Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj review

When does a gimmick become a practical extra?

As with many of the gadgets added to a compact, the built-in projector of the Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj has that initial ‘wow’ factor, as pressing one button spurs the system into life. With the plethora of display choices available, from photo sharing sites, social networking, email and HDTV, not to mention traditional prints and digital frames, having a completely independent option is refreshing. Much like Fujifilm’s 3D W1 (featured on page 68), it’s worth bearing in mind that this is the first generation of the technology, so a few speed bumps will be expected. In saying that, the clarity of the projector is excellent at short distances providing the lights are off and surface is of a neutral colour, and the potential throw distance is around six feet, although expect to lose a little detail. As the closest-specced Nikon compacts are £150 cheaper, the projector will need to be either highly desirable or very practical in order to be worth the cash. The novelty does wear off after a certain amount of time, especially after the battery is depleted by the lack of mains power option, but the projector does remain a truly helpful extra. The rest of the camera, however, fares slightly worse.

There is, unfortunately, an ingrained level of low expectations with the Nikon COOLPIX range. For starters, the build quality is often below par and the images, especially at the budget level, can be rather shocking. Annoyingly the £400 S1000pj suffers from a number of the same problems, with build being the first and most obvious annoyance. The projector requires a focus control of sorts, as the surface can be an undetermined distance away, so a sliding control has been added to the top of the camera. Not only is there a lack of labelling as to what this control is linked to, but it feels completely disconnected from the projector as it has little or no resistance. Instead of being an electronic control the slider physically moves a lens whether the camera is on or off, which can be particularly worrying for anyone with a bag even marginally too small. The On/Off button is tiny and far too recessed, and the zoom switch feels flimsy, which is further confirmed when it’s being used when shooting and takes far too long for the lens to react to any movement. Much like the Power button the rear controls are small and recessed, needing anyone with adult-sized fingers to use fingernails. Thankfully the lens is relatively quick to focus, so there’s little to no delay.

In terms of image quality the form doesn’t get much better, especially once the price is brought into consideration. There were occasions when the S1000pj could produce some relatively impressive photos, and the metering especially was able to combat varied contrast levels without too much drama. Annoyingly the sharpness isn’t balanced enough to provide images that could ever be described as detailed, as the edges especially lose clarity. Sticking to the wide angle does help, but there’s still far too limited an area to take a decent landscape image. Noise was also far too frequent, even in shadowed areas of daylight shots. With the projector side relying on high amounts of detail to be anything near worthwhile, the lack of quality in the images is entirely self-destructive.

Although the projector side actually shows some promise as a helpful extra, it’s begging to be attached to a far better camera. The poor image quality and build wouldn’t pass on a camera £200 cheaper, and may well put a kybosh on future usages of the projector technology.