Nikon Coolpix S4200
Rating:
The Nikon Coolpix s4200 is a lightweight, compact camera that’s so small, you can keep it in your pocket with ease and comfort.
Nikon Coolpix S4200 Design
Its a fairly simple “point and shoot” camera with minimal buttons to navigate including power on/off, shutter release, video record, zoom, mode select and playback. It has a bright 3inch touch screen which is clear and responds well to variable lighting conditions.
This camera seems to be aimed at beginners and possibly those on a budget and is available in two colours, black and red.
Nikon Coolpix S4200 Features
The S4200′s body is very slim, meaning you can easily carry it around in your pocket when out and about. There is a 16 megapixel CCD sensor and the 6x optical zoom lens is a 35mm equivalent of 26-156mm. To help counteract camera shake, the S4200 has e-VR (electronic vibration reduction).
Auto mode changes the camera settings automatically depending on the scene. Other shooting modes include 19 scenes and smart portrait system with smile timer, blink proof, skin softening and red-eye fix. The camera has subject tracking AF and can also be focused by pressing on the 3 inch LCD touch screen, when the shutter will also be released.
Images can be edited after shooting via the retouch menu, which has a range of filter effects.
Nikon Coolpix S4200 Performance
Colour production is pretty good but finer details were a little lacking in a few images and macro shooting was rather disappointing.
When it came to ISO Noise Performance, the S4200 seemed to produce soft images at ISO 800 or more but performed well below ISO 400.
White Balance Performance coped well under most conditions producing natural and well lit images.
Added features on this camera which allow you to be more creative are Quick Retouch, D-Lighting, Glamour Retouch and Filter Effects as well as the ability to edit images in playback. These are all pretty basic but it is a nice feature to allow you to enhance your images on the go.
One thing I noticed during video capturing was the inability to use the optical zoom during recording, although you can use digital zoom.
Battery life was extremely disappointing and ran out after only very short usage.
Pros
- Responsive touch screen
- Slim and compact
- Colour reproduction
- AWB performance
Cons
- ISO Performance over 400
- Poor battery durability
Verdict
Overall, this camera has a responsive touchscreen display as well as a neat compact body. ISO performance was a little poor over ISO 800 and battery life was extremely disappointing. However, colour reproduction is good, as is the AWB performance.
