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Just two months after the CoolPix 700 was awarded Editor's Choice in Personal Computer World's digital cameras group test [March 2000 issue], Nikon is back with its brand new CoolPix 800 that looks virtually identical apart from the welcome inclusion of a 2x zoom. There's more to the 800 than meets the eye, and it sits between the 700 and 950 in Nikon's CoolPix range.
All three members of the CoolPix range are fitted with 2.11 megapixel 1/2in CCDs, operating at a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels, which is sufficient to make an A4 inkjet print. Nikon supplies each with an 8Mb CompactFlash card capable of storing eight, 16 or 32 high-resolution images at three levels of JPEG compression; an uncompressed mode produces 6Mb TIFFs. There is also a 640 x 480 pixel mode available.
Lens-wise, there are clear differences between the three CoolPix cameras; focal lengths are quoted in equivalent coverage to 35mm cameras. The 700 suffered from a fixed lens of 35mm (actually 6.5mm, f2.6), the 800 now boasts a 2x zoom of 38-76mm (actually 7-14mm, f3.5/4.8), while the 950 still wins with its 3x zoom of 38-115mm (actually 7-21mm, f2.4/4). Three optional lens attachments widen or shorten coverage.
The minimum focusing distances of the 700, 800 and 950 are 9cm, 7cm and 2cm respectively. The 800 refines its autofocusing with 480 steps compared to 127 on the 700, although the 950 boasts a 'stepless' 4,746. When manually focusing, the 800 has 45 steps compared to the 700's 10 steps.
Like Kodak, Nikon employs four AA batteries that are typically bigger, heavier, and shorter lasting than competitors' lithium ions, but they're readily available and much cheaper. Nikon throws in a set of alkalines to get you started while the supplied NiMHs (nickel metal hydrides) charge up. The 800, remarkably, squeezes more life out of its batteries than the 700, itself longer lasting than the 950. You'll get around an hour and a half of general use, which isn't at all bad.
Anyone owning a Nikon 35mm SLR will recognise the CoolPix's choice of three TTL metering modes: spot, centre-weighted and matrix. The latter, with 256 segments, is nigh-on impossible to fool and will convert any diehard manual operator to the joys of auto-exposure. For that extra bit of input, however, you can compensate the exposure to plus or minus 2EV in 1/3 stop intervals.
The 800 is also a tad more sensitive than the 700 and 950, rated at 100ASA compared to 80ASA.
Nikon fits its CoolPix models with an innovative Best Shot Selector, BSS mode. This keeps taking photos while you hold the shutter (up to 10), analyses them and only saves the one with the most detail - great for tricky handheld shots.
New to the 800 is a high-speed continuous shooting mode, which fires off up to 40 320 x 240 pixel images at 30fps - handy for those somersaulting whales. A continuous 1.5fps mode is also available, along with five flash options, five white balance settings, and even digital brightness and contrast adjustments.
You can frame your shot with an optical viewfinder or the LCD screen - 1.8in on the 700 and 800, compared to the 950's 2in display - which actually looks much bigger in use. The 800's display indicates the shutter speed and aperture, but these are not manually adjustable.
Sadly, Nikon has not yet adopted USB and rubs salt in the wound by suggesting you buy a card reader for around £50. Kodak's USB connections go about 10 times faster than its serial ones, which is no consolation as you wait just over a minute for the 800 to download a typical JPEG. On the plus side, the software is simple to use, mounting the camera in My Computer, allowing you to preview and drag image files onto your hard disk.
Whatever else you can say about Nikon, it certainly knows about taking pictures. Images from the 800 (and previous CoolPix models) simply cannot be faulted and are among the best of any digital camera we've tested. Slightly better, in fact, than the 2.3 megapixel chip on Fuji's MX-2900: although it costs the same with a 3x zoom and 2in screen, this is the camera with which many will compare it. Kodak's DC280 with USB and a whopping 20Mb memory card is also a contender.
Like film cameras, the choice often boils down to personal preference and which suits the way you work. So saying, both the Fuji and the Kodak were beaten by the CoolPix 700 in the PCW group test, and the fact that the 800 further improves on it is recommendation enough.
Contact Nikon 0800 230220
See also:
All Digital Cameras
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