Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Nov 03, 2004 - By James Murray
The 3.2-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 3200, announced in January 2004, is popular among photographers new to the digital format. With its 1/2.7-inch CCD, the Coolpix 3200 is aimed at entry level point-and-shoot users who will appreciate the automatic functionality and minimal expertise required. At about $200, the 3200 is at the less expensive end of the Coolpix line, mainly due to its smaller LCD screen (80,000 pixels, 1.6 inches), limited manual control options, and minimal megapixel count. But this Nikon model still competes in the market, what with its compact body, 14.5 megabytes of internal memory, and 12 preset scene modes. This camera shoots in four still image format settings and three formats for video at a frame rate of 15 frames per second with simultaneous audio. The Nikon Coolpix 3200 also has a 3x optical and 4x digital zoom control. It has a continuous shooting mode and is direct-print capable with compatible PictBridge printers.
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Picture Quality/ Size Options (5.0)
With a 3.34-megapixel 1/2.7-inch CCD sensor, the Nikon Coolpix 3200 is equipped to take pictures that can print up to 11 x 17 inches, according to Nikon; however, I wouldn’t recommend printing over 8 x 10. Five picture quality settings are available: High (2048), Normal (2048), Normal (1600), PC screen (1024), and TV screen (640). These correspond to image sizes of 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480.

Picture Effects Mode (7.0)
With the Nikon Coolpix 3200, the following picture effects are available in the shooting mode menu under color options: standard, vivid, black and white, sepia, and cyanotype. This is actually a surprising number, considering similarly priced models produced by other manufacturers, and offers the user some variety in image characteristics and thus increased creativity within the automatic controls.

Control Options Page 8 of 12 Connectivity / Extras
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