Nikon Coolpix S6200 Digital Compact Camera Review

Nikon Coolpix S6200 Digital Compact Camera Review

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

Wide-angle | 1/400 sec | f/3.2 | 4.5 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Full optical zoom | 1/160 sec | f/5.8 | 45.0 mm | ISO 100 High-Res
Digital zoom | 1/80 sec | f/5.8 | 180.0 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Macro | 1/10 sec | f/3.2 | 4.5 mm | ISO 80 High-Res

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

ISO 80 | 1/5 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res	ISO 100 | 1/6 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res	ISO 200 | 1/13 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res	ISO 400 | 1/25 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res
ISO 800 | 1/50 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res	ISO 1600 | 1/100 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res	ISO 3200 | 1/200 sec | f/4.7 | 17.5 mm High-Res

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

Landscape | 1/800 sec | f/3.2 | 4.5 mm | ISO 80 High-Res	Landscape with building | 1/1000 sec | f/3.2 | 4.5 mm | ISO 80 High-Res
Portrait | 1/60 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 200 High-Res	Sport | 1/250 sec | f/5.8 | 45.0 mm | ISO 200 High-Res
Backlighting | 1/2000 sec | f/3.2 | 4.5 mm | ISO 80 High-Res	Black and white copy | 1/320 sec | f/3.3 | 5.2 mm | ISO 80 High-Res

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

AWB incandescent | 1/10 sec | f/3.8 | 7.7 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Incandescent preset | 1/10 sec | f/3.8 | 7.7 mm | ISO 100 High-Res
AWB fluorescent | 0.3 sec | f/3.8 | 7.7 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Fluorescent preset | 0.3 sec | f/3.8 | 7.7 mm | ISO 100 High-Res

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

High-contrast monochrome | 1/8 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 400 High-Res	High-key | 1/6 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 400 High-Res	Low-key | 1/30 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 320 High-Res
Nostalgic sepia | 1/13 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 400 High-Res	Selective colour | 1/13 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 400 High-Res	Soft | 1/13 sec | f/4.3 | 11.7 mm | ISO 400 High-Res

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

Lens
	Max Aperture	f/3.2 - f/5.8
	35mm equivalent	25mm - 250mm
	Optical Zoom	10x
Image Sensor
	CCD pixels	16Mp (Megapixels)
	Pixels (W)	4608
	Pixels (H)	3456
	Sensor Type	CCD
	Sensor Size	1/2.3
	Aspect Ratio	4:3 16:9
LCD Monitor
	LCD Monitor	2.7in
	Screen resolution	230k-dot
	Touch Screen	No
Focusing
	Min Focus	10cm
	Focusing modes	Autofocus
Exposure Control
	Shutter speeds shortest	1/2000sec
	Shutter speeds longest	4sec
	Exp modes	Program Scene modes Program Variable
	Metering	Centre-weighted
	ISO sensitivity	80 - 3200
	White balance	Auto Manual Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Flash
	Exposure Comp	+/-2
Shooting Options
	Continuous shooting	No Data
Video
	Movie mode	Yes
	Video Resolution	1280x720 720p 640x480 VGA
	Video FPS	30
	Stereo Sound	Yes
	Optical Zoom	Yes
Other Features
	Image Stabilisation	Yes
Interface
	HDMI	Yes
	USB	USB 2
	Wi-Fi	No
Storage
	Card Type	SD SDHC SDXC
	File Type	JPG
Power Source
	Battery Type	EN-EL12
	CIPA Rating	250
Box Contents
	Box Contents	Camera Strap AN-CP19, Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12, Charging AC Adapter EH-69P, UC-E6, EG-CP16, ViewNX 2 CD-ROM
Dimensions
	Weight	160g
	Width	93mm
	Height	56.7mm
	Depth	25.4mm

Buy Online

• Buy NIKON S6200 - blue from Amazon.co.uk for £158.63

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