Nikon’s Projecting Camera: It’s Showtime!
By Harry McCracken | Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 9:10 am
Nikon announced four new point-and-shoot cameras today, one of which has a truly striking feature: a built-in projector. The $429 Coolpix S1000pj uses picoprojector technology to cast images through its lens, letting you display single images, slideshows, and movie clips at sizes up to 40 inches.
It’s the first point-and-shoot that projects, and the tech does sound like it’s still in bleeding-edge territory: The S1000pj shoots images at up to 12.1 megapixels (4000 by 3000 pixels), but it projects them at VGA (640 by 480) resolution, and Nikon rates battery life at one hour. But it’s still exciting to see projection start to work its way into reasonably inexpensive and compact consumer devices, and it’ll be fascinating to see whether it becomes commonplace in other cameras, phones, laptops, and other gadgets anytime soon.
Would you be tempted to buy the S1000pj over a comparable camera with no projection feature? Will you wait for second- or third-generation passes at the idea? Does the idea appeal to you at all?
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August 4th, 2009 at 9:15 am
one word…stupid
August 4th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Hmmm, I’m not sure. Even high quality projectors need special conditions (light, reflective projection surface) for a proper viewing experience. I have a hard time believing that a consumer camera can offer anything worthwhile in that area.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:08 am
They don’t need to offer anything “worthwhile”. Where did this “worthwhile” idea come from? They just need to offer something that a sufficient number of sucke… er valued cuatomers will buy. Then they can finance the next stage of research.
I’ve always been sceptical of all-in-one anything. Let Nikon do the cameras, someone else the projectors; let everyone do what they’re good at; then let them connect – and some day, in an ideal world, through one, universal plug and socket 🙂
August 4th, 2009 at 10:26 am
What I am really glad to hear is that small, inexpensive projectors are on the way, apart from the fact that they can be made to operate with an existing camera’s optics. It is those picoprojectors I am waiting for…
August 4th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Considering that we have pretty much hit the wall in the megapixel race on consumer point and shoots, I’m not surprised that established companies would be scrambling to try add on different features. Anybody and their mother can slap together a multi-megapixel camera and sell it for well under $200 bucks so where do you go from here if you’re a Canon or Nikon?
I can see the usefulness of having the ability to do a quick and dirty slide show if you were still on vacation, (So I guess Mom would need to pack the whiteboard in the car now?) but I would rather soak money into a camera that gave me a better:
a) zoom (come on folks still only 3 or 4x zooms?)
b) low light shooting
c) hi-speed shooting
d) idiot proof shooting (for me personally)
August 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Do none of you have kids? The moment we take a snap they are all huddled round the tiny display to see themselves. If we could throw it up on a wall quickly they would love it. Would it replace a proper projector, or viewing them on a big panel (or even prints)? No, but I don’t think this is what Nikon have in mind, and yes I would wait for later versions, but in a cheapish snapper I don’t think this is a bad idea that won’t find a market.