Nikon Coolpix 8400By: Shawn Barnett & Dave Etchells(none) <<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 09/16/2004, Updated: 12/13/2004 |
Exposure
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You can choose between a Bulb setting (allowing shutter to be held up to ten minutes) or a Timed Release option with settings of 30 seconds and 1, 3, 5, or 10 minutes. When ULTRA HS is selected for Continuous shooting, the shutter speeds range from 1/30-1/8000s (again, to reach above 1/1500, the aperture needs to be f/4.5 or smaller). Like other Coolpix models, the 8400 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 pixel sensor.) This Noise Reduction can be enabled via a menu option, and is applied to any exposure longer than 1/4 second. The 8400's manual notes that the time to save the resulting image to the card more than doubles with Noise Reduction enabled.
Adding to the usefulness of the fully-automatic Program AE mode, the Flexible Program AE (P) 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 8400 uses the 256-Segment Matrix system by default, but also offers Center-Weighted, Spot, and AF Spot metering options. The 256-Segment Matrix setting determines the exposure based on 256 separate areas in the frame, taking into consideration both overall brightness as well as contrast levels 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 8400's AF Area focusing mode.)
An ISO adjustment option offers a range of values, including Auto, 50,100, 200, and 400 ISO equivalents. White balance choices include Auto, 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 and Fluorescent (adjustable by type of fluorescent bulb) 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 8400 is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments, in all exposure modes. Simply hold down the exposure compensation button and turn the Command dial. 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 -1 to +1 EV (values are added to the already chosen exposure compensation value), with step sizes of 0.3, 0.7, or one EV unit.
Another signature Nikon feature is the Image Adjustment menu. This menu offers options to increase or decrease contrast. Like other recent Coolpix digicams, the 8400 also provides a range of color saturation options, covering a five-step scale plus and Auto and Black & White. Unlike some cameras, the Coolpix 8400 actually increases detail when recording in B & W, rather than simply discarding color information. Additionally, a Sharpness adjustment controls the amount of in-camera sharpening applied to the image, with a three-step range of adjustment, plus Off and Auto.
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) or the best exposed image to be saved. Best Shot Selector set to sharpness 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 check your own work immediately by using the Quick review button. 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 end up saying that a lot when talking about unique Nikon features.)
New on the 8400 (and 8800 as well) is an "Exposure BSS" feature. Like standard BSS, this option shoots several frames in sequence, while you hold down the shutter button, but this time varies exposure between shots. While many cameras offer automatic exposure bracketing, the Nikon Exposure BSS approach is unique, in that the camera analyzes the results, and only saves the image with the best exposure. Exposure BSS has three options, called Highlight, Shadow, or Histogram. Highlight Exposure BSS looks for the brightest image that still shows significant detail in the highlights. Shadow Exposure BSS does the opposite, looking for the darkest exposure that still shows good exposure in the shadows. Histogram BSS represents a combination of the two, as it tries to balance any loss of detail between highlight and shadow areas. - Big kudos to Nikon for this feature, which should be useful to a great many photographers.
The Coolpix 8400 lets you save two 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. User changes to the camera's settings default to setting 1, unless setting 2 is specified.
Finally, a Self-Timer mode provides a short countdown between a full press of the Shutter button and the actual exposure. The Coolpix 8400 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.
Flash
The
Coolpix 8400 features a built-in, pop-up flash with five modes available, including
Auto, Flash Cancel, Anytime Flash, Auto Red-Eye Reduction, Slow-Sync and Rear
Curtain 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. Rear Curtain Sync creates a trail of light behind
moving subjects.
The top-mounted hot shoe accommodates a more powerful external flash, either a Nikon dedicated unit, or a generic third-party one. According to Nikon's documentation, the Coolpix 8400's hot show is set up to work with Nikon Speedlight models SB-600 and SB-800, and the SC-28 and SC-29 sync cables for off-camera flash. Unlike earlier high-end Coolpix models, Nikon does not seem to support connection of the 8800 to older models of Nikon Speedlights, although I suspect that many of them would provide at least some level of compatibility.
One of the nicest surprises with the Coolpix 8400 though, is that it finally supports the zoom heads on the SB-600/800 external speedlights. (Thank you, Nikon!) As you zoom the 8400's lens with an SB-600 or -800 attached, after each zoom movement (at least, at wide-to-normal focal lengths), you'll hear the zoom motor in the flash head actuate. This can really help with flash shots at telephoto focal lengths, ad the light from the flash will be concentrated on a much smaller area, significantly increasing the usable range of the flash.
Finally, a major feature of the SB-600/800/Coolpix 8400 combo is that either flash offers true Through The Lens (TTL) flash metering when used with the camera. This is a really significant benefit, particularly with a long-ratio zoom lens, as it makes it possible to get accurate flash exposures, even when zoomed way in on a subject that's a significantly different color/reflectance than the background. Very few prosumer-level digicams offer true TTL flash metering, and even fewer do so when used with external flash units.
One remaining feature that may still seem to be "missing" relative to Nikon speedlights is external-flash-based autofocus assist illumination. Both the SB-600 and SB-800 speedlights incorporate infrared autofocus assist illuminators, which aren't utilized by the Coolpix 8400. While some readers will doubtless wonder why this is the case, use of an IR AF assist light may have fundamental issues, given that the contrast-detection portion of the 8400's AF system is based on the signal coming from the CCD, and the CCD in the 8400 (like those in most digicams) has an IR filter over it to improve color rendition.
Continuous Shooting Modes
The Coolpix 8400 offers a number "motor drive" rapid-exposure
modes for capturing quick sequences of images. Six modes (Continuous L, Continuous
H, Ultra High Speed Continuous, Multi-Shot 16, 5-shot Buffer, and Interval Timer
Shooting) are selectable under the Continuous option of the settings menu. Continuous
L mode captures as many as 11 frames at 1.2 frames per second (the first frame
seems to take a little longer, so the buffer will hold 12 frames, but they aren't
all captured at 1.2 frames per second). Continuous H mode captures as many as
five frames at 2.3 frames per second (LCD and EVF turn off while capturing in
this mode). In Ultra High Speed Continuous mode, the Coolpix 8400 captures as
many as 100 frames at 30 frames per second, VGA resolution (640 x 480). Multi-Shot
16 mode subdivides the image area into 16 sections and captures a "mini-movie"
of small images (816 x 612 resolution), which fills-in a 4x4 array within a
single 3,264 x 2,448 pixel image as the shooting progresses. Frame rates in
Multi-Shot 16 are as fast as 1.7 frames per second. 5-shot buffer mode captures
full res images at .7 frames per second, allowing the user to just hold the
shutter button down while following or waiting for the action; and once the
button is released, the last five frames are saved from the buffer to the card.
This allows photographers to capture the apex of an event whose apex they cannot
predict. It would be nice if the frame rate could be increased if shot at 5
megapixel resolution, but it's a great feature nonetheless. Finally, the Interval
Timer Shooting mode lets you continuously shoot time-lapse images, with intervals
of 30 seconds, or 1, 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes between shots.
Movie Mode
The Coolpix 8400 also records moving images with sound. In TV Movie mode,
new to the series, the camera captures an impressive 30 frames per second at
640 x 480 for a maximum of 60 seconds. Small Movies are recorded at QVGA (320
x 240 pixels) resolution for as long as the card can record (over 14 minutes
or 895 seconds, according to Nikon with a 256MB card). Time lapse movies are
limited to 640 x 480 resolution, and a max of 1050 images, for a maximum playback
time of 35 seconds at 30fps. Frame capture intervals in time lapse movie mode
can be set to 30 seconds, or 1, 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes. Another odd mode is
Sepia movie mode, which is only five frames per second at 320 x 240, with a
max whatever the card can store. Many competing cameras currently on the market
can record movie segments of arbitrary length, limited only by available memory
card capacity. Frankly though, I think that the ability to take lengthy movies
is overrated. Most television shows and movies change shots every 10 seconds
to one minute, and for good reason: Taking short video snapshots usually results
in better videos, capturing just enough of the flavor of an event to get the
message across, without leaving your audience bleary-eyed and bored. (Of course,
there's also the argument that you'll often want to film a longer clip, and
then chop out just the most interesting part of it. In that scenario, longer
maximum recording times are indeed helpful, provided you have the technical
savvy and desire to do video editing.)
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