Nikon Coolpix S600 is a new compact digital camera with promising specifications and remarkable performance.
Overview:
Nikon Coolpix S600 features a 10 megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization, 4x optical zoom plus digital zoom and 3 inch LCD screen. Moreover, the camera has an automatic red eye reduction, face priority auto focus and some built-in memory. Nikon Coolpix S600 can also record movies in quite good resolution.
Nikon Coolpix S600 pros:
+ Start-up time
+ Battery life
+ Good value for the money
+ Excellent 3” screen
+ Very good color and overall image quality
Nikon Coolpix S600 cons:
- No optical viewfinder
- No manual controls
- Shutter lag
The design:
Nikon Coolpix S600 measures [] and weighs []. The camera is made primarily of plastic and yet it feels solid and reliable. As it is a compact digital camera it would seem that people with bigger hands and fingers may find it difficult to operate Nikon Coolpix S600. Yet despite the 3-inch screen at the back the camera in not cluttered and is easy to operate. Just like most compact digital cameras the Nikon Coolpix S600 has no optical viewfinder to save some space. The rotary multi-selector at the back of Nikon Coolpix S600 is responsible for the most often used settings like shooting mode, exposure and flash.
Performance:
The Nikon Coolpix S600‘s LCD has the resolution of 230,000 pixels. It is bright and vivid even in direct sunlight. The Nikon Coolpix S600 is very fast, at least when you power it up. It takes only slightly more than two seconds to do that. It is a pity, though, that shot-to-shot times are not so great. In good lighting conditions it takes over three seconds from one shot to the other. On the other hand, the continuous mode is very good and in the highest resolution you can shot even at 1 fps which is really good for a compact digital camera and at 10 megapixel.
Image quality:
Nikon Coolpix S600 with its several scene modes and an auto mode offers a lot to point-and-shooters. The images are sharp and with leasing colors. Auto white balance works well in most lighting conditions (unless you are in mixed light, as is usually the case). The noise is bearable, especially that is always shows with bigger pictures.
Menus / ease of use:
The Nikon Coolpix S600 has little manual settings so it is practically very easy to use. If you have ever had a Nikon it will be simply a piece of cake. If you, however, haven’t used a Nikon i recommend using the auto mode for some time and only them moving to more advanced features and different modes.
All in all, the new Nikon Coolpix S600 offers good value for the money with good quality photos and ease of use.
Selected Nikon Coolpix S600 features and specifications:
Image Capture
Image Resolution: 3648×2736, 3072×2304, 2592×1944, 2048×1536, 1024×768
Continuous-mode frames/second: 1.2
Movie Resolution: 640×480, 320×240
Movie Frame Rate: 30, 30
Movie Audio: Yes
Imaging Sensor (Megapixels): 10.34
CCD Size (inches): 1/2.33″
Focal Length Multiplier: n/a
Aspect Ratio: 4:3, 16:9
Sensor Type: CCD
Effective Megapixels: 10.00
Lens
Focal Length (35mm equivalent): 28 – 112 mm
Zoom Ratio: 4.00x
Digital Zoom: Yes
Digital Zoom Values: Up to 4x
Auto Focus: Yes
Auto Focus Assist Light? Yes
Manual Focus:
Normal Focus Range: 50 cm to Infinity
19.7 in to Infinity
Macro Focus Range: 3 – infinity cm
1.2 – infinity in
Aperture Range: f/2.7 (wide) / f/5.8 (tele) – ???
Lens Thread:
Lens Thread Type:
Display
Optical Viewfinder: No
LCD Viewfinder: Yes
LCD Size (inches): 2.7
LCD Resolution (pixels): 230,000
Max Playback Zoom: 10x
Exposure
ISO Settings: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
White Balance Settings: Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Flash, White Balance Preset
Shutter Speed Range: 1 – 1/1500
Exp Adj Range (EV): +/- 2.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Metering Modes: 224 segment matrix, center-weighted
Aperture Priority: No
Shutter Priority: No
Full Manual Exposure: No
Self Timer: 10 or 2 seconds
Flash
Internal Flash: Yes
Flash Modes: Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Anytime flash, Flash cancel, Slow sync.
Flash Guide Number (Meters): n/a
Flash Range Description: ISO Auto: 0.5m/1.6ft to 6.5m/21.3ft (W), 0.5m/1.6ft to 3.0m/9.8ft (T)
Ext Flash Connection: n/a
Image Storage
Usable Memory Types: SDHC / SD
Memory Included (MB): 45.0
Uncompressed Format:
CCD Raw Format: No
Movie File Format: AVI
Connectivity
Video Out: Yes
Video Mode (NTSC/PAL): Yes
Video Usable as Viewfinder:
External Connections: USB 2.0 High Speed
Other Connection:
Included Software: Software Suite CD-ROM
OS Compatibility: Windows XP SP2/Vista; Mac OS X 10.39+
Other recently reviewed digital cameras:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77, Canon PowerShot G10, Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, Samsung TL34HD, Nikon Coolpix S610, Olympus 570UZ, Sony Cyber-Shot T500, Pentax K2000, Nikon Coolpix P6000, Canon EOS-50D.