In keeping with the tradition of the Coolpix line, the Coolpix 2100's exposure control is very straightforward. Operating mainly under automatic control, the Coolpix 2100's user interface is easy to learn. Most of the exposure options are controlled through the multi-page LCD menu system, although a handful of external controls access basic features. A Mode dial on top of the camera controls the operating mode, with four preset "Framing Assist" modes, a Scene mode for specific shooting situations, Auto and Manual settings, and Movie and Setup modes. In this case, Auto and Manual exposure modes refer to the number of exposure options available, since aperture and shutter speed remain under camera control at all times. The Framing Assist modes include Portrait, Landscape, Sports, and Night Portrait, each offering a range of framing scenarios. For example, under Portrait mode, you can set up the framing for a single centered subject, a single subject off to the right or left, a close-up portrait, two subjects positioned side-by-side, and a figure shot with the camera held in portrait rather than landscape orientation. Once a specific setup is chosen, bold yellow subject outlines appear in the LCD monitor to help you line up the shot for the best focus and exposure. (See the animated screenshot at right, showing the framing options for portrait mode.) Sports mode offers enhanced options for capturing fast-paced action, such as a rapid fire mode that captures 16 tiny images in two seconds, combining them into a single full-sized frame. The Scene position of the Mode dial provides access to 10 preset "scenes," which optimize the camera for what would normally be more difficult shooting situations. Available Scenes are Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close-Up, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, and Back Light. Each scene mode sets multiple camera options to configure it for the specific type of subject and shooting condition chosen. These tools make the Coolpix 2100 very flexible in a variety of conditions, providing almost worry-free operation.
Depending on the exposure mode, the Coolpix 2100 offers a wide range of exposure options. The Auto and Manual designations on the Mode dial refer to the amount of exposure control available to the user, although no mode allows the user to control the aperture or shutter speed directly. Though not reported on the LCD display, the Coolpix 2100's shutter speeds range from 1/3,000 to four seconds. The Exposure Compensation adjustment optionally increases or decreases overall exposure from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third-step increments. A White Balance adjustment offers five preset modes, an Auto setting, and a Custom setting for manually determining the color balance. The Coolpix 2100 uses a 256-Segment Matrix metering system to determine exposure, evaluating the contrast and brightness across the frame to determine the best exposure. In any of the Framing Assist modes, the emphasis of the exposure reading is placed on the AF area. ISO light sensitivity is rated at 50 during normal shooting (although my test unit never recorded an ISO setting in its file headers of less than 100 in all my shots), but the Coolpix 2100 automatically raises it as high as 800 when conditions require it. (Note though, that the camera doesn't report its chosen ISO value to the user while shooting.) You can also adjust the overall sharpness of an image, and access Nikon's Best Shot Selector mode, which automatically chooses the least blurry image in a series shot while the shutter remains pressed. (The Best Shot Selector feature is one of my all-time favorite digicam features, as it makes it possible to hand hold even very long exposures.) The Coolpix 2100's built-in flash is effective to approximately 9.8 feet (3.0 meters), and operates in Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Anytime (Fill) Flash, and Flash Cancel modes. In some Assist and Scene modes, the flash mode is automatically set for you. Portrait Assist, for example, defaults to Red-Eye Reduction mode but can be overridden, while in Night Portrait Assist the default Red-Eye Reduction can not be overridden. Night Portrait Assist and the Scene modes Night Landscape and Dusk/Dawn also enable an automatic Noise Reduction feature when long shutter times are being used, to eliminate excess image noise resulting from the higher ISO sensitivity and longer exposure.
Other camera features include a Self-Timer mode, which provides a 10-second delay between the time the Shutter button is pressed and the image is actually captured. A Continuous Shooting mode captures a rapid series of images while the Shutter button is held down, with the actual number of images dependent on the size and quality settings, as well as the amount of memory card space. (The sequence length varies from seven images at the 2100's highest resolution and image quality setting, to approximately 53 images at the smallest image size and lowest quality.) There's also a Multi-Shot 16 mode, which captures 16 thumbnail images in sequence, arranged in rows of four within a full-sized image. A second Multi-Shot mode captures a series of images at 15 frames per second, for a maximum of seven seconds while the Shutter button is held down. From this series, the camera selects 16 frames at regular intervals and arranges them in four rows of a single 1,600x1,200-pixel image. The Coolpix 2100's Movie mode offers four options: Small movie (320x240 pixels), Movie clip (interlaced 640x480-pixel frames suitable for television), B/W clip at the small size, and Sepia clip at the small size and five frames per second rather than the 15 frames per second the other modes capture. The actual length of recording time depends on the amount of available CompactFlash card space, and appears in the LCD monitor.
The Coolpix 2100 stores images on CompactFlash (type I) memory cards, and comes with a 16MB Lexar "starter" card. Given the camera's 1,600 x 1,200-pixel maximum resolution size, I'd recommend picking up a larger memory card so you don't miss any important shots. - Cards are cheap enough these days that you should plan on getting at least a 64 MB card. Images are saved in JPEG format, with three compression levels available. A CD-ROM loaded with Nikon View software accompanies the camera, compatible with both Windows and Macintosh platforms (including Windows XP and Mac OS X). Nikon View provides minor image editing and organization tools, for enhancing images. The camera comes with a set of two single-use AA alkaline batteries, but can also use rechargeable NiMH AA cells, one CRV3 lithium battery pack or two LR6 AA nickel manganese batteries. As always, I highly recommend picking up a couple of sets of high-capacity rechargeable batteries, and keeping a spare set freshly charged at all times. Click here to read my "battery shootout" page to see which batteries currently on the market are best, or here for my review of the Maha C-204F charger, my longtime favorite. The optional AC adapter is handy for time-consuming tasks such downloading images to a computer, but good-quality rechargeable batteries largely eliminate the need for it. Also included with the Coolpix 2100 is a video cable for connecting to a television set for slide shows, and a USB cable for downloading images to a computer.
Basic Features2.0-megapixel CCD delivering image resolutions as high as 1,600 x 1,200 pixels.
Special Features
QuickTime movies (without sound).
Continuous Shooting, Multi-Shot 16, and Multi-Shot 16-2 modes.
Ten preset Scene modes, plus four Framing Assist modes.
Self-timer for delayed shutter release.
Macro (close-up) lens adjustment.
White balance (color) adjustment with seven modes, including a manual setting.
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatibility.
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