Picture Quality / Size Options (6.5)
With 7.1 effective megapixels, the Nikon 7900 has plenty of pixels to print big. The user manual recommends 8 x 10 inches as being the largest print size, but perhaps this is a typo on Nikon’s part. 7 megapixels can definitely produce more. Indeed, Nikon’s website claims the 7900 can print as big as 16 x 20 inches. The Coolpix 7900’s largest image size is 3072 x 2304 pixels, followed by 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480. This model has an image size dedicated to a PC screen (1024 x 768) and an image size dedicated to a television screen (640 x 480), but oddly, it does not have a 3:2-formatted image size for the more common 4 x 6-inch prints. The JPEG files can be saved in three different compression settings: Fine, Normal, and Basic. Fine saves an image file as 1/4 of its original size. The Normal setting reduces a file to 1/8 of the original and Basic saves only 1/16 of the original. The Fine setting is compressed enough; Normal and Basic should be avoided.
Picture Effects Mode (7.75)
The Nikon Coolpix 7900 is one of those models that aims to be both a digital camera and a dedicated post-processor. It has several in-camera effects. There are five color modes to choose from: Standard Color, Vivid Color, Black and White, Sepia, and Cyanotype. The latter three modes have relatively low contrast and don’t look very good. There is an image adjustment option that adjusts contrast, but it is only available in the default Standard Color mode.
There are four contrast options: Auto, Normal, More Contrast, and Less Contrast. This could be good for that outdoor reunion in overcast conditions. Users can also tweak the image sharpening from Auto to High, Normal, Low, or Off. Turning this option completely off is an attractive feature for photographers who get a thrill out of playing with images in Photoshop. The final in-camera editing feature is the Saturation control that has Normal, Enhanced, and Moderate options. All of these provide a variety of in-camera editing options for computer-shy users.
