Hands on: Nikon Coolpix S1000pj—the first projection camera

Nikon Coolpix S1000pj digital camera.
(Click to enlarge.) [ Photo: Courtesy of Nikon ]

The 12-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S1000pj is the first camera that lets you beam images or video clips onto any surface. Like any pioneering product, it's pricey at $430, twice the price of most subcompact cameras. Here's what we found in our preliminary tests:

• Decent by dim projections. Projected images, of VGA quality (640 x 480), are acceptable in quality but less crisp than the same images viewed on a computer, HDTV, digital photo frame or camera LCD. When we projected the Nikon's LED (rated at just 10 lumens) at a distance of 6¾ feet from a white surface, the farthest Nikon recommends, the 40-inch (diagonal) images were bright enough to view only if the room was dark. With the lighting merely dimmed, we had to reduce the projection distance to create an image of no more than about 20 inches, barely enough for five people to comfortably view.


• Passable sound and battery life. Sound volume for videos is a bit low. For louder sound, you must connect your own external speaker via the camera's AV out jack. And a fully charged battery will be spent after about one hour in projector mode; we recommend spending $25 on an extra battery. (You can also buy an AC adapter for $20.)

• OK controls and features. The controls were easy to use. One button turns on the projector, which beams out from the front of the camera. A manual slider control focuses the image. There's a handy remote for scrolling through images that would be handier if it were illuminated. You can run a slide show with accompanying music, but you can't load in your own music and you only have a choice of a few different music modes, all of which have a techno quality to them.


• Sub par stand. The stand in which the camera sits for projections is tilted, distorting the beamed image (which Nikon makes reference to in the manual). It's also too small and makes it easy for the camera to fall off the stand, which may damage it. Use a tripod to secure the camera instead. Or, lay the camera flat on a table.


• Solid camera performance. Image quality and next-shot delay were very good; low-light performance without a flash was adequate. There's a 5x optical zoom lens, which also has wide-angle capability. The one drawback was that it has only fair first-shot delay, which means the camera may lag when shooting action.

Bottom line. If you don't value the projector, this Nikon's not for you; other subcompacts take pictures just as well for roughly $100 less. But the projection feature is a fun extra that might seal the deal for some families. If you can deal with some shortcomings, this camera stands out in its ability to share your photos with family and friends in a unique way, whether you're at a party, in a car, or on vacation.  —Terry Sullivan

Comments

[Itbugsme]

That is certainly not the first camera that can also project images. In the 1950's Wittnauer offered two cine cameras that also projected films. They were sold in high end jewelery stores, however due to the price they last long.