The CoolPix 775 is just Too Cool!
September 17th, 2001 -- Moose Peterson
| In April, Nikon introduced its "latest" pocket digital
Coolpix, the 775 (I know, I'm a little behind). I've had the CP775 for many
months now and I'm here to tell you, I really, really, really, really, did I
say really, like this camera! Yes, I shoot with the D1/X/H the majority of
the time but I like to have a pocket camera just like the rest. I depended
on the Kodak DC4800 for the last couple of years but the CP775 blows it out
of the water (new technology will do that for you). |
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What is it about the CP775 that I love so much? It's a
no-brainer camera that delivers images like I thought about it. The CP775 has a
number of those "party" modes, seven to be exact. I've never used them other
than to play, I just shoot on the AUTO mode all the time for killer results.
I do tend to add flash when the camera doesn't think it's required, but
that's a simple press of a button on the back of the camera. One thing I've
always felt about Nikon's pocket digital cameras was their flash left a
little bit to be desired. That's nowhere near the case with the CP775. The
flash, be it the main light or fill, is perfect. Every time! |
| What I really like about this camera is all of this quality
comes in a camera smaller than my palm! I carry this camera all the time in my
shirt pocket and just love it (though my family is getting tired of being
ambushed by it J). I also really
like that Nikon has gone to the rechargeable battery system for their Coolpix
cameras which includes the CP775. I find that I can take and play with about 128MB
of images on one charge--that rocks for my needs! |
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What about the picture quality? It's not the D1x but it's
not junk either. I've made beautiful 8x10 prints from the 2.01 million CCD that
works just great for what I want it to do (Full 1600x1200 pixels). What really
amazes me is how rugged this little dude is. I have it in my shirt pocket when I'm
out fly fishing and it takes the abuse of the cold, dampness and jostle of
fishing. Here's the specs for the camera:
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Nikon COOLPIX 775 Specifications
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Type
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digital
camera E775
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Effective
pixels
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2.01
million
|
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CCD
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1/2.7-in.
type (2.14 million total pixels)
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Image
size
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Full
(1600 x 1200 pixels), XGA (1024 x 768 pixels), VGA (640 x 480 pixels)
|
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Lens
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3x
Zoom-Nikkor
f=5.8-17.4mm (35mm camera format equivalent to 38-115mm); f/2.8-f/4.9
Seven elements in six groups
|
|
Digital
zoom
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1.25x,
1.6x, 2.0x, 2.5x
|
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Autofocus
(AF)
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Contrast-detect
through-the-lens (TTL) AF
Focus modes Monitor on: continuous AF
Monitor off: single AF
Focus range 30cm (1 ft.) to infinity
Macro mode: 4cm (1.6 in.) to infinity
|
|
Viewfinder
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Real-image
zoom optical viewfinder with LED indication
Magnification 0.35-0.97x
Frame coverage Approximately 82%
|
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Monitor
|
1.5-in.
110,000-dot low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment
Frame coverage Approximately 97%
|
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Auto
off
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Can
be selected from 30 sec. (default) and 1, 5, and 30 min.
|
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Storage
|
System Design rule for Camera File
systems, Digital Print-Order Format (DPOF) compliant
Compression JPEG-baseline-compliant; FINE (approx. 1/4), NORMAL (approx. 1/8), BASIC (approx.
1/16)
QuickTime movies
Media CompactFlashT (CF) Card Type I
|
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Approximate
capacity
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8MB (64MB)
|
|
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FULL
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XGA
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VGA
|
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FINE
|
8 (66)
|
19 (159)
|
48 (390)
|
|
NORMAL
|
16 (131)
|
37 (306)
|
88 (709)
|
|
BASIC
|
32 (256)
|
71 (578)
|
161 (1301)
|
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Shooting
modes
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Auto
(includes shooting menu for control of white balance, capture mode, best-shot
selection, exposure compensation, and image sharpening)
Scene: Portrait, Party/Indoor, Night Portrait, Beach/Snow, Landscape, Sunset,
and Back Light
Movie (up to 15 sec. of QVGA frames at 15 frames per second)
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Capture
modes
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Single
Continuous
Multi-Shot 16 (sixteen frames 400 x 300 pixels in size)
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Exposure
metering
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256-segment
matrix through-the-lens (TTL) metering
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Exposure
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Control Exposure compensation (±2.0
EV in steps of 1/3 EV)
Range (ISO 100 equivalent) EV +2.5 - +16.2 (W), EV +4.2 - +17.8 (T)
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Shutter
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Mechanical
and charge-coupled electronic shutter
Speed 1-1/1000 sec.
|
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Aperture
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Electronically
controlled preset aperture
Range Two steps (f/2.8 and f/7.9
[W])
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Sensitivity
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Approximately
ISO 100 equivalent with auto gain to ISO200 equivalent
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White
Balance
|
Select
from Auto (matrix auto white balance with TTL control), Fine, Incandescent,
Fluorescent, Cloudy, Speedlight, and Preset
|
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Self-timer
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10 or
3 sec. duration
|
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Built-in
Speedlight
|
Range 0.4-1.7m (1 ft. 4 in.-5 ft. 7
in.) at maximum zoom
0.4-3.0m (1 ft. 4 in.-9 ft. 10 in.) when camera zoomed all the way out
0.2-2.4m (8 in.-7 ft. 10 in.) in macro close-up mode
Flash control Sensor flash system
Flash modes Auto, Flash Cancel (off), Anytime Flash (fill flash), Slow
Sync, Red-Eye Reduction
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Playback
|
Playback
modes Single
frame, thumbnail (nine or four images), movie, zoom (2x), slide show
Image deletion User can delete all or selected frames
File attributes User can set transfer and protect attributes for each
image
|
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Interface
|
USB
1.1 interface
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Video
output
|
User
can choose from NTSC and PAL
|
|
I/O
terminals
|
DC
input
Data output (video/USB)
|
|
Power
requirements
|
One
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL1 (supplied), or six-volt 2CR5 (DL245)
lithium battery (available separately)
EH-21 AC Adapter/Battery Charger (available separately)
|
|
Battery life
|
Approximately
100 minutes (EN-EL1) when using monitor at 20°C (68°F)
|
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Operating
environment
|
Temperature 0-40°C (32-104°F)
Humidity Under 85% (no condensation)
|
|
Dimensions
(W x H x D)
|
Approximately
87 x 66.5 x 44mm (3.4 x 2.6 x 1.7 in.)
|
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Weight
|
Approximately
185g (6.5 oz.) without battery and CompactFlashT card
|
|
COOLPIX
775 supports EPSON's "PRINT Image Matching". "PRINT Image
Matching" is a technology that assists in producing vivid photo-quality
prints from PIM-enabled digital cameras. To obtain this benefit, a digital
camera and printer that are compatible with "PRINT Image Matching"
are required.
|
The CP 775 has a bunch of bells and whistles I've not even
played with but are pretty darn cool! The CP775 is truly designed for the
traveling digital photographer. The 7 Scene Modes are Party/Indoor, Back Light,
Portrait, Night Portrait, Landscape, Beach/Snow and Sunset. If you don't know
how you want to capture these scenes, here's a quick and sure fire way to get
started. All of the controls on the CP775 are such that you can set them
literally with one hand tied behind your back.
| The coverage of the Nikkor lens in the CP775 equals 38-115mm
(35mm). It's easy to zoom by simply depressing the button on the back of
the camera. These same buttons actually run many of the functions of the CP775
which makes it very easy to operate. This thing can even do macro, 1.6 inches
utilizing the BSS function. |
 |
 |
The CP775 has a movie mode producing QVGA-size images in
QuickTime file format at approximate 15fps for up to 15 frames. That's a
favorite of my boys when it comes to having fun! The CP775 also features a
"transfer" button permitting users to automatically upload images from the
CP775 directly to a computer (cables included with camera). You can even use
the Plug-and-play USB interface! |
Between the CP775, the newly released CP5000 and D1H, Nikon
has all of my digital needs neatly wrapped up and covered. Gee.that means I
just have to go out and shoot, darn!
All images for this article are Copyright B. Moose Peterson.
All were taken with the Coolpix 775 except for the product shot.
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