Nikon Coolpix S1000pj

Cameras are packing in all kinds of extras these days: Photo- and video-sharing, image enhancement, slideshows, background music and transitions. Nikon has upped the ante with its latest Coolpix, the S1000pj: It has a projector squeezed into it!

It has a 12.1 MP sensor and 5x zoom. We liked the one-touch access to most settings. The camera bundles with a tiny remote control that lets you control slideshows, and is also a wireless shutter release with zoom controls. There aren’t many menu levels, everything is labelled, with intuitive icons. Navigating is straightforward and easy.

We took the camera outdoors and shot people, flowers, high-contrast scenes and close ups. Then we assessed the low light performance. And then indoor shots and noise tests. It excels outdoors in daylight, with excellent detailing, but colours were a bit oversaturated. It also takes a hit in very bright light. Indoor performance was very good, but again, oversaturated colours. With the flash, skin tones were pinkish, correctable with an editing program, but really, the camera should do better. Presets work really well. And the macro performance is excellent. Now for the big one.

Switch on the 10 lumen projector in the dark and everyone’s jaw will drop. The ideal throw distance ranges from 26 cm (a crisp 5 inch display) to 2 metres (an awesome  40 inches). We found a distance of 1.3 meters (25-inch display) ideal; a satisfying combination of screen size, colours and brightness, but you need a really dark room. At the maximum recommended 2 metres, the brightness wasn’t satisfactory.

Our overall impression: Good but not excellent. The 40-inch projection looks really cool, but the camera fails to deliver when it comes to image quality, video resolution and lack of optical zoom while recording. At Rs 28,950, you better get the best of everything!

Courtesy, tech2.in.com