9. Flash

• COOLPIX P1 Digital...
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  • $269.99

The built-in flash has the standard features, including both slow and "second curtain" synchronization. The only original feature is the possibility of correcting the power of the flash, which will be used mainly to balance the effect of the flash in slow synch mode. The range of the flash is about average - approximately 20" (50 cm) to 13' (4 m). Naturally, there's no external flash connector.

Shooting And Saving

You can use the camera in shot-by-shot mode, while continuous mode gives you a little more than 2 shots per second, which is a good speed for this type of camera. In addition to the usual functions, the P1 has Interval Timer Shooting, which can be used to create some interesting multiple exposure shots, with sequences made up of several photos (the camera will obviously have to be on a tripod!) Video can also be shot in this mode.

Images are recorded in JPEG format for photos (with a choice of three levels of compression) and QuickTime for video. In high-quality JPEG, files are nearly always smaller than 3 MB, which is not bad for 8 Mpixel images. And that's without significant JPEG artifacts! Obviously, you might wish for something other than JPEG format, but it's a logical choice for what is essentially a consumer camera.

Viewing And Using Images

Aside from the standard viewing functions, the P1 offers features for editing photos, including D-Lighting (exposure and contrast correction), cropping, and creating small-size copies. These are very useful tools that can significantly improve your shots when you're in a hurry to make some prints and not near a computer with image processing software. It's especially handy for direct printing, and the P1 has extended possibilities there, with both DPOF and PictBridge compatibility.

The basic display provides essential information about the image.

You can also show technical parameters and a histogram.

The display menu offers many resources, including correcting your photos with D-Lighting.