In order to uphold its legacy of
industry-leading technology that consistently delivers excellent results, Nikon
is always seeking new ways to enhance the camera user’s experience. The new
COOLPIX S200 model brings world-class photographic results to professionals and
amateurs alike, packed into a sleek compact casing.
Measuring just 18.5mm, the stylish aluminum
body of the COOLPIX S200 blends an attractive design with modern features,
demonstrating Nikon’s commitment to quality state-of-the-art craftsmanship.
Combining 7.1 effective megapixels of image
resolution with an impressive 38-114mm 3 x Zoom-Nikkor lens, this camera is able
to faithfully capture the detail of the closest portrait to the broadest
panorama, even after enlargement of the shots.
Image quality is further enhanced by the
Vibration Reduction function (activated in Anti-Shake mode), which compensates
for camera shake and delivers clear pictures even in unsteady conditions. In
combination with the High-Sensitivity mode which extends to ISO 1000, the VR
function also enables the user to take quality photographs in lower light
conditions.
Fast-moving and shaded shots present no
challenge to the COOLPIX S200, and the results can be enjoyed with friends on
the ample 2.5-inch LCD screen. This also allows easy navigation of the new menu
interface which offers quick access to a variety of exciting modes and
functions.
Packaged within the COOLPIX S200, three unique
Nikon innovations make it possible to manipulate the images in-camera, enabling
amateurs to achieve results that a professional would be proud of. Face-priority
AF detects people’s faces to achieve sharp focus on the face, no matter where
they happen to be located in the frame; In-Camera Red-Eye Fix tackles this
effect by providing automatic compensation for more flattering, natural-looking
portraits in low light. Finally, Nikon’s unique D-Lighting function improves
underexposed images or shots taken with too much back-light, leaving
well-exposed areas untouched.
Nikon’s exclusive PictureProject software
allows the user to further manipulate images once they have been uploaded onto a
computer. This is an easy-to-use programme which makes it simple to edit,
organise, transfer and share the photographs taken with the COOLPIX S200.
For decades Nikons were
the camera of choice for professional photographers, photojournalists, and
serious amateur shooters, but Canon has done a much better job of meeting
consumer’s needs since the beginning of the digital era - especially when it
comes to creating fashionable and easy to use ultra-compact digital cameras.
That may be about to change. Nikon’s new Coolpix S200 is a
stylish, ultra-compact and eminently pocketable 7 megapixel digital camera. The
S200 is currently the smallest (3.6in/91.5 mm x 2.2in/56.5 mm), lightest (4.4
oz/125 g), and thinnest (0.76 inches/19mm) digital camera in Nikon's product
catalog. The S200 is tough enough to go just about anywhere and simple enough
to be used successfully by just about anyone. The snazzy little S200 (like the
original Olympus Stylus) is the sort of P&S pocket camera a professional
photographer might carry for grab shots and to record personal images while on
assignment.
NUTS & BOLTS
Viewfinder/LCD
Like many current ultra-compact digicams the
S200 doesn't provide an optical viewfinder so the 2.5 in/6.3 cm LCD screen
handles all framing/compositional, image review, and menu access chores. The
S200's LCD screen is a bit coarse (153,000 pixels), but adequately sharp for
most situations. The LCD is bright, hue accurate, and very fluid. Some earlier
“S” models featured LCD screens that were so shiny that in virtually any type of
outdoor lighting they behaved like mirrors, making them essentially useless for
framing and composition. Fortunately that is not the case with the S200 – the
screen is usable even in bright mid-day lighting. The S200’s LCD gains up
(brightens) automatically in dim/low light – LCD screen brightness can also be
adjusted via the set-up menu.
Zoom Lens
The S200 features a surprisingly good
f3.1-f5.9/6.3mm – 18.9mm (38mm – 114mm 35mm equivalent) standard (6 elements in
5 groups) Nikkor Zoom; not the periscope-style folded light path zoom found on
earlier “S” series digicams. When the camera is turned on the lens telescopes
out of the camera body. When the camera is powered down the lens is fully
retracted into the camera body and the built-in lens cover slides back into
place to protect the front element. The S200’s zoom is quick and quiet, but the
zoom control rocker switch is not as precise as it could be – I only counted
seven steps, making incremental zoom adjustments tricky.
P&S digicam zooms are
extremely complex and as lenses get smaller optical performance generally
deteriorates in direct proportion to the level of miniaturization. That's not
the case with the S200, optical performance is noticeably above average. Images
are hue accurate and slightly over saturated and essentially noise free in
well-lit (low ISO) scenes, although night images tend to be noticeably noisier.
Resolution (sharpness) is excellent throughout the zoom's range, but corners are
a bit soft at the maximum aperture. There is some visible barrel distortion
(straight lines bow out from the center of the frame) at the wide-angle end of
the zoom range. There is also some very minor pin cushioning (straight lines
bow in toward the center of the frame) at the telephoto end of the zoom range. I
didn't notice any vignetting (darkened corners). Chromatic aberration (purple
fringing) is very well controlled, but visible in high contrast color transition
areas at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. Minimum focusing distance (in
macro mode) is 3.9 inches (10 centimeters).
eVR (electronic Vibration Reduction)
The S200 features an electronic blur reduction
system that reads image data from an on-board angular velocity sensor and then
applies in-camera image processing algorithms to sharpen blurred pictures or
video clips. Some shooters may be confused because Nikon uses the same VR
designation with their optical image stabilization system equipped cameras and
lenses, but eVR is a form of post exposure processing – it doesn’t actually
reduce vibration.
Auto Focus (AF)
The S200’s Contrast Detection AF system is
consistently fast and accurate in good lighting, but it hunts a bit at night and
in dim/low light. Unlike earlier “S” series digicams the S200’s AF is fast
enough to track and capture most types of action. Select the Portrait Scene
mode and Face Priority AF is automatically enabled. In Face Priority AF mode
the S200 detects a face and focuses on it (a square smiley face icon is
superimposed over the face detected by the camera – if there is more than one
face in the frame, the camera focuses on the closest face and the flash
automatically switches to red-eye reduction mode. Although it takes a little
getting used to and does throw in a worrisome compositional stumbling block
(once focus is locked users can't recompose without losing focus lock on their
primary subject) Face Priority AF does work, and it can be useful. Another
problem with Face Priority AF is that it only works when the subject faces
directly toward the camera, so FPAF won't lock on dramatic profile shots.
Manual Focus (MF)
The S200 provides no manual focus capability
Flash
The S200's tiny built-in multi-mode (Auto,
Red-Eye Reduction, Fill Flash, Slow Synch, and Off) flash is, not surprisingly,
a bit underpowered. Nikon claims the maximum flash range - at the wide-angle end
of the zoom - is just shy of 18 feet, but that seems wildly optimistic. Real
World (effective) flash range is between 8 and 10 feet, anything beyond 10
feet/3 meters is going to be a pretty dark unless the subject is shot against a
light colored background with lots of ambient lighting. The flash is on
essentially the same plane as the lens, but the S200's In-Camera Red-Eye Fix is
automatically activated in the Redeye Reduction flash mode.
Image File Storage/Memory Media
The S200 saves images to SD/SDHC memory cards
(Nikon doesn't include a starter card). The S200 also provides users with 20MB
of internal image storage.
Image File Format(s)
JPEG
Connectivity
A/V out and USB 2.0 out
Power
The S200 draws its power from a tiny Nikon
EN-EL10 Li-ion 3.7V/740mAh Battery. Nikon claims 230 exposures and I have no
reason to quibble with that number. I didn’t keep track of exposures, but I
used the camera heavily for almost a month and never ran out of juice. The
included charger needs just over 90 minutes to fully recharge the battery.
EXPOSURE
The S200 is an automatic digital camera with no
manual exposure capability. In Auto mode (actually Program mode) the camera
automatically selects the aperture and shutter speed, but allows users to
control sensitivity (ISO), white balance, color/saturation, and exposure
compensation. The S200 also provides 15 Scene modes - Portrait, Landscape,
Sports, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night
Landscape, Close-up, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, Back light, and Panorama
Assist. In all scene modes the camera's CPU automatically optimizes all
exposure parameters (aperture, shutter speed, white balance, sensitivity, etc.)
for the specific image type selected. Users can also opt for BSS (Best Shot
Selector) which automatically selects and saves the best shot from a sequence of
10 exposures. Another option is the High Sensitivity Mode which automatically
increases CCD sensitivity (up to ISO 1000) to match ambient lighting. There's
also a voice notation mode allowing users to attach a 20 second voice memo to
still images. In addition the S200 can function as a digital voice recorder –
recording duration is up to 5 hours (with a large SD/SDHC card) or up to 47
minutes in internal memory.
Movie Mode
The S200 captures video at 640x480 @ 30 fps (up
to 2GB duration) and a selection of lower resolutions and slower frame rates.
Users can also opt to shoot StopMotion movies - up to 1800 (640x480) images with
an SD/SDHC card or up to 233 (640x480) images using the internal memory at a
variety of time intervals (0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 10, 30 and 60 minutes). The captured
time-lapse video is viewed at 30 fps.
Metering
The S200 measures light via Nikon's famous 256
segment (multi-pattern) matrix metering. Metering is automatic, consistent,
accurate, and dependable in most lighting, but there is a slight tendency to
burn out highlights.
White Balance (WB)
The S200 provides an adequate selection of WB
options, including Auto, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Shade, and
Flash. The S200's Auto White Balance is consistently accurate in most lighting,
but images shot under fluorescent lighting (at the Auto WB setting) showed a
very slight pinkish cast.
Sensitivity
The S200's Sensitivity range is adequate for
the camera's target audience -- TTL Auto (ISO 50-800) Sensitivity and user
selected settings of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1000 ISO.
In-Camera Image Adjustment
Nikon's Picture Effects Mode allows users to
select Standard Color, Vivid Color, Black-and-White, and Sepia.
Exposure compensation mode permits users to
subtly modify exposure parameters over a 4 EV range (+ /-2 EV) in 1/3 EV
increments by easily lightening or darkening exposures to compensate for
difficult lighting and subject/background reflectance/non-reflectance problems
or to compensate for environmental exposure variables. What’s really neat about
the S200’s exposure compensation function is that it is located on the compass
switch - many digicams bury exposure compensation deep in some obscure menu
- making instant access a snap.
Nikon’s nifty D-Lighting function can be
enabled (post exposure) to enhance shadow detail and lighten darker areas in
underexposed images or shots with too much backlighting (by enhancing highlight
detail and lowering contrast in burnt out areas). A corrected copy of the image
is saved as a separate image.
Ultra compact digicams
keep getting better and the S200 is a perfect example of this ongoing
improvement. The brushed aluminium body is small enough to drop in a shirt
pocket and tough enough to go just about anywhere. Despite being very compact,
the Coolpix S200 has very good ergonomics. Dedicated controls are few and most
have multiple functions, but all controls are logically placed, come easily to
hand, and quickly become intuitive, making the camera easy to operate. Ease of
use is amazing, even technophobes will be able to shoot good pictures.
PERFORMANCE
Image Quality
The S200’s images are a classic example of what
some veteran photographers call consumer image interpolation - hue accurate with
somewhat punched-up color saturation and slightly hard default contrast.
Outdoors (daylight), the S200's images are dependably and consistently
excellent. Images are generally well exposed, but the camera does blow out
highlights in some shots, which is not too surprising since Nikon's matrix
meters are calibrated to preserve shadow detail by clipping highlights. Corners
are a bit soft, but chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is very well
controlled. Indoors, at night, and in dim/low light the S200’s images are
decent, but not quite as good as the daylight shots.
Auto ISO images are generally excellent (in
good lighting) with sharp resolution, bold colors, and lots of snap (although
some very minor pattern noise/color grain is occasionally visible in shadow
areas). ISO 50 and 100 images are dependably excellent with very good detail and
virtually no noise. ISO 200 images are surprisingly good, essentially the same
as lower ISO images. Noise levels rise noticeably at ISO 400 - images are a bit
flat, colors aren’t as bold as lower ISO images, and some fine detail is lost.
ISO 800 and 1000 images are very noisy, colors lack pop, and edge demarcations
are noticeably softer than lower ISO images. I didn’t notice any chroma noise
(blotching).
Timing/Shutter Lag
The S200 is a very quick digital camera,
noticeably faster than average. The boot-up cycle is 0.8 seconds. Shutter lag
(about 1/10th of a second) shouldn't be a problem since shutter fire is
essentially real time with pre-focus. AF is consistently very fast (about half a
second) from scratch and shot-to-shot/write-to-card times are faster than
average (for ultra-compact digicams).
A Few Concerns
I don't really have any issues. The superb
little S200 is just about as good as can be expected and Nikon has corrected
most of the complaints I had with earlier “S” models (mirror surfaced LCDs,
fiddly zoom switches, poor battery life, etc.).
Who is this Camera best suited for?
The S200 is a very good choice for pros/serious
amateurs looking for a quick and responsive pocket camera, weight/size conscious
travelers/campers/bikers/hikers, folks who like trendy techno-toys, and casual
photographers who want a camera compact enough to take along everywhere they go.
Conclusion
I recently spent a month using Canon’s new
SD1000 Digital Elph and while the tiny S200 doesn’t match the SD1000 in creative
flexibility or manual exposure options - it is only half as thick – and it does
(in my opinion) compete on equal terms with the SD1000 in the image quality
department.
Technical Specifications
- Resolution: 7 megapixels (3072 x 2304)
- Viewfinder(s): 2.5" TFT LCD
- Lens: f3.1-f5.9/6.3mm – 18.9mm (38mm – 114mm
35mm equivalent) standard (6 elements in 5 groups) Nikkor Zoom
- Auto Focus: Center AF point contrast
detection autofocus system
- Exposure: Auto
- Flash: Built-in multi mode (Auto, Red-Eye
Reduction, Fill Flash, Slow Synch, and Off)
- Metering: 256 segment (multi-pattern) Matrix
metering
- White Balance: TTL Auto, Daylight,
Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Shade, and Flash
- Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 50-800) and user
selectable settings for ISO 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1000
- Memory Storage Media: SD/SDHC/MMC
- Image File Format: JPEG
- Connectivity: USB 2.0HS & A/V out
- Power: Nikon EN-EL10 Li-ion battery
Included
Battery charger, wrist Strap, USB Cable,
Audio/Video Cable, EN-EL10 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, Software CD-ROM, and
printed users manuals
