Nikon CoolPix S220 review – Inexpensive camera
Thumbs Up:
Great design, compact design, inexpensive, good features.
Thumbs Down:
Photo quality could have been better, performance is slow.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Nikon CoolPix S220 is a 10 mega pixel camera, ISO options include ISO auto (80-1600), ISO auto (80-800), ISO 2000, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 100, ISO 80. Shooting programs include Panorama assist, Night landscape, Night portrait, Portrait mode, Party/indoor, Sports mode, Beach/snow, Back light, Landscape, Fireworks, Dawn/dusk, Close-up, Sunset, Museum, Food, Copy. White balance presets include Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash. Videos are stored in AVI format, pictures are stored in JPEG format. Video capture resolution options are AVI 320×240 and AVI 640×480.
The phone has 44 MB of built in memory and image storage resolution options are JPEG 3584 x 2016, JPEG 640 x 480, JPEG 1024 x 768, JPEG 2048 x 1536, JPEG 2592 x 1944, JPEG 3648 x 2736. Flash modes include Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode and Auto mode. The camera has Zoom lens – 6.3 mm – 18.9 mm – F/3.1-5.9 zoom lens, with focal length of 6.3 mm – 18.9 mm, minimum focus range is 23.6 inches, macro focus range is 10 cm, lens aperture is F/3.1-5.9, optical zoom is 3x.
Additional features for this camera include Motion Detection Technology, Digital image stabilization, Smile Detection technology, Blink Detection technology, Face-priority AF function, In-camera red-eye fix, Audio recording. The camera has a 2.5 inch LCD. Connectors on the camera include Composite video/audio output, USB. The device is powered by Li-ion rechargeable battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
Nikon CoolPix S220 is 3.5 inches tall, 2.2 inches wide and 0.7 inch deep and it measures 4 ounces. The CoolPix S220 is incredibly small and comfortable for using. It has ultra-compact and lightweight body. The S220 is available in six different colors and has names like warm silver, smooth magenta and cobalt blue.
Inside Dope:
You have seen the people only interested in flip type camcorder for watching, recording and sharing videos on social networking website. You might have also interacted with the people who need a pocket camera for capturing and posting pictures to their favorite photo sharing or social networking Web site. Nikon CoolPix 220 is completely a Facebook camera that is designed for people needing some better still capturing device than mobile phone. The CoolPix S220 has nice ultra-compact design and good features, but the photo quality is not good. Even more, its performance is also not impressive one. The CoolPix S220 costs around $149.99. If you only view and print small size photographs less than 4×6 inches, then you can buy the new digital camera – Nikon CoolPix S220.
Nikon CoolPix S220 has straightforward controls. The zoom control, shutter release and power button sits on the top. The directional pad and other menu navigation and shooting option buttons are located on the back. The Menu button will show mode specific shooting options and another menu tab for system options.
2.5-inch LCD display of Nikon CoolPix S220 has a resolution of 150,000 pixels. The size of display is good in the camera’s dimensions. The display cannot adjust itself in the bright sun light, due to which the photo quality is affected.
Nikon CoolPix S220 has basic shooting features. Auto mode allows adjusting the controls such as exposure compensation, white-balance, auto focus area mode and ISO levels. Other drive modes are also available including Nikon Best Shot Selector. At this Best Shot Mode, you can capture 10 shots on pressing the shutter button and saves interval shooting time. Auto Scene Selector takes one of the 15 scene modes and you can also manually select any mode of your choice. Movie mode enables video recording in two resolutions of 640×480 and 320×240 pixels, but you cannot use the optical zoom while recording.
We captured some video clip from Nikon CoolPix S220 for testing. The video quality was good only for Web use, but it has visible grainy elements and color banding.
The performance of Nikon CoolPix S220 is good. The time from pressing the shutter release button to capture photograph is 0.8 second in bright light. The shutter lag is 1.3 seconds in the dim light. The burst speed is 1.3fps. Shot-to-shot time is 3.3 seconds with flash and 3 seconds without flash.
Nikon CoolPix S220 provides the best photo quality at ISO 100 and ISO 80. The details and sharpness decreases rapidly above ISO 200. If you set the Auto mode, then the S220 will use ISO 400. Other light sensitivity levels including ISO 2000, 1600 and 400-800 are not good for prints. The photographs in dark and low lighting are looking grainy and loosing details. We will recommend you to use the flash for capturing the photos in low or dark lighting.
We captured some indoor and outdoor shots for test. The colors were not accurate and blues looked more vibrant than others. The dynamic range of Nikon CoolPix S220 was overall limited. The highlights appeared blown out. Auto white-balance was too warm in indoor shots. The camera was taking time for other presets and manual option for white-balance.
The lens of Nikon CoolPix S220 has barrel distortion and pin-cushioning, but it is manageable by inbuilt Distortion Control Panel. Some purple fringe is also visible in high-contrast areas, which is normal for the camera in its class.
Nikon CoolPix S220 is an ultra-compact, lightweight and inexpensive camera. The overall picture quality is good for small size, but not for large size view and prints. If you just need a camera to capture photographs of small size only for Web use and small print, then you can buy this new CoolPix S220 camera.
Nitty Gritty:
Nikon Coolpix S220 is an inexpensive camera that is targeted at photographers who like social networking. We would recommend this device to such users.
