Nikon Coolpix S4000

Auto Mode

There is a standard auto exposure mode, and also an auto scene mode that's accessed through the Scene Mode menu (it would really be more practical if the two options were in the same place). Auto scene mode analyzes the shooting situation and attempts to match it with one of several available preset scene modes, where the standard auto mode bases exposure settings on straightforward light readings.

There is also a smile detect option, which wait for the on-screen subject to smile before snapping a shot. It might be useful when photographing a stubborn child, or when racing into frame for a happy self-portrait.

Movie Mode

The S4000 will record in 720p high-def mode, though it sticks with Nikon's favored 24-frame-per-second rate instead of the smoother 30 fps found on most cameras with HD movie capability. As for viewing your cinematic creation on a screen larger than the 3-inch camera display, expect a trip to your computer rather than the TV, since there is no HDMI output to high-def sets.

Drive/Burst Mode

There is a continuous shooting setting, though we'd be hard pressed to call it a 'burst' mode -- working with the late-stage pre-production sample, we're guessing it snapped at about a frame a second, or a hair slower. There is also the aforementioned BSS mode, in which the camera takes up to 10 shots in succession and takes it upon itself to select the best one. Finally, there's a 16-image multiple exposure option, which composites a succession of rapid exposures into a single multi-shot photo: it might better be called 'golf swing mode.'

Playback Mode

The basic playback screen options are rudimentary: you can toggle between a clean screen and a display with basic information about the photo displayed. Pressing the zoom switch to the right magnifies the image up to 10x. Press in the other direction and you get four-, nine-, and twelve-image thumbnail displays. There isn't a calendar view that sorts your images by the day they were taken, which is unfortunate.

Browsing your photos is as simple as swiping your finger across the screen horizontally -- the faster you swipe, the faster your photos whiz by.

You do get a decent assortment of in-camera editing tools, including quick retouch, image rotation, resizing, and the unusual option to distort the photo by making it slimmer, or expanding or contracting the top and bottom edges. You can adjust color in broad strokes, making the photo more vivid, or turning it to black and white, sepia or cyanotype. And you can record an audio annotation of up to 20 seconds.

Preset Scene Modes

Particularly on a camera like this, which doesn't offer much in the way of manual exposure controls, scene modes are a valuable way to tailor the camera's settings to the shooting situation at hand. The S4000 offers a nice array of choices, 16 in all, including the expected portrait, landscape, close-up and high-contrast beach/snow scenes, plus some more esoteric choices like food and text. As for the difference between the separate sunrise and sunset settings, your guess is as good as ours.