New Coolpix Camera Gives Eager Digital Photographers More for Less

Travelers and family photographers can rest assured -- Nikon will get you closer to the action. Nikon today announced the new Nikon Coolpix 4800 (http://www.nikondigitalusa.com), a fast 4.0-megapixel digital camera with a powerful and extremely compact 8.3x optical Zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens that provides its user with a zoom range of 36-300mm (35mm equivalent). What's more, the Coolpix 4800 weighs in at only 9 oz. making the Coolpix 4800 the most compact 8.3x zoom camera in its class.

The Nikon Coolpix 4800 is a snap-shooter's true companion enabling all types of compositions ranging from true wide-angle scenes to long telephoto shots. Beyond wide and telephoto, the Coolpix 4800 also takes its users extremely close to small subjects with unmatched Macro shooting capabilities at distances less than 1/2 inch. The Coolpix 4800 is a great choice for the sidelines of a soccer game, the top pocket of a travel bag, or for any situation that calls for great pictures and lasting memories.

"Nikon is seeing a rise in the popularity of long-zoom cameras among consumers who love to get right in close to the action. The Coolpix 4800 is designed with exactly that person in mind," said Jerry Grossman, vice president, Marketing, for Nikon Inc. "The Coolpix 4800 is an ideal choice for families or travel enthusiasts who want simplicity and compact size without sacrificing the performance they've come to expect from their digital camera."

For a product packed with so many outstanding features, the Coolpix 4800 truly simplifies the picture-taking experience. The Coolpix 4800 offers 15 Scene Modes that adjust the camera to any environmental and lighting situation to give the user the best possible image without the guesswork. In addition, four of these Scene Modes even come with Scene Assist, a feature that places guidelines directly on the LCD screen, to help users frame their subjects for an ideal image.

The camera also features Nikon's innovative Best Shot Selector (BSS) and Auto-Exposure BSS (AE-BSS) functions, which come in handy during tricky shooting situations. BSS takes up to ten images then selects only the sharpest for recording to memory. AE-BSS automatically selects one from five shots with the best relative exposure.

The Coolpix 4800 is designed to keep the key functions readily available and easy to access. Mode dials and controls are located on the back of the camera body to enable more intuitive control and each button has one function to eliminate confusion. The camera has a well-designed grip that adds a natural, familiar feel to casual shooting. A high-resolution EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) adds compositional accuracy with a 97% field of view during shooting, and coupled with a large 1.8-inch LCD monitor, is ideal for shooting and viewing of images. All mode dials and controls have been carefully placed to offer easier and more intuitive control.

Shooting is not the only thing kept simple with the Coolpix 4800. The camera also offers direct printing capability using PictBridge technology. Simply connect the camera with any PictBridge-compatible printer and it's easy to get great prints straight out of the camera.

Don't let the simplicity of the Coolpix 4800 deceive you. The camera packs considerable power for a compact camera in its class and presents the total package to photographers, all at an affordable price. The camera provides continuous shooting capability for up to 8 images at up to 1.5 frames per second ensuring that users can capture high-speed action sequences. It also offers a convenient three shot buffer function and the innovative Multi-shot function, to snap 16 shots in rapid succession, which are then combined into a single image. The camera also offers the ability to capture movies with the simultaneous recording of sound -- recording TV-size movies at the rate of 15 frames per second. The Voice Memo function allows up to 20 seconds of sound to be added to still images.

For convenience in terms of storage, the Coolpix 4800 uses popular SD memory cards in addition to 13.5 MB of internal memory, which means you're always ready and able to shoot -- even when you're not using a memory card. The Coolpix 4800 also allows you to shoot up to 240 images on a single of the camera's rechargeable EN-EL1 Li-ion Battery, or up to 360 images when using an optional disposable 2CR5/DL245 lithium battery.

The Nikon Coolpix 4800 incorporates PictureProject(R), a completely new software package aimed at creating a simple, intuitive and seamless photographic experience for digital photographers of all skill levels. The software automatically and transparently searches for images on the computer and creates a virtual map, or directory, to provide instant access to all stored images without having to search through hard disk directories. Users can search for images using their own keywords or attributes based on personal preference making the search process painless.

PictureProject delivers powerful tools that will make the process of transferring, organizing, editing, and sharing digital images easy, productive, and fun.

All Nikon Coolpix cameras include a host of exciting programs from ArcSoft(R) including VideoImpression(TM) to edit and share QuickTime(TM) movies taken with the camera and Panorama Maker(TM), which lets users easily stitch together a number of images captured using the Panorama Assist Scene Mode, to create beautiful panoramic photos. Those interested can pick up helpful tips and techniques on how to maximize the experience with a digital camera at http://www.coolpix101.com.

The Nikon Coolpix 4800 provides users with all the equipment they need to get started including the new PictureProject photo management software, neck strap, USB cable, video cable, Li-ion rechargeable battery and quick charger.

The Nikon Coolpix 4800 will have an MSRP of $399.95 when available nationwide in Fall 2004. For information about this and other exciting new Nikon products, please visit http://www.nikondigitalusa.com.

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