Nikon Coolpix 4500

Nikon's 4-megapixel, $699 Coolpix 4500 produced some of the best prints we saw in this roundup. Our outdoor shots appeared sharp and realistic, while our indoor pictures showed only slightly oversaturated colors. The camera lost just a little detail in our still-life shot of items on an office desk, and pictures darkened somewhat--though not excessively--when displayed on a monitor.

The 4500's swivel lens, its highest-profile feature, is capable of pointing in any direction along a vertical axis, making it easy to take shots from almost any angle. Though we found manual focusing difficult, Nikon's five autofocus brackets should help--especially if you're taking close-up photos with a tripod. The 4500 shoots beautiful macros at less than an inch away and works with the widest range of add-on lenses here, including a fish-eye.

You use a toggle instead of a button to turn the Coolpix 4500 on and off, which makes booting up the camera smooth and quick. And though this is an advanced model, beginners will appreciate the 16 preset scene modes for matching a wide variety of exposures. Less friendly initially are the slightly arcane hardware controls and Nikon's confusing menu tabs. Once you get the hang of holding down the camera's buttons while turning the command dial, however, it's a snap to tap into the 4500's lode of manual settings. We also had to get accustomed to using the unit's menu selection button. It took a little practice to remember to nudge-instead of press-the button in the direction we wanted to go, but we warmed to the task.

The camera's rechargeable lithium ion battery lasted for 300 shots-below the group average of 383. And its automatic pop-up flash is located where fingers often block it.

Also disappointing was the Coolpix 4500's 1.5-inch LCD, which gets too dark outdoors for easy use. Nikon bundles its limited NikonView viewer software with the camera.

UPSHOT: The midsize and midprice Coolpix 4500 is ideal for novice and advanced photographers looking to share a camera, or for beginners seeking a model they can grow into.

SUMMARY

Nikon Coolpix 4500 $