Nikon Coolpix 8400 Review

Click on the Coolpix 8400 to take a QuickTime VR tour

The Nikon Coolpix 8400 features the widest-angle of coverage of any digital camera available today, offering photo purists and creative photographers the answer to their search for true wide-angle photography from a compact digital camera. The Coolpix 8400 provides users with 8.0 effective megapixel performance and a versatile ultra-wide 24-85mm (35mm equivalent) zoom Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass lens. An optional wide-angle converter takes the camera even wider to an unmatched 18mm of coverage.

The Coolpix 8400 employs an ultra-fast Auto Focus (AF) system and 15 Scene Modes, including Panorama Assist to take advantage of the camera's wide angle of coverage. Macro shooting capabilities let you get as close as 1.2 inches to fill the screen with small objects. Continuous shooting enables 5 images to be taken at 2.3 fps at full 8-megapixel resolution and Multi-Shot allows 16 consecutive shots to be taken in quick succession. The"last 5-shot buffer" that allows users to hold down the shutter release and let go when the action stops ensuring they get the sequence they are looking for. In addition, the Coolpix 8400 also captures 640 x 480 VGA resolution motion video at 30fps with audio. Smaller 320 x 240 resolution movies can be recorded at 15fps. The length of the movies is only limited by available memory.

The Coolpix 8400 satisfies the needs of the novice as well as experienced photographers with a full range of exposure modes. The AUTO mode makes the camera function like a simple Point-n-Shoot so anybody can take great pictures right away. When you want more control just turn the mode dial and choose from Program AE, Shutter or Aperture priority, Manual or one of 15 pre-programmed Scene modes. Nikon's 256-segment matrix metering insures properly exposed images with selectable Center-Weighted, Spot and Spot AF metering options. Adjustable ISO sensitivity from 50 to 400, white balance options, automatic or manually selected focus points, 7 mode flash and a hot shoe for Nikon speedlights.

The Coolpix 8400's enhanced, fully-articulating 1.8-inch color LCD allows the photographer to shoot at virtually any angle in order to get the best shot. The LCD is also optimized for easy viewing in bright sunlight.

The Coolpix 8400 boasts Nikon's proprietary In-Camera Red-Eye Fix™, which automatically detects and corrects red eyes in most typical situations without the need to press buttons or select and highlight the eyes. It also offers Nikon's exclusive D-Lighting, which when selected in Playback mode automatically compensates for insufficient flash or excessive back lighting in order to obtain a balanced exposure throughout the frame.

The Coolpix 8400 (and Coolpix 8800) are the first Coolpix cameras with full i-TTL flash capability (when used with Nikon's SB-600 and SB-800 Speedlights) and give the user complete control over the flash's zoom head. Additionally, combining a number of high-end Nikon technologies, a feature called Auto Color Enhancement accurately records, assesses and fine-tunes the colors within images to achieve more vivid results. And the Coolpix 8400 supports the newly adopted JPEG EXTRA file format, which offers higher image quality with less compression (compression rate: 1/2) in addition to its Basic, Normal, Fine, TIFF and NEF/RAW settings.

Coolpix 8400 Features:

• 8-Megapixel CCD for images up to 3264 x 2448 pixels
• Nikkor 3.5x zoom (24-85mm in 35mm equivalent) with ED glass
• Macro focus with AF as close as 1.2-inch
• Fully articulating 270°, 1.8" color LCD monitor
• Record images in RAW, TIFF-RGB (uncompressed) or JPEG
• Quick Review feature for instant playback
• Programmed AE, Shutter-Priority, Aperture-Priority, Manual and 15 Scene Modes
• Drive modes: Single, Continuous H, Continuous L, Ultra High Speed Continuous, 16-Shot Multi, 5 shot buffer (captures last 5 frames)
• Capture 5 full-size frames at 2.3fps w/64MB buffer
• Five Movie capture modes
• Coolpix-exclusive Best Shot Selector exposure mode
• Shutter speeds from 1/3000 sec. to 8 secs (Bulb to 10 minutes!)
• Five-area multifocus system, user-selectable and Spot-AF
• 256-segment Matrix Metering, Center-weighted or Spot
• Noise Reduction for long exposures
• ISO sensitivity of Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
• AE Bracketing with white balance and exposure value
• Built-in 7 mode flash with slow sync, rear curtain and repeating flash
• Hot shoe for external Nikon Speedlights
• USB 2.0 port for image download
• CompactFlash Type II card slot (Microdrive compatible)
• EN-EL7 rechargeable battery and charger included

The Nikon Coolpix 8400 comes with all the equipment you need to get started, which includes PictureProject image management software, USB cable, video cable, neck strap, EN-EL7 rechargeable battery and quick charger, infrared remote controller, and a Nikon Starter CF card. The Coolpix 8400 will be available nationwide in September 2004 at an MSRP of $899.95.

Click here to download the Coolpix 8400 brochure/specs (Adobe pdf).

Physical Views

The Coolpix 8400 compared in size to a standard CD.

The wide-zoom Coolpix 8400 and the Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom

Coolpix 8400 Specifications