AUTO record mode screen display. The Zoom indicator displays briefly whenever the Zoom is operated. The "4M*" icon indicates the image resolution is 2288x1712 at High quality. Flash is set to Auto and will fire when needed and there's 157 pictures remaining at the current image resolution.

In AUTO mode you can change the image quality/size, flash mode, white balance, exposure compensation, and color options; you can enable macro focus and the self timer. AUTO is the point-n-shoot mode; there is no Manual mode.

AUTO record menu options:

Image Quality/Size - 2288x1712 High, 2288x1712 Normal, 1600x1200 Normal, 1024x768 or 640x480

White Balance - Auto, Manual preset, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy or Speedlight

Exposure Compensation - Override the metering by +/-2.0EV in 1/3EV steps

Continuous - Shooting mode: Single frame, Continuous, Multi-Shot 16

BSS - Best Shot Selector

Color Options - Standard, Vivid, Black-and-white, Sepia, Cyanotype

Scene mode options include: Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close Up, Museum, Fireworks, Copy, Back Light and Panorama assist

When shooting in a Scene mode, the LCD viewfinder indicates the selected mode with an icon in the upper left corner (in this example Party), and shooting parameters associated with that mode (in this case Red eye reduction flash).

Assist mode offers guidance for shot composition for Portraits, Landscapes, Sports and Night Portraits. Menu options are provided in each mode for selection of composition type.

The Coolpix 4100 overlays a framing guide on the LCD viewfinder's live image corresponding to your choice of composition type.

When you must shoot without flash in conditions of low available light, the Coolpix 4100 offers several helpful features. The Camera Shake icon (red hand) warns when a slow shutter speed will be used. The 4100 will automatically increase ISO when necessary, warning you with the ISO icon that the resulting images may be noisy. Finally, the 4100's Best Shot Selector (BSS) feature can be enabled, causing the camera to take a sequence of shots when the shutter release is held down; the BSS feature saves only the sharpest image in the sequence.

The Coolpix 4100 Blur Warning alerts the user to photos that may not be sharp, allowing you to save the image, or discard it and reshoot.

Movie mode menu options:

TV Movie - Color 640 x 480 pixels, 15fps

Small Movie - Color 320 x 240 pixels, 15fps

Smaller Movie - Color 160 x 120 pixels, 15fps

Autofocus mode - Single or Continuous AF. The audio track will include clicking noises if Continuous AF is used.