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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Nikon Coolpix 7900 Digital Camera (7.1MP, 3072x2304, 3x Opt, 13.5MB Installed Memory)
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- Image Processor
- Included Software
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 7.1 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 3072 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 2304 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format | JPEG |
| White balance | 0 |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 2000 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 4 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 16 |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Cameras »
Pros
Intuitive menu system
Lots of scene modes
Cons
Shutter, aperture settings not displayed
Bottom Line
Small but easy to hold, the stylish 7900 combines an intuitive menu system, many scene modes, and a few advanced features.
Nikon Coolpix 7900
Coolpix 7900 Digital Camera (7.1MP, 3072x2304, 3x Opt, 13.5MB Installed Memory) Review, by Tracey Capen May 3, 2005
Small and attractive, the Nikon Coolpix 7900 combines an extensive array of scene modes with two very useful advanced settings--exposure and white-balance bracketing. The 7900's 3X optical zoom is relatively pedestrian, but its 7-megapixel imaging helps keep shots sharp after rounds of cropping and blowing up. The camera has a pleasing feel: Though small and light enough to carry in a shirt pocket, it's easy to grip and operate with one hand.
The 7900 produced impressively high-quality photos. It rendered most of our test shots nicely; the one exception was the flash portrait of our test mannequin, which was underexposed. I took the 7900 out into the field and shot a variety of close-up and scenic photos. The Coolpix's white-balance bracketing was very effective, producing a detectable color shift in each shot, and its white-balance calibration worked well in a city scene of buildings, water, and blue sky.
Not all of my shots were successful, however. The daylight white-balance preset gave my photo a blue cast. And though the 7-megapixel CCD helped the camera produce sharp details for close-ups, sharpness fell off noticeably with distant subjects. The 7900's startup speed is relatively good--3 to 4 seconds--and there is very little shutter lag.
The Coolpix 7900's easy-to-navigate menu structure makes changing settings fairly simple. The camera also has two display modes: a text-based list of menu commands that you have to scroll up and down through; and an icon-based mode that is a bit more difficult to interpret, but lists all options on a single screen, so you can more easily pick the command you're looking for.
The camera's design has a few oddities. The control for shutting off the LCD, for example, isn't a button, but an option buried in the camera's setup menu. That complicates the task of switching the LCD on and off quickly when you want to save battery power. I also wish that the camera displayed the shutter and aperture settings to be used for a shot. But Nikon may have considered the exposure information unnecessary, since there are no aperture- or shutter-priority modes.
The camera setup is versatile, with 18MB of internal memory and an SD Card slot (but no included SD media). I saved five shots to the internal memory at the camera's highest resolution. A menu command lets you copy all images or selected ones from the internal memory to an SD Card (or within the limits of the internal memory, from the SD Card to internal memory). I couldn't, however, find a way to switch between the two types of memory, either when shooting or during playback. So with an SD Card installed, I could view shots in the camera's internal memory only by copying them to the card or by removing it.
Nikon's PictureProject 1.1 software, bundled with the 7900, is a capable, general-purpose image management package. Its one-button Auto Enhance tool effectively improves color saturation and image sharpness. The collection also includes tools for sharing and backing up photos. For creating panoramas, Nikon bundles ArcSoft's Panorama Maker 3--currently my favorite application for stitching photos together.
Upshot: The Coolpix 7900 is a great, general-purpose snapshot camera. Now-and-then photographers will find it easy to use; and its array of controls, great image quality, and high resolution will make it attractive to advanced shooters as a backup camera.
Tracey Capen
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
83
-
74
-
80
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Cameras
83
81
69
73
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 150 |
| Battery Life Score | Good |
| Image Quality Score | Very Good |
| Image Quality, Color | 66.9 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 52.6 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 69 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 59 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 73.3 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 62 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 31.2 |
| Number of Batteries | 1 |
| Number of Shots | 274 |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: mmmmtap
Strengths: Many wonderful features.
Weaknesses: Firmware Version 1.2 limits recording time when using a high speed 2 gb sd. If you have 1.1, do not upgrade!
Overall: I made a big mistake of updating my firmware. Before the update, I had over an hour of recording time at the highest quality. Other than that, it is a great camera.
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Reviewed by: hanbsh
Strengths: Good pictures with bright light.
Weaknesses: Like other rater said, this camera has very weak flash. And no battery power left after low battery message.
Overall: This camera is trying to destroy Nikon's legacy. I should read Consumer Reports magazine's rating. The flash is very weak. I tried to take pictures with a slaved flash light to enhance the light condition like I took picture with old film camera, but the way did not work. I do know how many the fration of second of shutter speed this camera gives for flash. I tried every features to improve the pictures with dark light. This camera is trying to destroy Nikon's legacy.
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Reviewed by: snyder007
Strengths: Small, light, 7.2mp, viewfinder
Weaknesses: Can not plug power cord directly into camera to charge/and or use camera. Not the best at keeping accurate colors with indoor lighting.
Overall: I am pleased with how the menu is set up. Easy to navigate and use. I have not taken any real pictures yet but really struggled to find a combination of settings to allow accurate colors when taking photos indoors at normal light, not just at low light. Need to get more experience with camera to find it's other quirks and positives.
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Reviewed by: cjahnigen
Strengths: Great high resolution - user interface is easy - nice low light images
Weaknesses: I wish it was a little thinner. I just saw that Nikon released some thiner point & click with high mp...Screen could be bigger but it works well
Overall: This camera takes great pictures. I have been a cannon person for a long time and took a chance on this. I've been very happy so far with the first 1000 photos I have taken. I would highly sugget this camrea for any user who is looking to get into the digital market with a camera that has high mega-pixles.
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Reviewed by: non_00
Strengths: Easy to use.Manual explains instructions reasonably well.The d-lighting feature works great.
Weaknesses: Although long battery life - No warning when battery dies, the camera just shuts off.Red Eye is bad. Software can improve on the computer.
Overall: I wanted a camera that would allow editing and larger prints. I researched and value wise this is the best. I download my pictures to the computer from a card slot on my printer and the software program does not recognize it. This isn't really a problem because I have my own software editing program. If I need to use the software Nikon provides I just import the picture to that program. I am very happy with this camera.
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