Nikon raises curtain on Coolpix camera with built-in projector

What's the fun in squinting at snapshots on a two-inch LCD? Instead, try projecting your latest stills and video clips onto the nearest wall, courtesy of Nikon's latest (but pricey) compact camera.

Announced today and set for release in September for a hefty $429, the 12.1-megapixel Coolpix S1000pj looks like your typical compact digicam, complete with a 28mm wide-angle lens, flash, and a 2.7-inch LCD in back.

But the Nikon has a cool trick up its sleeves: a tiny, built-in projector capable of throwing a 40-inch image onto any nearby surface, good for showing off individual snapshots, slideshows, or even clips you've captured with the S1000pj's video recorder.

Expect VGA resolution from the Coolpix's pico projector, according to Nikon, as well as an hour of battery life. Also in the box: a projector stand, as well as a remote that controls the projector or acts as a shutter release.

Nikon also promises that the S1000pj won't shirk its usual imaging duties, packing in 5x optical/4x digital zoom, image stabilization, "face-priority" auto focus, and a "best shot selector" mode that takes a burst of shots and picks the one with the sharpest focus.

Overall? Pretty cool, despite the stiff price tag. Indeed, I hope we see a lot more of these itty, bitty projectors in cameras and cell phones in the future—and as pico projectors become more and more common (as I hope they do), we can expect prices to fall accordingly.

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Press release