Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix S600 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Zoom with Vibration Reduction (Slate Black)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I own a Nikon D70, so I'm a little jaded when it comes to image quality. This little thing with a slim profile and a big clear lcd screen feels well-made in the hands. It is point and shoot picture taking at its best.

I bought this for my husband who isn't a natural photographer. He needed something that would fit in his chest pocket of his uniform on overseas deployments. The Nikon Coolpix S600 is about the size of a razor cellphone, but just slightly thicker. The buttons seem natural in their places and the features aren't useless tacked on extras like in some cameras. Pretty much anyone can take good pictures with this camera (when the manual is read).

D-lighting in combination with the high ISO function makes pictures that aren't washed out with flash. The background and the foreground are more even toned and subjects don't look like ghosts. The VR (vibration reduction) lens accounts for camera shake and more pictures are likely to come out clearer which is always a good thing in those candid, spur of the moment shots. One thing that I didn't see on this page is the mention of being SDHC capable. SDHC is the latest in SD memory (which memory cards this camera takes) and it basically means that there is a greater storage capacity without loss of quality. The transfer rate is also higher when uploading to a computer. In the end it means more good pictures! I also love the anti-glare coating on the lcd screen so you can see what is on the screen even in bright sunlight.

The only con that I've run across with this is the battery life. Because it is such a tiny little thing, the battery is pretty small. You can get approx 190 shots with it. Of course it is rechargable, but I like to always have a fresh extra one on hand. Get an extra one Nikon EN-EL10, and I suggest using only Nikon components with my cameras. Also, find a slim case that ZIPS to protect it.

This is a very nice little point and shoot. I had purchased it for a friend to be able to use to just take snapshots, and during a short vacation getaway found that the image quality was just about as good as my more expensive compact digital camera -- easy to use, fast start-up, and lots of scene modes.

Note that the out-of-the-box configuration is not all that great for action shots -- make sure you familiarize yourself with the scene modes already set up by Nikon -- you'll find a huge difference right away!!

The menus are a bit difficult to navigate for newcomers: I had to do some setup for my buddy -- but it's a breeze for those who are familiar with the Nikon systems.

This really is a great little camera that gives surprisingly wonderful shots -- it's hard to classify it as a snapshot digital camera with such high IQ.

Get an extra battery if you don't want to recharge every night -- battery drain is a bit worse than some other cameras of this size.

I bought this camera for an overseas trip last month. I didn't want to carry my large Nikon DSLR this time, but I didn't want the too much compromise of a standard point and shoot either, like my old and faithful Canon SD600.
I'm still surprised by the outstanding quality of the images and the versatility it provides.
The key points for me:
- Wide angle, 28 mm equivalent (18mm in a digital SLR). Very important to get more in the picture. There are no many compact cameras with this.
- High ISO and the Auto-ISO feature. I took impressive photos indoors, like cafes and restaurants that look great.
- VR. Vibration reduction. Probably the single most important reason for those blur-free pictures I got I think. It just works.
- Uses High capacity/speed memory cards. I bought an SDHC 4GB card, and even with lots of video could not fill it.
- Video: takes great video for a camera this size, and you can zoom in and out also in your video.

The camera is small, compact, and feels very solid. I just carried it during the trip in my pants pockets.
In brief, I love this camera. It is now my first choice camera for my family pictures since then (except for the kids sports).
I bought also an extra Nikon battery, just in case.

Got this camera for the wide angle lens, Nikon name and small size only to be sorely disappointed. The pictures are great, don't get me wrong, and I agree with the other reviews. However, as you can see there are one or two people who rate this camera very negatively. They are right, and I suspect that others who would rank this Nikon very low are just not bothering to write. If your fingers are just the right size I bet you'd find the scroll wheel very handy to navigate all the features. I just find it a clumsy solution to what Panasonic has done so much better. It's difficult to switch modes as you have to use the wheel to identify on the display screen if you want portrait, bright sunlight, no flash etc. You might say that the camera takes care of most of these functions automatically and to a degree you'd be right. Except of course for those situations that you would need this otherwise fast start up camera to listen quickly to what you would want it to do! And here's the other thing: shutter lag. For its extremely fast startup, the S600 is just painfully slow in between shots, something I thought I could live with but that in practice is annoying to say the least. My last gripe is about the battery. If I don't use a camera for a few days I don't expect the battery to drain by itself. That's right, I have taken perhaps 15 pictures, most in broad daylight, then didn't use the camera for about 5 days and the battery was dead, empty, non-responsive. After a recharge the camera came back to life but how do you like that? Back to Panasonic for the wide angle lens. Nikon, shame on you.

Received this camera as a gift before a trip overseas. Didn't have time to do more than charge the battery and go, so no reading the manual. It was easy to use, had a decent battery life (though, yes, you do need to recharge it daily if using it all day). I received an extra memory card, which can hold 1600 pics (didn't try the video). The response time was fast in taking multiple shots. "Scene" settings were really helpful for action shots and different light situations. Clearly I am not a camera pro, but this allowed me to take some clear, beautiful photos. 10 mp is wonderful.

I returned the elegant S52 to buy this one.

There is a lot to like about this little gem. It's small, only a fraction thicker than my old Elph and smaller in two dimensions. It's very easy to use, and the scroll dial helps speed things along, though its not nearly as smooth as the dial on the S52. The basic control layout is acceptable, though still overall inferior to Canon's. The screen is big, bright, and beautiful. The image sensor is stellar, and the high ISO can't be beat. However, I think the newer S52 has it slightly beat on low light performance. The easily bewildered AF seems to plague all the new Nikons. I get halfway results on the macro mode, I have a feeling I just need to learn it more. The 1600 ISO is perfect; the 3200 is usable. At 10 megs, just shoot at 3200 and use photoshop to denoise it down to a more sensible resolution, if PS is your thing. It's not mine.

The reason I bought this one over anything else on the market was the lens. Nobody else is offering a 28mm equivalent in this price range. Nobody. And the fast sensor makes it a best in class as well. That's really all a camera is, a lens and a sensor, the rest is just packaging and controls. The packaging and controls on this camera are adequate, which is all I expect from a compact camera.

Pros: Great wideangle lens, fast aperture, fast power on time, low shutter lag, fast ISO. Overall a very fast camera. Good screen. Good price. Uses SD cards, and accessible with an easy access door. Shows exposure information before a shot. Compact size. Weightless. Face detection AF for people shots.

Cons: weird proprietary wiring connector. Flimsy command dial. No manual mode. Short battery life. Awkward zoom buttons (I prefer the Canon style).

Bottom line: Buy this camera if you're looking for a good people and party camera that fits in your pocket. Consider the S210, though, for a whole lot less if the wide lens doesn't matter to you.

I'm a long time Nikon shooter and have had a 5 different Coolpix compact digital cameras and have been quite pleased with the product design, software and most importantly the image quality. When my kids bent the lens on my P3 I was psyched to order the S600 - the specs looked terrific and it was oh so pocketable. The wide angle, high ISO and lightning fast startup all work as advertised. The big issue is shutter lag and auto focus. I tried many settings, the bottom line is, especially in indoor shooting, you press the shutter and nothing happens for a long time..... In Auto Mode, it also seemed to pick the wrong thing to focus on. Maybe with all of the "intelligence" the processor is thinking too much about what to do - I'm not going to try to figure it out - I'm shipping it back to Amazon. The other thing is the overall feel and quality of the product. The screen is huge and has good contrast and resolution. The rest of the camera body and especially the controls, are cheap and feel like they could fall apart at any minute. The battery door is flimsy, the battery and SD card slot are way too crowded and the cover for the cable connector would not stay closed. Come on Nikon, you have a great brand that lots of us trust - why put out such a cheap product? They could have made this camera 10% larger overall in size and made it 10% more expensive to put it into better fit and finish and shooting performance and it would have been the perfect compact high performance.

I have owned many point and shoot, pro film, and DSLR's over the years. This Nikon I think it is a great little camera. Fast start up and good time btwn shots compared to almost others in the 10mp range. It is nice and compact and fits in a variety of pockets. Has a 4x zoom and a nice 2.7 inch screen and the good VR image stablizer like it's professional lenses for DSLRs. As for me this type of camera is great for daytime shoots outside, and useful for simple snap shots at a party.

This is a small camera and although they rate with 3200 for low light. It does what it says it will do but don't expect that to be great on the dark end/low light. When shooting with a pro level camera at 3200 and 6400 you can get some really nifty shots, but with these little point and shoots it will be grainier and darker most likely. All I can say is know your cameras limits.

Read reviews, research and best of all even purchase a couple you really like and test them in every way without any damage and keep the one that bests works for you and return the others. Amazon and many of it's partners have fair return policies for undamaged and all packing contents for returns.

Remember everyone has a varying view on what they think looks good or correct color and or light and dark. So try the cameras out in stores and even friends before committing fully to any one camera. all in all this is one of the best point and shoots from Nikon for the purposes I have used it for.

I bought this camera as a replacement for my old Nikon Coolpix 7900 whose
monitor screen went bad for no apparent reason. Since Wolfe Camera said it would probably cost $200 to repair, I opted for a new camera. I almost returned this camera and can only give it four stars since it DOES NOT have the panoramic assist feature as clearly stated in your specifications. The 7900 had this invaluable feature, which make panoramic landscapes a snap. Nor does it have a viewfinder like the 7900 which is a plus when shooting into the sun.

However, it has a 28mm lens which is uncommon in a point and shoot camera. This is great when shooting landscapes and small rooms. Nikon's D-Lighting is a very valuable feature since it allows for on the spot fixes inside the camera of underexposed shots. What I like best about this camera, besides its small size, is the manual focus option, which is great for portraits of off-center subjects. I prefer this over face-recognition. Unlike most cameras, this Nikon supports the enprinting of date/time right on the photograph, which is a great documentation tool for such events as accident reporting, etc. I purchased the extended warranty coverage, which I would highly recommend.

Unfortunately, it seems that digital cameras just don't hold up like the old 35mm cameras, which I have had for decades and they still keep working. My HP-945, Canon Powershot Pro-1, Nikon Coolpix 5400 and Panasonic Lumix FX-100 all went bad in spite of perfect handling and care. So an extended warranty makes sense. I have several friends who have also had this experience. Also, since this is a pocket camera, a plastic protective monitor cover is highly recommended since keys and pocket change can scratch the expensive screen easily.

Fortunately, my Panasonic Lumix FX-100 is still under warranty and only failed after about 5,000 photographs shot in China and Mexico. It's also is a great camera and has three aspect ratios instead of just one like the S600. However, I prefer the S600 for portraits due it manual focusing and for documentation shots due to its date enprinting option. If you wish to read my review of the Panasonic Lumix FX-100 go to the FX-100 product description. The S600 has only one aspect ratio which isn't even mentioned in its specs. These two cameras supplement each other. One is better for landscapes (FX-100 with its 14-9 ratio) and the other for portraits (manual and face recognition focus options).

I have had no problems with out-of-focus shots. But this may be partly due to the fact that I always use the self-timer if possible in all shots to avoid any camera shake caused by pushing the shutter button. All in all, this is a great camera for its price. I would highly recommend it.

Panasonic Lumix FX100K 12.2MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

Earth

Having owned many Nikons, starting with the original Nikon F SLR, and having been a professional photographer with NASA in the 1970s, I long ago gave up carrying a heavy bag of multiple camera bodies and several lenses. I bought the Coolpix 600 to have something I could stick in my fanny pack and because there are a bunch of great cameras available (makes your head spin) I based this purchase on a key capability -- a wide angle greater than the usual 35mm equivalent and considered Nikon, Canon and a few other makes. Owning a Coolpix 995, and being an unabashed Nikon fan, the Coolpix 600 won out. One has to marvel at the electronic wizardry in today's cameras -- vibration reduction (hand-held shots that are sharp at as low as 1/4 sec shutter speed!), 10 megapixels and an interface I'm familiar with. Actually, it's even simpler to make changes than the 995. Of course, this isn't a Nikon D300 (my next purchase if I can justify it), but in the meantime, the Coolpix 600 is a camera I can carry easily and takes great pictures with all the advantages of the latest electronic features in an almost too small package. I do miss a viewfinder, but am essentially very happy with this purchase. It is a perfect compromise. I broke it in during a trip to Chicago and it will get a thorough workout in a couple of months in Dublin and Cornwall.