Nikon COOLPIX S1200pj Pro Reviews

Integral projector aside, this Coolpix is still a decent camera in its own right with picture quality on a par with a £200 point-and-shoot snapshot. However, this one retails for £379.99. To be critical, at maximum 28mm wide-angle setting there’s some loss of focus towards the corners of the frame, even if its 186g weight and solid build enabled us to hold the camera steady enough for sharp results at maximum zoom (equivalent to 140mm in 35mm terms). Despite the fact that you’ll have to pay £150 more than a non-projecting snapper, this is an innovative compact with the requisite wow factor.

Priced at almost £400, well okay it's RRP is £379.99, you're paying a rather hefty premium for the addition of an otherwise excellent projector. Cameras with a similar feature set but lacking a projector would cost half the price asked here and provide equal quality in terms of pictures, video, sound and handling.And so, whether you want this camera comes down to the question of whether you're prepared to pay a premium for a projector on an otherwise average compact camera?

If you want a posh point-and-shoot and projector package, your options are somewhat limited. The Nikon Coolpix S1200pj's launch price is £349-£399, and you're paying a premium for its all-in-one convenience. Alternatively, you could spend in the region of £150 for a 20 lumens pico projector and shop around for a well-specced, sub-£200 compact instead.

More than just a mere compact camera, but rather - if we’re feeling grand - a broadcast device, the Coolpix S1200pj satisfies on several levels. However, ironically, image quality isn’t its strongest point. The price tag means that you really have got to want to use the projector to make it worthwhile. This is a pocket-sized point and shoot camera first and foremost, majoring on portability and convenience rather than DSLR-like results. However the wow factor of being able to conduct an impromptu slide show to share images remains; we just wish it was a little cheaper.

The thrid-generation Nikon Coolpix S1200pj is still the only camera with a built-in projector on the market, further refining last year's model mainly by signifcantly improving the projector unit and ditching the S1100pj's touch-screen interface. The camera element of the S1200pj is virtually identical, though, producing the same so-so image quality and being geared more towards point-and-shoot users. The projector is much brighter, more vivid and can create a bigger projection than before. It can also now display images from a compatible Apple device using the supplied Belkin cable, although we can't actually vouch for its effectiveness as the S1200pj wouldn't play ball with out iOS 5 iPhone. Still, in theory at least it widens the camera's appeal even further, maybe even beyond its core business users.

This is the third projector camera from Nikon and is still a pretty unique product on the market. The projector works well and is versatile given that it can also be connected to a computer and an iOS device. Image quality is good for a compact but on the downside, it is quite expensive and bulky, so it's likely you'll only want the camera if the projector is the feature which really excites you.