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August 21, 2010

Nikon unveils new Coolpix with built-in projector

Nikon has updated its Coolpix projector camera with increased brightness, more megapixels ...

So you need to show off your latest holiday snaps or home movie to your friends and family, and don't have a digital photo frame, tablet computer or laptop anywhere nearby. What you need is a camera that can throw images onto a nearby wall. Happily, Nikon has announced that it has upgraded its projector-wielding Coolpix compact. There are more megapixels, high definition movie capabilities and an even brighter projector, as well as a body redesign and new color options.
Last year Nikon introduced the world's first compact camera to feature a built-in projector, the S1000pj. As well as the front-facing projector, it also packed a 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor, a 5x optical zoom lens, a 2.7 inch LCD display and SD/SDHC support. Now Nikon has revealed its successor, the appropriately named Coolpix S1100pj.
It's obvious just by looking at the new camera that things have changed quite a lot. It now sports a curvy new design and comes in a couple of extra color choices – as well as black and silver, users are also offered violet and green. The technology has been given a spruce-up too, the S1100pj now benefiting from a projector unit that is 40 percent brighter than its predecessor, at 14 lumens. Projected images benefit from a full 16 million color palette and can range from 5 to 47 inches (13 to 120cm) diagonally across from a throw distance of 10 inches to over 7 feet away (26 to 240cm). There's a 30:1 contrast ratio and a built-in touch interface.
The camera's CCD sensor is now 14.1 megapixels but the lens remains the same 5x optical NIKKOR wide-angle zoom as before. Image stabilization is a combined lens shift and electronic effort in still image mode, with lens-shift making a solo performance in movie mode. The camera now records up to 720p high definition and the touchscreen LCD display is now 3 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 460,000 dots. The ISO sensitivity remains the same as the S1000pj at ISO80 to ISO6400, but memory card support has been extended to include SDXC.
There's a host of user creativity features on offer, such as a Paint function that allows snappers to draw or write on projected images in real-time, plus a raft of new Retouch functions like miniature or fish-eye effects are also included. There are 17 scene modes, subject-tracking auto focus, and Nikon's Smart Portrait System, which is said to automatically fix red-eye, capture smiles when they happen and focus on up to a dozen faces at once.
The Coolpix S1100pj will carry a manufacturer's suggested retail of US$349.95 when it's released next month.

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