Nikon announces new Coolpix S1000pj compact camera with built-in projector

With new and improved point-and-shoot cameras announced at an ever more rapid pace, there are only so many ways camera makers can differentiate their new products. Well, Nikon has hit upon a pretty unique differentiator for its latest entry into the compact camera wars:  Today's announcement of four new Coolpix cameras includes the world's first camera with a built-in projector, the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj.

Tiny handheld projectors were getting a lot of buzz late last year, with products like the Optoma Pico Pocket Projector offering a super-lightweight way to share images and slideshows by projecting them practically anywhere.  Now Nikon has eliminated the need to carry a separate projector by incorporating a tiny projector into its latest 12-megapixel compact shooter.  Rated to throw off up to 10 lumens of brightness (compared to the Optoma's 9 lumens rating), the camera will project a 640x480 image onto a surface between 10 inches to 6 feet, 6 inches away, creating a projected image size between 5 and 40 inches (compared to the Optoma's 60-inch maximum projected image size).

Naturally, there are lots of in-camera playback features included such as music, special effects, and a variety of transitions.  Regular camera specs include a 12.1-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor; a relatively wide 28-140mm equivalent, f/3.9-5.8 5x zoom lens; ISO sensitivity range of ISO 80 to 6400; and a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot LCD,  making it a relatively standard-issue point and shoot otherwise.  In addition to increasingly common features such as face detection/priority (up to 15 faces), smile and blink detection, and "skin-softening" for portraits (or as I like to call it, the Botox filter), the S1000pj also includes a motion detector feature which automatically detects moving subjects and adjusts shutter speed and ISO to help stabilize the image. With a retail price of $429.95, the camera is expensive compared to other non-projecting cameras with similar specs, but it does pack the projector into a relatively compact body (2.5x4x0.9 inches, 5.5 ounces).

There's no doubt that the Nikon Coolpix S100pj is a buzzworthy new camera, but it remains to be seen if people will be willing to cough up the extra cash for the ability to project their images on the go. The camera is slated to ship in September and will come bundled with a small projector stand for the camera and a remote control. Check out Nikon's promo video or WhatDigitalCamera.com's video review to see the camera in action.