Compact and loaded with features
Written: Jul 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Compact, lightweight, full featured; simple, intuitive controls; excellent image quality and exposure accuracy
Cons: Manual exposure override difficult to use; no depth of field preview; APS film and processing more expensive
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| dwbplee's Full Review: Nikon Pronea S Film Camera |
I have to admit to having major doubts about the fledgling APS film format. Why invest in a whole new camera and accessories, when existing 35mm cameras offer so much "bang for the buck"?
However, after years of using nearly every type of camera out there, nothing seemed to quite meet my needs. Full-featured SLRs can be expensive, bulky, and difficult to use, and I always ended up with a big bag full of accessories to lug around. Point and shoots, while compact and light, lack many useful features and often gave me incorrect exposures, less than crisp images, and misaligned subject framing.
The big nagging question for me was: how do I get the simplicity, compactness, and light weight of a point and shoot, and the power, features, and flexibility of an SLR? Nikon appears to have solved this conundrum with its Pronea S camera, a relatively full-featured, yet very compact, SLR that uses the APS film format.
I finally took the plunge and bought the Nikon Pronea S two months ago. So far, the Pronea is meeting all of my needs and has eliminated most of my APS doubts.
The first thing you will notice is the size and weight: the Pronea is barely larger than a point and shoot. It fits easily and comfortably in small hands, and weighs less than a pound. The main visual distinction from a P&S is the detatchable 30-60 zoom lens (actually equivalent to a 37-75 zoom in 35mm format), which makes the front of the camera a bit bulkier than a P&S. For lugging around, my preference is for a waist bag. The Pronea fits easily into a modest sized bag and is barely noticable, even after several hours of carrying.
Controls are essentially a hybrid of P&S and conventional SLR; all are intuitive and easy to use. You won't have any problems picking this camera up and immediately taking great pictures. What few questions you have can be quickly answered by the well-written and logically organized owners manual. My only minor complaint is that the manual exposure overide button is hidden under a little plastic door on the camera back, making it a bit fussy to use. However, the fact that it even has this feature is quite impressive.
Nikon has blessed the little Pronea with amazing flexibility: set the exposure knob on full auto mode, and it behaves like a top of the line P&S, giving great photos nearly every time. For trickier lighting situations or special effects, choose one of numerous other modes: nightime (actually a slow-sync flash mode), portrait, scenic, macro, aperture priority, shutter priority, or programmable. The large, bright viewfinder gives full exposure information: shutter speed, aperture, and flash mode.
The pop-up flash, while not especially powerful, cycles quickly and is very flexible. Full auto, fill, red eye reduction, and slow sync modes are available. A "bulb" setting, for long, manually-timed exposures, is also available.
The autofocus works quickly and quietly, although it will get tripped up in low light or low contrast situations. However, a built-in focus assistance light will activate in these situations. Unfortunately, this feature only works at distances up to about 15 feet. The other fallback is to use the manual focus mode, which can be easily activated with a switch located next to the lens mount. Manual focus action is light and smooth.
Standard APS features include 3 frame formats that can be selected at any time, and mixed together on the same roll of film ("classic" 4x6, high definition 9x16, and panoramic). Mid-roll rewind and film cartridge change capability, retention of developed negatives inside the cartridge, and imprinting of time, date, and frame information on the print (either front or back imprinting can be chosen) are other standard APS features.
The real proof of the Pronea is its picture quality. In nearly every type of lighting situation I've thrown at it, metering and exposure accuracy are flawless and images are sharp. There is a depth and clarity to these photos that I almost never obtain with a P&S. And because the exposure information is encoded onto the film, the processing equipment is able to optimize each individual print. Other than a few of my own screw-ups, the Pronea has yet to give me a bad picture. That alone justifies the extra price of APS film and processing to me. You will be hard pressed to take a picture that is over exposed, under exposed, inaccurately framed, or out of focus.
I bought the $400 kit, which includes the camera body, a 30-60 zoom, and a 60-180 zoom. So far, results have been impressive, and in spite of the slightly more expensive film and processing, I'd rate this camera as a bargain.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dwbplee
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 1 member
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