Nikon Coolpix S6200 Digital Compact Camera Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification


Nikon Coolpix S6200 Lens Extended

The Coolpix S6200 was released by Nikon in August 2010 alongside the Coolpix 8200 and is available now in black, silver, pink, blue and red for £134.00.


Nikon Coolpix S6200 Front

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Features

The S6200 has a 16 megapixel and a 10x optical zoom lens, offering a 35mm equivalent of 25 - 250 mm. There are 18 scene modes as well as Scene Auto Selector. Other features include special effects and filters and smart portrait system with Smile Timer, Skin Softening and in-camera red-eye fix.

To help take blur free images there is Lens-shift VR (Vibration Reduction), ISO up to 3200 and Best Shot Selector (BSS) which automatically selects the sharpest of up to 10 sequential shots. There are also some dedicated light modes to take images in low light even without a tripod including Backlight scene mode, Night Portrait and Night Landscape.

Movie recording is in 720p HD with stereo sound, optical zoom and autofocus available. You can also take a picture while filming. There is also a built-in HDMI connector with HDMI-CEC support for output to an HDTV.


Nikon Coolpix S6200 Top

Key Features

• 16 megapixel CCD sensor
• 10x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 25-250mm)
• Lens-shift VR (Vibration Reduction)
• ISO 80 - 3200
• Best Shot Selector (BSS)
• 2.7 inch LCD monitor with Nikon’s Clear Colour Display technology
• 720p HD movie recording with stereo sound, optical zoom and autofocus
• Quick response
• Special effects and filters
• Smart portrait system
• Smile Timer
• Blink Proof
• In-camera Red-eye Fix
• 18 scene modes
• Scene Auto Selector

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Rear

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Handling

The front of the camera is made of metal with a plastic rear and is very compact considering it has a 10x optical zoom lens packed in. The buttons are generally easy to press with the exception of the power button which does need a more concentrated effort to activate, at least you won't accidently switch the camera on! There is a dedicated video record button and the d-pad allows you to go up, down, left and right and also rotates in a circular direction in order to toggle through camera menus.

On the rear of the camera is a 2.7 inch LCD screen which is bright and clear in most lighting conditions with the cameras menu system clearly laid about and well labelled, making it easy to understand. The camera is ready to take photos within three seconds of switching on and there are no issues with focusing speed. In continuous shooting mode the S6200 shot full-sized images at 1.25 fps in testing. The battery life is rated at a decent 250 shots. If you register the camera within 30 days of purchase you get an extra 12 months free guarantee, taking it up to 2 years in total.


Nikon Coolpix S6200 Battery

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Performance

The camera excels at colour reproduction but detail in images just isn't what you'd hope for from a 16 megapixel sensor, with purple fringing evident on occasions. The camera takes fairly decent macro images, with good detail, despite a minimum focusing distance of 10cm.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Lens test images

Images appear to have noise even at the lowest ISO settings of ISO 80 and ISO 100. There is a steady increase in noise levels through ISO 200 and ISO 400, with a loss of sharpness and detail becoming evident at ISO 800. Images at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 have so much noise it looks like you are looking through snow, these ISO settings are best used for images which will be resized for use on the web.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 ISO test images

The landscape images below show the colour reproduction abilities of the S6200. Portraits have excellent skin tones with no sign of red-eye.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Scene modes

The auto white-balance setting (AWB) produces consistent results, which is evident under our studio lighting. There is little difference between the AWB, incandescent and fluorescents presets under the respective lighting. There is a very slight magenta cast when using the AWB preset under the incandescent lights and when using the fluorescent preset with the fluorescent lights.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 White-balance test images

Below are example images taken with the creative filters available including soft, nostalgic sepia, high-contrast monochrome, high key, low key and selective colour.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Digital filters

Video Mode

Below is an example video shot at 720p HD. An example using optical zoom can be seen on the ePHOTOzine Youtube page. Videos can also be recorded in iFrame (960 x 540) and VGA (640 x 480) as well as with wind noise reduction.

Value For Money

The Nikon Coolpix S6200 is currently priced at £179.00. Other cameras with 10x optical zoom and 16 megapixel sensor are the Sony Cybershot H70 @ £178.99 and Sony Cybershot HX7V @ £249.00. With lower resolution sensors you may also be considering the Pentax Optio RZ10 @ £84.99, Olympus VR-310 @ £87.00, Fujifilm FinePix T200 @ £96.00 and Samsung PL210 @ £99.00. The Canon PowerShot SX150 IS @ £171.00 has 12x optical zoom and 14.1 megapixel sensor. The Nikon Coolpix S8200 has a 14x optical zoom lens and is priced at £279.00.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Verdict

The Coolpix S6200 produces decent images with its 16 megapixel sensor and it packs a 10x optical zoom lens into a very compact body, certainly small and light enough to carry around in your pocket. The minimum focusing distance is large at 10cm, but there's not much else to complain about and it is competitively priced at £179.00.

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Pros

Compact body
Good colour reproduction
10x optical zoom

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Cons

Minimum focusing distance of 10cm

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Specifications

View Full Product Details