 Digital Camera Review by: Katrina Putker
It’s not often that we at Buy-n-Shoot.com get to splash around phrases such as ‘new invention,’ ‘never seen before’ and ‘world first’ in our camera reviews, but alas, when the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj fell into our hands, we knew that was about change.
With the compact camera market starting to become a little same-same for consumers and almost seeming to converge in on itself with the production of unit after unit differing slightly in price and design rather than functionality, the release of the S1000 truly sparks a whole new generation of camera.
Introducing the world’s first digital compact to be fitted with its own internal projector.
Yes, you read clearly: an internal projector on a digital compact camera weighing less than 200g (155g without memory card or battery) and sized at just 99.5 x 62.5 x 23 mm.
Imagine being able to easily share the photographs and movie clips from your camera with numerous people at a time without the need for them to gather around a small LCD screen (in this case 2.7 inch) or having to fuss about with cables to connect your camera to a TV or computer monitor.
With the S1000 it becomes instantly possible via the single press of a button and some minute back-and-forth sliding of the forefinger.
When in playback mode, simply press the dedicated projector button (on the left-hand side of the camera’s top edge) and watch as your image/s or movie appears projected on the nearest surface, be it between 26cm or 2m away.
Use the forefinger slider to adjust the focus depending on the distance between the camera and the projection surface, which, by the way, needn’t be a traditional white screen or painted wall if there isn’t one handy.
While lighter coloured surfaces do offer the best results, the S1000 will project onto many alternative flat planes quite well including paper or cardboard, white goods, the footpath, pale floorboards, solid colour bed sheets, the dashboard and even on human skin.
So, no matter where you are, there is a great chance of there being a suitable surface to project on to that will allow for increased viewing pleasure over a standard camera LCD screen.
Nikon really ought to be applauded for their ingenuity here. They have come up with something completely original and unique that a share of the compact camera market is going to absolutely love.
True, some may suggest the projector function is no more than a gimmick to help draw attention and boost sales, but the reality is this feature not only has a number of practical applications but offers users a unique experience that, in our opinion at Buy-n-Shoot, will be quickly copied by competing manufacturers who also see this feature’s value.
Aside from the projector function, the S1000 is not unlike sister Coolpix models both in appearance and capability, meaning it stands on its own as a quality compact camera with solid overall performance.
12.1 megapixels combine with Nikon’s digital Expeed processor and a 5x optical zoom, 28-140mm Nikkor VR lens to help ensure a good standard of image quality, particularly outdoors in ample lighting where the S1000 produces vibrant, sharp images time after time.
As many compacts do, the S1000 tends to underperform occasionally in low lighting conditions and indoors, particularly if the flash isn’t utilised. Noise becomes visible, particularly in shadow details, and increases as the ISO settings climb upwards of 400.
ISO 6400 is available, where most competing compacts push only as far as 3200, although at this setting the resolution is reduced to some 3 megapixels. Where possible then, it’s sensible to stick within the standard, full resolution range of 80-1600 for the best results.
The S1000 is generally quite quick to focus and face detection ability for up to 12 people within frame ensures the best focus and exposure for subjects is automatically achieved to help produce optimum and speedy results.
The 36MB internal memory is a little scant at best, but get yourself a decent-sized memory card - some 2GB or above - and the S1000 will handle ample amounts of still and videos for you to enjoy and share with others, especially given its projection ability.
As expected with any Coolpix model, D-lighting is available to help brighten an underexposed subject or add contrast to an overexposed subject in an image and cleverly creates a copy of the now adjusted photograph so users can keep the original as well.
The skin softening function is another that creates a duplicate of the original image although this time with a noticeable airbrushed appearance on subjects’ skin, which helps to create more flattering, if not slightly unrealistic, portraits.
While manual control is extremely limited on the S1000, there are 16 specialised scene modes to help account for the fact by automatically activating specific preset settings to help achieve the best possible outcomes under given situations including, but not limited to: portrait, landscape, beach/snow, party/indoor, sports, stitch assist and close-up.
In addition to these, the S1000 offers an auto scene selector mode, which automatically determines the scene being composed and selects one of the 16 specialised scene modes mentioned to suit. As a result, when time is pressing and action or composition is changing quickly, no moment need be lost from having to manually select a specific mode.
A handy blink warning feature means that the photographer is alerted to the fact that a subject has closed their eyes at the moment of capture and re-shooting may be required, while the blink proof function will help avoid this situation altogether by firing two shots sequentially and saving the one where the subject’s eyes are determined to be open the widest.
Motion detection is available to help combat camera shake and subject movement by automatically selecting the most appropriate ISO setting and shutter speed to freeze active subjects in their tracks.
Going back to what truly is the most alluring aspect of the S1000, the internal projector has a brightness of 10 lumens, which is the equivalent of approximately 10 regular candles.
As with any projector, it operates best under dim or dark lighting conditions and while it can clearly throw images from up to 2m away, some light fall off does occur at this length and in reality, projection is at its optimum at approximately 1.5m or less, keeping in mind the smaller the brighter.
Projection picture quality is great when focused correctly, an easy task given the functionality of the focus slider, and the included remote control makes wireless operation of both the projector and some regular camera functions equally as easy and enjoyable.
The S1000 is said to have a battery life that can withstand an hour of constant projection or alternatively, some 220 still shots.
Despite the naysayers opinion of the S1000pj as a mere novelty, Buy-n-Shoot rate this unit as a breath of fresh air within a saturated compact camera market.
Indeed this camera is a novelty in the affirmative sense of the word: it is fresh, interesting and innovative and while consumers will initially be struck by its exciting and previously unseen ability to project images and movies onto flat surfaces, soon after they will realise the camera itself is a good compact performer right across the board.
| Appearance rating |
4 stars |
| Functionality rating |
4 stars |
Image quality
|
3.5 stars |
Lens quality
|
4 stars |
| View finder / LCD screen |
3.5 stars |
| Value for money |
4.5 stars |
| RRP (AUD) |
$699 |
 |
|
| Effective Pixels |
12.1 Million mega pixels |
| Image Sizes |
8 Sizes |
| Lens - zoom wide [mm] |
28mm (35mm equivalent ) |
| Lens -zoom tele [mm] |
140mm (35mm equivalent ) |
| Lens - Optical Zoom |
Yes, 5x |
| Resolution Settings |
From 640 x 480 to 4000 × 3000 |
| Shooting Modes |
Auto mode, Scene modes, Scene auto selector, Smart portrait mode, Movie mode, Subject tracking mode |
| Scene Modes |
Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night portrait, Party/indoor, Beach/snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Night landscape, Close-up, Food, Museum, Fireworks show, Copy, Backlight, Panorama assist |
| Face Detection |
Yes, up to 12 faces |
| Manual Focus |
No |
| Auto Focus |
Yes |
| Focus Range [cm] |
30cm - infinity |
| Aperture Range |
F=5.0-25.0mm / F3.9-5.8 |
| Aperture Priority |
No |
| Macro |
Yes |
| Macro Range [cm] |
3cm - infinity |
| Shutter Speeds |
Auto
|
| Shutter Priority |
No |
| ISO |
Auto (auto gain ISO 80-800),Fixed range auto (ISO 80 to 200, ISO 80 to 400), Manual selection: ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 |
| LCD Monitor |
Yes |
| LCD Size |
2.7"; 230,000-dot, TFT LCD anti-reflection coating, with protective acrylic panel |
| Viewfinder |
No |
| Flash |
Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Off, Fill flash, Slow sync |
| Hot Shoe |
No |
| White balance |
Auto, Preset manual, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash |
| Self Timer |
Yes, 2s and 10s |
| Movie Options |
Yes. Limited only by memory card size. |
| Video Out |
Yes |
| Storage Type |
SD memory cards |
| Storage Included [Mb] |
36MB Internal Memory |
| Image / Audio Formats |
Compressed [JPEG (EXIF )], mono/wav file, AVI movie |
| Connectivity |
USB |
| Power Source |
AC Adapter EH-62F |
| Battery Options |
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12 |
| Dimensions |
99.5 x 62.5 x 23 mm |
| Weight |
155g |
|
