Nikon COOLPIX L840 Review : In Depth

 In depth

The Nikon COOLPIX L840 is a super-zoom with a 38x optical zoom lens and a 16 Megapixel CMOS sensor. Launched in February 2015, it’s an replace to the vastly standard COOLPIX L830 which was launched a 12 months earlier and stays within the COOLPIX line-up for now. The brand new mannequin extends the zoom vary from 34x to 38x with all the further zoom energy on the telephoto finish offering an equal vary of 22.5mm to 855mm.

The 16 Megapixel sensor decision is unchanged and the L840 sticks with the sooner mannequin’s 921okay dot flip-up (and down) LCD display screen – no shock because it’s nonetheless a really superior display for this class of digicam. As earlier than, the L840 is powered by Four AA batteries however the battery life has been prolonged and now you can get a really beneficiant 740 photographs from a set of NiMH cells. The opposite main replace is Wifi; in addition to built-in Wifi the COOLPIX L840 is supplied with an NFC chip, so you can begin up a Wifi session by tapping it together with your NFC-capable smartphone.

An extended lens and built-in wifi actually makes the L840 a extra engaging choice than its predecessor, however is it sufficient to maintain tempo with the competitors? Right here I’ve in contrast the COOLPIX L840 alongside Canon’s SX410 IS and SX530 HS; the SX410 HS is equally priced and the SX530 HS prices a bit of extra. Learn on to search out out if the COOLPIX L840 is the perfect finances bridge super-zoom, or whether or not Canon has extra to give you.

Nikon COOLPIX L840 design and controls

The COOLPIX L840 is a little bit bigger all spherical than the mannequin it replaces, and it weighs slightly bit extra. Issue within the 4 AA batteries and a card and also you’re carrying 538 grams. So if you happen to’re searching for one thing that’s compact and light-weight, the L840 isn’t actually it. It’s a tiny bit smaller then the PowerShot SX530 HS, but it surely weighs almost 100 grams (three and a half ounces) extra.

If it’s a light-weight compact bridge super-zoom you’re in search of, the PowerShot SX410 IS is the one to go for. It’s considerably smaller and lighter than the opposite two fashions, weighing a mere 313 grams.

Minor modifications apart, the COOLPIX L840 seems to be similar to its predecessor. The marginally bigger physique permits for somewhat more room between the controls and the grip which is roofed in a delicate textured materials may be very comfy. The smooth curves of the older mannequin have been re-contoured to a extra boxy define and the entrance and proper facet of the highest panel at the moment are raised barely. There’s a brand new Wifi button on the highest panel and the second zoom rocker on the lens barrel is joined by a brand new Snap-back zoom button which I’ll clarify within the Capturing Expertise part under.

On the rear panel the management format is as typical because it will get. The four-way controller, or multi-selector a Nikon calls it’s used to navigate the menus and for one-touch entry to flash, publicity compensation, macro mode and the self-timer. Flanking it are 4 buttons, two on the prime for capturing mode and playback, with menu and delete buttons beneath.

The display screen stands proud fairly a good distance from the again panel, however it doesn’t get in the way in which in any respect. It’s double hinged so could be flipped up or down – it goes slightly method past 90 levels when flipped up and simply in need of 90 levels when flipped down. The one downside with this association is that you may’t flip the display screen forwards for taking pictures selfies. However that’s a minor criticism and, nevertheless you have a look at it, the COOLPIX L840’s articulated display is much more versatile than the mounted screens of the Canon PowerShot SX410 IS and SX530 HS.

The display itself is a 921ok dot LCD panel which gives a really clear and detailed view. Even when within the docked place the COOLPIX L840’s display appears to be like far more detailed than the 230okay dot mounted display on the PowerShot SX410 IS or the 461okay dot display of the PowerShot SX530 HS. Outside in vibrant daylight, although, the COOLPIX L840’s display screen isn’t any extra seen than both of the PowerShots, besides you could angle it to maintain the solar off – and that’s truly a giant assist.

On the best facet of the COOLPIX L840 there’s a delicate flap that covers the USB / A/V and HDMI ports. There’s additionally a DC in socket right here that you should utilize to energy the L840 from the mains utilizing the non-compulsory EH-67 AC mains adapter. The mixed battery and card compartment is accessed through a big hinged door that covers your complete proper facet of the digicam under the hand grip. As earlier than, the COOLPIX L840 takes 4 AA batteries, a set of Alkaline batteries is included within the field they usually’ll present sufficient energy for 590 photographs – an enormous improve on the 390 pictures you get from the L830. However exchange them with NiMH batteries and that determine goes as much as 740 pictures and with dearer Lithium AA batteries the COOLPIX L840 manages a very spectacular 1240 photographs.

The disadvantage with AAs is that there’s extra price – to not point out weight – concerned. In case you don’t have already got a set of 4 batteries and a charger you’ll want to purchase them. However in addition to the lengthy battery life, AA’s have the benefit that they’re simple to interchange and spares are comparatively low-cost in comparison with a proprietary Li-Ion battery.

The COOLPIX L840’s built-in pop-up flash is activated by urgent a button on the left of the physique slightly below the flash housing. It has 4 modes, Auto, Auto with red-eye discount, Fill flash and gradual sync. The Flash has a quoted vary of 6.5 meters, that’s a discount from 9 meters on the sooner mannequin. I don’t assume the flash has modified, it’s extra probably Nikon is now quoting the vary at 1600 ISO the place it was 3200 ISO beforehand. That places it roughly on a par with the facility of the PowerShot SX530 HS and PowerShot SX410 IS. It gives sufficient gentle for fill-in and to light up moderately shut topics, however in contrast to the PowerShots, the COOLPIX L840 doesn’t assist a extra highly effective flash accent.

Nikon COOLPIX L840 lens and stabilisation

The COOLPIX L840’s lens has been up to date and now boasts a 38x vary with an equal focal size of 22.5 to 855mm. It’s at all times good to see new fashions with an elevated zoom vary, the query is has Nikon elevated it sufficient? The extra 4x is all on the telephoto finish of the vary so the 22.5mm huge angle stays as earlier than and the utmost telephoto focal size will increase from 765mm to 855mm equal.

The COOLPIX L840 has been leapfrogged by Canon’s PowerShot SX410 IS. Nikon has added 4x additional zoom, however Canon has managed a 10x enhance with the SX410 IS. So the place Nikon gained the sooner contest with 34x vs 30x on the L830 and SX400 IS, now the tables are turned with 38x vs 40x.

However there isn’t as huge a distinction between the 855mm most zoom on the COOLPIX L840 and the 960mm on the PowerShot SX410 IS as you would possibly suppose. The desk beneath exhibits simply how a lot nearer that further 105mm on the SX410 IS will get you. To see the same comparability between the COOLPIX L840 and the 1200mm most zoom on 50x PowerShot SX530 HS see my Canon PowerShot SX530 HS evaluation.

Apart from the focal size, the opposite factor to think about is the utmost aperture. Taking pictures with a bigger aperture permits you to use a quicker shutter velocity to freeze topic motion or in low gentle to keep away from digital camera shake or permits you to select a decrease ISO sensitivity setting to keep away from extreme noise. On the face of it the COOLPIX L840, PowerShot SX410 IS and PowerShot SX530 HS have related specs with f3-6.5, f3.5-6.three and f3.Four-6.5 respectively.

The COOLPIX L840 is a bit of brighter on the vast angle finish of the vary, however the factor to remember is that with auto publicity you may’t assure the digital camera will choose the widest obtainable aperture at any given focal size. With PASM publicity modes the PowerShot SX530 HS is the one mannequin that can enable you do try this utilizing Aperture precedence mode.

One different factor to notice is that when zoomed in to 855mm (the utmost on the L840) the SX530 HS can use f5.6 – practically half a cease brighter than both the L840 or the SX410 IS. It’s not till it will get near its 1200mm equal most zoom that it stops all the way down to f6.5.

The COOLPIX L840 has optical picture stabilisation which Nikon calls Vibration Discount or VR. This strikes the lens parts to compensate for digicam motion and scale back the probabilities of blurred pictures attributable to digital camera shake at sluggish shutter speeds.

Nikon has dropped the Hybrid VR mode which on the sooner L830 mixed optical stabilisation with in-camera publish processing to digitally take away any blurring that remained. Movement detection, which routinely raised the ISO sensitivity to allow collection of a sooner shutter pace when both topic motion was detected or there was a threat of digital camera shake can also be absent on the brand new mannequin.

To check the COOLPIX L830’s stabilisation I set it to Auto publicity mode, zoomed the lens to its most telephoto setting and took a collection of photographs in deteriorating gentle at progressively slower shutter speeds, first with Vibration discount set to off after which with it on. As you possibly can see from the crops above, the COOLPIX L840 can produce blur-free photographs right down to 1/50th on the most zoom vary, 4 stops slower than the photographer’s ‘one over the focal size’ dictum suggests is secure.

Nikon COOLPIX L840 film modes

The COOLPIX L840 provides a complete array of film modes together with a very best quality 1080 / 25p / 30p HD mode. You may selected from 25 or 30fps body charges within the the film menu. Subsequent on the film mode menu is 1080 / 50i / 60i, adopted by 720 / 25p / 30p and 480 / 25p / 30p. If you happen to’re a fan of Apple’s edit-friendly iFrame mode you’ll be disenchanted to see it dropped, however I anticipate you’ll be one in every of a small minority.

The COOLPIX L840 additionally has a few HS choices for playback at speeds aside from actual time. HS 480/4x shoots 640×480 video at 4x regular pace (100 or 120fps relying on the body price chosen) which performs again at quarter velocity. HS 1080/zero.5x data full HD video at half the conventional body fee for double-speed playback. However the earlier mannequin’s HS720/2x possibility, which information 1280×720 at double the conventional body fee for half velocity playback, has been dropped.

This seems like an throughout the board determination from Nikon which has carried out the identical factor on its S9900 compact super-zoom and I feel it’s a mistake. Gradual movement HD video is a well-liked characteristic and to for Nikon to drop it whereas retaining the double velocity possibility is, frankly, a bit baffling. About the one saving grace is that there’s a low decision slomo mode. I must also level out that neither the PowerShot SX530 HS nor the SX410 IS has any form of sluggish movement video characteristic.

Recording time is restricted to fifteen seconds for the HS480/4x mode and two minutes for the HS 1080/zero.5x. For normal velocity films the utmost recording time for a single film clip is 35 minutes, even when there’s adequate area on the cardboard for extra, and Nikon recommends utilizing a pace class 6 or quicker card for Full HD recording.

Just like the PowerShot SX410 IS, the COOLPIX L840 is restricted when it comes to publicity management for motion pictures, in different phrases, there isn’t any, aside from publicity compensation. You should use the zoom whereas recording and fortunately, in contrast to on the sooner COOLPIX L830, when you disable the digital zoom within the arrange menu it disables it for each film recording and pictures.

At this level you may be considering that the COOLPIX L840’s film options are okay, however mainly the identical as these on the sooner L830 minus a few gradual movement modes. That may be true have been it not for the introduction of the Quick film present characteristic. This works in a really comparable solution to the Hybrid film mode (previously Film Digest) discovered on Canon compacts and information a set variety of clips of a few seconds of 1080 / 25p / 30p footage that are then assembled in-camera into an extended film.

You’ll be able to select between 15 2-second, three 10-second, or 5 6-second clips that are then assembled right into a 30-second film. You possibly can shoot 16:9 12 Megapixel Regular high quality nonetheless images when the mode dial is within the Brief Film Present mode place, or depart to shoot full decision photographs earlier than returning to choose up the place you left off. It’s a neat characteristic although not fairly as user-friendly as Canon’s which shoots a brief clip each time you’re taking a photograph.

Nikon COOLPIX L840 taking pictures expertise

The COOLPIX L840 is fast to start out up; you may hearth off a shot a bit over a second after urgent the on/off button. That’s a giant enchancment on the comparatively laggardly L830. You’ll be able to set an interval after which the L840 enters standby mode to preserve the battery; ordinarily you’d wish to maintain this pretty conservative – 30 seconds or a minute, however the L840’s battery life is so good you can confidently set this to an extended interval, say 5 minutes, with out having to fret about prematurely draining the batteries. Meaning much less probability of lacking a shot ready for it to get up.

The COOLPIX L840 gives a selection of 5 AF space modes, greater than is common for a digicam on this class, although there’s no handbook focus possibility as on the PowerShot SX530 HS. Face precedence works nicely when individuals are inside just a few metres of the digicam in good mild. If there are not any faces within the body it defaults to the nine-area AF system which it makes use of to concentrate on the topic closest to the digital camera. Alternatively you’ll be able to manually choose the main target space from certainly one of 99 positions utilizing the multi-selector to maneuver the body round a 9×11 grid, or set a central focus level. Guide positioning of the AF space is just not one thing you’ll discover on both of the Canon fashions and, whereas it’s not one thing you would possibly make frequent use of, there are events, like when capturing with the digital camera on a tripod or for macro photographs, when it may be very helpful.

The COOLPIX L840 additionally consists of goal discovering AF. This identifies topics (objects in addition to folks) within the body when the digital camera is pointed at a scene. Potential topics are recognized and tracked with inexperienced rectangles. Should you’re taking pictures folks, face recognition might be a more sensible choice of AF modes, however goal discovering does appear to have an uncanny knack for selecting the primary topic in a scene which for some conditions is an actual enchancment on the nine-area AF mode.

Lastly, there’s a topic monitoring mode which lets you establish a topic with an AF level which then follows it round. this works nicely, supplied your topic is effectively separated from the background, you’re not zoomed in a great distance and the topic isn’t transferring rapidly or erratically. If you’re absolutely zoomed in, the COOLPIX L840 will be gradual to focus, it will possibly spend greater than a second adjusting the main focus by the complete vary and typically you might want to make a number of makes an attempt.

Although the 855mm most focal size isn’t particularly lengthy by super-zoom requirements, it’s nonetheless lengthy sufficient to make protecting your topic within the body fairly difficult. So the ‘Snap-back zoom’ button newly appeared on the COOLPIX L840’s lens barrel is a welcome introduction. This works in an identical technique to the Framing Help Search button on the PowerShot SX530 HS, quickly zooming out so you possibly can re-acquire your topic, earlier than zooming again in if you launch the button. That’s so far as it goes with Snap-back Zoom on the COOLPIX L840, it lacks the depth and class of Framing Help on the SX530 HS, nevertheless it’s a helpful characteristic to have nonetheless.

The COOLPIX L840 has two full decision steady taking pictures modes at 7.4fps and 2fps. The sooner of the 2 shoots a 7-frame burst, focus and publicity are mounted on the primary body for all steady capturing modes. There are two sooner settings that shoot 1280×960 photographs at 60fps and 640×480 at 120fps.

Gone are the Greatest Shot Selector and Multi-shot 16 modes of the sooner COOLPIX L830, changed with the arguably extra helpful pre-shooting cache characteristic. This begins recording when the shutter is half pressed; whenever you totally press the shutter the COOLPIX L840 captures a burst of as much as 25 1600×1200 frames at 15fps together with as much as Four cached frames from earlier than the shutter was totally depressed. It provides you a greater likelihood of capturing sequence as a result of you may wait a fraction longer earlier than committing to a burst with out risking dropping essential early frames.

I examined Steady H taking pictures on the COOLPIX L840 utilizing a velocity class 10 card and with the digital camera set to the highest quality nice JPEG mode and it truly managed 9fps – a good bit faster than the 7.4fps quoted. Although it’s a brief burst that captures underneath a second of motion, the COOLPIX L840 does a minimum of present a wealth of sooner decrease ressolution choices for capturing longer sequences. All of which suggests you’ve got a greater likelihood of capturing motion sequences than you do with the Canon PowerShot SX410 IS with its zero.5fps mode that hardly qualifies for the outline ‘steady’.

The COOLPIX L840 has built-in Wifi and a brand new NFC chip means you could faucet it with a suitably geared up smartphone to start out a connection; in case your telephone has NFC you simply faucet it on the aspect of the digital camera (iPhones at the moment excepted). Should you don’t have NFC all you might want to do is allow Wifi from the menu then choose the COOLPIX L840’s SSID in your cellphone. Earlier than you try this, it’s advisable to arrange safety choices on the digicam, in any other case you’ve acquired an open Wifi connection that anybody can faucet into.

You then have the choice of distant capturing utilizing Nikon’s Wi-fi Cell Utility app in addition to downloading photos from the cardboard within the digital camera. Whatever the mode dial place the digital camera shoots in Auto mode and there’s no publicity management out there, not even publicity compensation. You’ll be able to zoom the lens in pretty stacato steps and there’s a noticeable lag between tapping the management in your cellphone and the digital camera responding.

The largest disadvantage, although, is that you could’t faucet your telephone display screen to set the AF space and focus utilizing the app. The COOLPIX L840 units the main target when you’ve pressed the distant shutter launch button. This typically makes it tough to see what’s within the body and there’s no assure that the digital camera will concentrate on what you anticipate when you press the shutter. So sure, it’s distant capturing however, as with the PowerShot SX530 HS, that is about as primary because it will get.

Downloading photographs from the digicam’s card to the telephone is easy, You possibly can view the photographs in a grid, get a full display screen have a look at a low decision preview and choose it for obtain. Nonetheless, you may not obtain pictures at their authentic dimension – solely VGA or what Nikon Calls ‘Really useful dimension’ which in my case turned out to be 1440×1080. It’s faster to obtain smaller information to your telephone and more often than not that’s what you’ll wish to do, however it was good to have the choice to for authentic sized downloads and it’ a disgrace Nikon has determined to take away this characteristic..

Although it lacks the sort of publicity management supplied by the PowerShot SX530 HS with it’s PASM modes, the COOLPIX L840 makes up for it with a wide variety of characteristic capturing modes. Press the scene mode button on the rear panel and a menu presents 5 alternate options to Auto mode. The primary one, Scene auto selector is admittedly only a extra refined auto mode which makes use of scene detection to pick out an acceptable scene mode.

If you wish to get a bit extra arms on the subsequent choice down will will let you choose the scene mode your self, with a selection of 18 at your fingertips together with the standard topics, like Portrait, Panorama, Sports activities, Seaside and Sundown. There are additionally a few much less acquainted choices.

Backlighting has two modes, the primary of which makes use of fill-in flash to light up backlit topics. The second is an HDR mode which takes a quick burst of pictures and combines them within the digital camera to provide a consequence with higher spotlight and shadow element than can be potential with a single publicity. Neither of the Canon PowerShots affords an HDR mode and this can be a function that can make an enormous distinction to the standard of the outcomes you’re in a position to receive with the L840 in demanding lighting conditions.

Backlighting HDR isn’t the one taking pictures mode the COOLPIX L840 can supply that the PowerShot SX410 IS and SX530 HS don’t. The subsequent choice down on the taking pictures mode menu is Simple panorama. There are two panorama modes for capturing 180 and 360 views. You press the shutter as soon as and pan the digicam as easily a you’ll be able to. You possibly can pan with the digicam in portrait or panorama orientation – the COOLPIX L840 works out which, you don’t want to inform it beforehand. Portrait mode produces the biggest photographs that are 1536 x 4800 pixels for 180 panoramas and the 360 ones measure 1536 x 9600.

Then there’s Moon and Hen-watching modes. Moon gives a choice of tint choices which you’ll be able to choose on display. Extra usefully, a small sq. in the course of the body signifies the world framed when totally zoomed in, so with the digicam on a tripod you may body the moon within the small sq. then press OK to routinely zoom the lens all the way in which in, theoretically at the very least. In apply, as anybody who has tried to shoot the moon wil know, framing is a difficult enterprise. That stated, the brand new Moon scene mode could also be sufficient to encourage first timers to have a crack at lunar pictures.

Birdwatching mode provides single shot and steady modes, the later capturing a 7 body burst in a second. Like Moon mode, it supplies a body information and zooms in routinely, this time to 800mm. The arbitrary restrict on the focal size is a little bit of an imposition although and I reckon most hen photographers might be happier simply to make use of program auto mode and set the set the drive mode to one of many steady choices.

 

 

The effects position provides a good range of filters including soft focus, sepia, cross process and selective colour, some of which you can see above. And finally there’s Smart portrait mode which you could easily overlook, but which provides a bundle of effects, filters and features aimed at helping you get the best from your portrait shots. These include skin softening and tinting, soft focus effect, self timers including smile activation and self-collage, which takes a sequence of shots and mounts them together photo-booth style.

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