Nikon Coolpix 7900 First Impressions Review

Viewfinder
Use of the viewfinder is optical on the Coolpix 7900 and is pretty much worthless (in my opinion). The small glass circle (about the size of a pencil eraser) is on the top left portion of the camera body and provides approximate viewing of the capture area.

LCD Screen
The LCD screen measures 2 inches diagonally on the Nikon Coolpix 7900 and is extremely clear. It takes up more than 60 percent of the back of the camera body and during both recording and playback displays well illuminated images. The menu is very visible as well, and despite the occasional T-Spot grease that will occur if you use the optical viewfinder, it’s a good standard LCD. The LCD includes 115k dot Amorphous silicon and has a brightness adjustment in case it’s too bright or dark.

Flash
The flash is built in to the front of the camera body, on the upper right side (if looking at the camera front directly). The built in speed light has a range of 1-14 feet and a width of 1-11 feet. It seems capable enough to handle dire situations where there is no available light, but I would use the flash on a compact camera as a last resort.

Zoom Lens
The Nikon Coolpix 7900 has an optical zoom of 3x and a macro mode capability of 1.6 inches. The zoom range is equivalent to that of a 38mm-114mm lens in 35mm format. At this price point consumers can’t expect to have a huge optical zoom range, and they should avoid the digital zoom at all costs.