The Design: Nikon 4100

   
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The front of the Nikon Coolpix 4100 features a 3x optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent range of 35mm - 105mm. Above and to the left of the lens are the AF-assist lamp and the built-in flash. To the upper right of the lens is the viewfinder window. The left side of the front is a contoured handgrip.


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The back of the 4100 houses a 1.6" LCD monitor with 80K pixels. Directly above the monitor is the viewfinder with two indicator lamps next to it. The top lamp indicates flash status while the bottom indicates focus status. To the right of the viewfinder is the Mode Dial, which offers 8 different positions. At the upper right is the zoom controller, which is a rocker pad with "W" (wide) on the left and "T" (telephoto) on the right. Directly opposite of the LCD monitor is the multi-selector with a separate set button in the middle. In still recording modes, the directions of the multi-selector also correspond to flash, self-timer, and macro functions. Above and to the left of the multi-controller is the Menu button. Below, the multi-controller are the Play and Delete buttons.


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Starting from the left, the top of the 4100 features a speaker, main power button, power indicator lamp, shutter button, and microphone.

   
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To open the battery compartment on the bottom of the camera, you must press in on the release button and slide the door towards the front of the camera. The 4100 accepts 2 AA alkaline/Ni-MH or a CR-V3 battery. Although the camera is bundled with 2 AA alkaline batteries, we highly recommend picking up some NiMH rechargeable batteries as these will last much longer. On the left side of the battery compartment is a spring-loaded tab that can be pushed down to make room for the power cable when the camera is fitted with the optional AC adapter. To the right of the battery door is the plastic tripod mount.

   
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On the right side of the camera is a door that snaps shut to conceal the SD card slot. Although the 4100 comes with 14.5 MB of internal memory, this will only hold a handful of images at the highest resolution and quality. Therefore, we highly recommend getting a 128 MB card or larger to get started. Also on this side is a post for the included wrist strap.

   
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The left side of the camera has a rubber tab that snaps shut to conceal the USB/A/V-out port.

Nikon 4100 Specifications Recording Features
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  • stephencaston - Friday, March 11, 2005 - link

    #4: You make a good point. As we are relatively new with digital camera reviews, we are still building our base of comparisons. However, check out the comparison cameras on the testing pages to see the relative performance of similar models we have reviewed.
  • Turin39789 - Friday, March 11, 2005 - link

    In most hardware reviews when a product falls short in terms of quality for its category/price range the article will mention the top performers/best values. This article tells me the nikon 4100 is not for me, but doesnt really point me in the right direction for a better choice.
  • skrivis - Friday, March 11, 2005 - link

    I looked at these, but Nikon USA is offering a rebate of $200 on the Coolpix 5400. (Until 03/31)

    I got much more camera for about $50 more. Total price after rebate was $259.
  • stephencaston - Friday, March 11, 2005 - link

    #1, I think you meant the 4600. At any rate, we are always limited to what is available to us at the time. We certainly intend to look into the entire new line-up of Nikons in the future as they become available to us. Even so, the 4100 is very popular and widely available. Hang tight for the new Nikons...we are eagerly awaiting our chance at reviewing them.

    Stephen
  • buttwhacker - Friday, March 11, 2005 - link

    Its a good thing Anandtech is reviewing cameras but please the next time before you review the cameras make sure they are current coz this one is discontinued.... yeah, discontinued. The replacement for Coolpix 4100 is Coolpix 4900, pretty much the same but with a bigger screen and smaller size, look into that.
    Thanx for the review anyways.
  • woodhamiiltonn - Monday, January 28, 2013 - link

    Nikon Coolpix 4100 is a good camera and you've allocated an informative review of this camera. I enjoyed the camera comparison you've made and I think anyone would be delighted before purchasing Nikon Coolpix 4100. Thanks.

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