exposure compensation, but can be reprogrammed to control macro/manual focus, flash settings, white balance, or metering options.) The Auto Bracketing feature brackets five or three steps around the set exposure value while the Best Shot Select (BSS) takes several images and allows the camera to choose only the sharpest (least blurred) to be saved. Best Shot Select makes it feasible to handhold the camera for surprisingly long exposures. You can also check your own work immediately as the camera gives you a quick preview of the captured image (when shooting with the LCD monitor) and gives you an option to delete or save the image (this function can be turned off through the Setup menu, under Monitor Options). The 995's Self-Timer offers a three or 10-second countdown before firing the shutter, allowing you compose images and then jump into the exposure.
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