Saturday, July 30, 2005

For Nikon Coolpix 4100 owners only

I've been playing around with my Nikon Coolpix 4100 digital camera for a few months now, and one thing's been bugging me: Whenever I want to display the photos stored on the memory card on the camera's screen, the camera assumes I want to actually take pictures and it opens up the lens. So whenever I'm passing around my camera to show people my photos, I have to keep on interjecting (in a Mr. Subliminal fashion) "Don't touch the lens." Typically it goes like this:
Me: "Hey, wanna see the great photos I took of the sunset yesterday?"
You: "Sure, let me see!"
Me: "OK, here - don't touch the lens. Now this button - don't touch the lens - advances the pictures, this - don't touch the lens - button takes you back, and - don't touch the lens - this button zooms in and out."
You: "Hey, what's this picture of you in a leather mask and ball gag?*"
Me: "Oh - don't touch the lens - I really wish you hadn't - don't touch the lens - seen that one."
On the way back from Sesame Place my friend's daughter accidentally stumbled upon the combination of settings that allow you to see the stored photos without having the lens exposed.
Starting with the camera OFF, just turn the little selection wheel to SET UP. Then turn the camera on, and hit the little playback button on the lower left. Voila! (Or Viola!) You can now step back and forth through your stored photos without having the lens pop out of its protective cover.
One note: this doesn't work if you've got the USB cable attached to transfer your photos to your PC. Oh, well, can't have everything!
*An Aqua Teen Hunger Force reference. The Little Brittle episode, referring back to the Wisdom Cube episode.

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