Nikon Coolpix 5900

Manual Control Options
There are a host of manual control options available on the Nikon Coolpix 5900, including White Balance, Exposure, and Metering. Listed below are descriptions of the manual settings available.

Auto Focus
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 is quite versatile when the auto focus mode is in use. There are three separate types of auto focus: 99-point auto focus, 5-area auto focus, and center auto focus. Users can switch between these within the menu, and should have no trouble recording properly focused pictures. New to the Nikon Coolpix line is a Face Priority Auto Focus setting, available when the camera is set to Portrait mode. According to Nikon, the feature identifies human subjects by detecting their eyes in the composition and makes the subject’s face the default focal priority. This seems like a helpful feature and will likely go over well with the point-and-shoot crowd.

Manual Focus
There is a "manual focus" feature on the Nikon Coolpix 5900, but it behaves more like spot focusing. I didn’t - and don’t - expect much by way of manual focus on these compact digital cameras. If you are looking for real control over manual focus, particularly using a focus ring, you’ll have to upgrade to a small or full-sized digital SLR. Some compact cameras offer digital means in which the user can "manually" alter the focus, but generally these modes are tedious and require more work with less precision than their automatic counterparts.

Metering
There are numerous metering options on the Nikon Coolpix 5900. These include Matrix, Center Weighted, Spot, and Spot AF Area settings. By selecting the metering feature within the menu, users can toggle through the above options.

Each metering mode handles exposure in a different way. Matrix meters the entire frame, while Center Weighted meters and sets exposure relative to the center. Spot metering allows users to select a specific spot within the scene to independently meter, and Spot AF Area works in conjunction with the Focus Area feature. These options cover all the basic necessities and should be a standard for the rest of the digital imaging industry to expand upon.

Exposure
Exposure on the Nikon Coolpix 5900 is controlled by pressing the control dial to the right (towards the -/+ icon). The onscreen exposure readout indicates the amount of light exposed to the CCD. I like how this feature is accessible without having to go into the menu, which makes the adjustment quick and painless.

White Balance
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 includes every possible white balance scenario known to the human race. To access the white balance options, users can press the menu button and then scroll to the white balance feature bar. Auto, Preset (which is the true manual mode), Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Shade, Speed Light, and White Balance Bracketing are available to users. This healthy selection should be useful for a variety of shooting situations and apply to a range of users. Color balancing is critical to quality photography, so be sure to learn how to make this important feature work for you.

ISO
Few point-and-shoot digital cameras offer a wide variety of ISO options, though a relatively expansive sensitivity range is included on the Nikon Coolpix 5900. Automatic, 64, 100, 200, and 400 ratings are available for users to select. The ISO 64 offering should help to ensure that clean, low noise images are recorded given ample lighting.

Shutter Speed
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 has multiple shutter speeds ranging from 4-1/2000^th of a second. This gamut of speeds is ample for the types of shooting scenarios compact digital camera users find themselves in, although users cannot manually adjust the speed of the shutter. For users fixed to a tripod trying to capture a night scene, the automatic 4-second exposure should suffice, though for those instances when motion and time lapse scenes are sought, users will have to upgrade to a higher performing model of camera.

Aperture
The Nikon Coolpix 5900 has an aperture range of f/2.8-f/4.9 (wide angle) and f/4.9-f/8.2 (telephoto). The 5900 does not appear to have manual aperture control available, though the variety of scenarios included with automatic aperture adjustments should be more than enough to compensate. Manual aperture control is not an industry standard, so it’s not a huge loss, although more engaged users may find its exclusion disappointing.