Nikon Coolpix 885

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By Reuben Lee
Oct 11, 2001

With most compact digital cameras, you either have to sacrifice on features or do with less ergonomic designs to accommodate the smaller form factor. Nikon has, however, made an exception to this with the latest addition to its CoolPix 800 family of digicams, the 885.

A More Compact Design
Measuring only 95 x 69 x 52mm and weighing just 285g (inclusive of battery and memory card), the 3.24-megapixel CoolPix 885 is smaller and a little more rounded than the earlier CoolPix 880 model. The CoolPix 885's plastic mould exterior is painted in matt silver which makes it rather pleasant-looking.

The most prominent feature you can see on the CoolPix 885 is probably the large hand grip, which houses the rechargeable battery pack and CompactFlash card. Although it makes the camera look a little chunky, it is designed with the correct dimensions in mind and provides a comfortable grip that most photographers seek in a camera. Nikon has also ensured the buttons are placed to fall naturally under the thumb and index finger when the camera is in use.

Simple To Operate
Like most digicams nowadays, the CoolPix 885, which comes with a 3x optical zoom (and 4x digital zoom), connects to the PC for image transfer through a USB cable. So setting up the camera is pretty straightforward, with the instructions clearly printed on the operating manual, and the required drivers and software found on the supplied CD-ROM. In fact, if you are using Windows Me or Windows 2000, you do not even need to install any drivers at all because it is instantly recognized as a USB storage drive.

Using the camera isn�t too difficult, either. While there are not too many buttons to fiddle around with in the first place, those that are on the back of the camera are clearly labeled. Besides the standard ones for adjusting flash, macro and zoom, the CoolPix 885 also comes with a quick preview button (like the one in the CoolPix 995) for instant review of the last image taken. A transfer button located to the right of the optical viewfinder lets you initiate transfer of selected images through the Nikon View utility software. All controls and menus are reflected on the 1.5-inch LCD display that is sharp and clear even if it doesn�t have an anti-reflective coating.

Choosing The Right Scene
One of the things we like about the new CoolPix is the 12 scene modes, also found on the CoolPix 880. Like the Best Shot mode on the Casio cameras, this CoolPix function allows you to select preset camera settings according to the environment you are in. This is very useful, especially for those not familiar with adjusting the camera for difficult photographic shots such as night scenes and fireworks displays. Experienced photographers, on the other hand, can make use of the wide range of manual controls to fine tune their digital captures.

Good Image Captures
The CoolPix may not have the resolution bandwidth of 4-megapixels digicams, but the images it captured were sharp and generally well-exposed. The 12 preset scenes worked almost flawlessly too. The only snag we observed was a slight over-saturation of bright colors in some of the shots. Otherwise, most of the test shots we took turned out okay.

For a compact camera, the CoolPix 885 lasted pretty long, almost 2 hours on a full charge of the EN-EL1 Lithium-ion battery. An AC charger is provided for charging of the Lithium battery out-of-camera. Alternatively, the new CoolPix also accepts commercially available 2CR5 Lithium batteries.

The CoolPix 885 also ships with a 16MB CompactFlash card, wrist strap, video cable, USB cable and a software CD-ROM. Optional add-on accessories like lens adaptors, remote controls and soft cases can be purchased separately.

Conclusion
We applaud Nikon for creating one of the most ergonomically designed compact digital cameras we have come across so far. The CoolPix 885 is stylish, fits snugly in the palm and a joy to handle. A strong set of features and a S$999 price tag help land the CoolPix 885 our CNET Editors' Choice award.