Nikon Coolpix 4300 Review

The Coolpix 4300 may be small but it is equipped with a 3x Nikkor optical zoom lens with a 38 - 114mm (in 35mm equivalent) focal length coverage. The maximum aperture is F2.8 to 4.9 and it has a dedicated macro mode. Auto focus is handled by a contrast detect TTL system and the focus range is 11.8 in. to infinity in normal wide angle mode (23.6 in. to infinity in telephoto) and from 1.6 in. to infinity in Macro mode.

The UR-E4 adapter will allow the use of the Nikkor TC-E2 (2x) or Tc3ED (3x) tele lens and the WC-E63 or WC-E68(also requires UR-E7) wideangle lenses and the FC-E8 fisheye lens on the Coolpix 4300. Also, the UR-E4 allows mounting of the ES-E28 slide-copying adapter and the Macro Cool-Light SL-1.

The eyelevel optical viewfinder zooms in and out with the lens and shows about 80% of the captured image. The two LEDs indicate the flash and focus/CF card status. There is no diopter adjustment.

The built-in speedlight has a shooting range of approx. 1.2 - 9.8 ft. and can be set for Auto Flash, Red-Eye Reduction (lamp type), Fill Flash, Slow Sync or Disabled.

The power on/off switch is built around the shutter release. The Mode Dial has positions for Auto, Scene, Manual, Movie, Setup and Play.

The TRANSFER button lets the user easily transfer pictures from the camera to the host computer running the NikonView software. The 4-way controller is also used to select images during Play mode and operated the zoom in Record modes. Pressing the "Up" button turns the LCD on and off as well as controlling the data overlay information. The button lets you quickly view the last picture taken, it displays in the upper-left quarter of the screen. Press the Quick Review button a second time to display it full screen.

Below the LCD are the Exposure Compensation, Focus, Flash and MENU buttons. The Exposure Compensation button in combination with the up and down controls of the 4- way Navigation controller allow + or -  2 stops in 1/3 stop increments. The Focus button selects Self Timer, Landscape (infinity with flash off), Macro, Macro + Selftimer. The Flash button cycles through the flash modes. The MENU button enables the onscreen menu system which is navigated by the 4- way controller.

On the left photo, the top port is used to connect the USB 1.1 cable and an optional AC power supply (EH-53) can be plugged into the DC IN bottom port. The Coolpix 4300 is compatible with USB-enabled Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 9.0-9x (only built-in USB ports supported)/ Mac OS X (10.1.2 or later) computers.

The right photo displays the Video Out port which is on the other side of the camera from the other ports. The video signal is selectable for NTSC or PAL.

The Coolpix 4300 is equipped with a CompactFlash Type I card slot and is supplied with an 16MB size Nikon/Lexar Starter Card. Cards are easily removed by pushing the ejector button.

The camera can be powered by the included EN-EL1 lithium rechargeable battery or by one-use 2CR5 type batteries. The EN-EL1 battery can power the camera for up to 90 minutes using the LCD sparingly.

The EN-EL1 battery is charged out of the camera in the included MH-51 rapid charger. The charger can replenish a depleted battery in two hours or less. The AC input for the charger is an auto selecting 100-240 volt type.

An alternative Coolpix 4300 power source is the Maha PowerBank (MH-DPB140LI), a $59 lightweight, external lithium battery with more than twice the amount of power of the Nikon EN-EL1 battery.