Nikon Coolpix A

The Nikon Coolpix A ($1,099.95 direct) is another in an increasingly popular type of digital camera?a compact body with a prime lens and an D-SLR image sensor. It's one of two with a 28mm-equivalent optic, the other being the Sigma DP1 Merrill. The 16-megapixel shooter is capable of capturing images that look like they came from an SLR, but is small enough to slide into your shirt pocket. It's not perfect; the focus is a bit slow and results in a bit of a lag before taking a photo, and the lens doesn't sharpen up from edge to edge until you stop down to f/5.6. Because of this we aren't awarding it our Editors' Choice award, that remains with the very expensive, full-frame 35mm Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1, but if you prefer a wider field of view, the Coolpix A is worth a look.

Design and Features
The Coolpix A is impressively small when you consider its image sensor is the same size as found in the Nikon D5100. It measures just 2.6 by 4.4 by 1.6 inches (HWD) and weighs a mere 10.6 ounces. It's a bit more pocketable than the Leica X2, which is 2.7 by 4.9 by 2 inches and a little heavier at 11.2 ounces. The body is available in black or silver.

The control layout should satisfy serious shooters, although it could be a bit better. Up top you find the On/Off switch, integrated with the shutter release, as well as the mode dial, a control wheel, and a manual flash release. Rear controls are broken up; some are to the left of the LCD, others to its right. On the left you get buttons for Exposure Compensation and ISO, as well as zoom controls for image review. To the right there's the "i" control button; it switches the Live View feed to a display that gives you ready access to a number of shooting settings, including the focus area, drive mode, metering pattern, and focus mode.

Also to the right of the LCD is a circular control wheel with a center OK button and four directional button presses. The wheel only comes into play as a shooting control in Manual mode, it adjusts aperture there, but is used to navigate through menu settings. Pressing it up, down, left, or right moves the active focus area, displayed as a red box on the rear LCD; hitting the OK button brings the box back to the center of the frame. There are also a few non-shooting control buttons on the rear?Menu, Play, and Delete.

You may forget about it when shooting, but there is a programmable Fn1 button on the front of the camera. You can use it for any number of functions, but I found that setting it to act as an auto exposure lock was the best use. On the left side of the camera, there's a toggle switch to change between manual focus, macro autofocus, and standard autofocus. When set to manual focus mode you can adjust the focus using the ring around the lens; unfortunately this control doesn't double for any other function when the camera is in autofocus mode; it would have been beneficial to have the ability to reprogram it or the rear control wheel as a dedicated exposure compensation adjustment tool.

The 3-inch, 921k-dot rear display is big, bright, and sharp, which is excellent for image framing and review in all kinds of light. There is a $450 optical viewfinder attachment available that slides into the hot shoe, but you can use any shoe-mount optical finder that approximates a 28mm frame with the camera?a good thing when you consider just how expensive Nikon's add-on is. Unfortunately for shooters who prefer to use a finder and trust the Coolpix A's autofocus, there's no way to turn off the rear display completely. You can dim it, but if you're shooting at eye-level in a darker environment, the light from the LCD is still bright enough to induce some eye strain. If you already own a Nikon SLR and lighting equipment, rest assured that the hot shoe provides full compatibility with Speedlight flashes.

We've yet to see a big-sensor compact with built-in GPS or Wi-Fi. The Coolpix A supports the $60 WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter, if you'd like to share photos right after you've taken them. There's also an accessory port so that you can connect an add-on GPS accessory.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/nX0NxhmX278/0,2817,2417545,00.asp

ohio state vs kansas daniel von bargen 8 bit google maps kids choice awards 2012 micah true blood diamond kansas vs ohio state