166 of 167 people found the following review helpful:
A Canon Killer, An incredible Camera
Many years ago I did quite a bit of photography; and so I know what it takes to get a great photo. Unfortunately the digital cameras, particularly the small ones, have been hampered by slow ability to capture light, and thus get clear pictures in Low light without a flash, or get great shots at High Speeds. Also the digital camera's ability to distinguish between a...
136 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
Great camera, but has a few caveats...
Pros: Great Flash, Three inch LCD, Easy Controls
Cons: Made in China, Long time to take picture, PROPRIETARY USB CABLE
Best Uses: Point and shoot, Flash shots
I just got back from two weeks in Australia and bought this a couple days before I left for my point and shoot as an adjunct to my Nikon D200 DSLR.
This review is from: Nikon Coolpix S620 12.2MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Rich Pearl) (Electronics)
Many years ago I did quite a bit of photography; and so I know what it takes to get a great photo. Unfortunately the digital cameras, particularly the small ones, have been hampered by slow ability to capture light, and thus get clear pictures in Low light without a flash, or get great shots at High Speeds. Also the digital camera's ability to distinguish between a strong backlight, faces, a variety of scenes, like bright sun, shade, cloudy days, indoor light, has been poor, but gradually getting better across the last 4 years. This Nikon S620, solves all of those problems. All of these situations are corrected in this camera automatically if you want to just point and shoot. It is a master of computer engineering. For several years now with most of the strong brands, you could get good pictures in all the above situations, by correcting for red eye, selecting special scenes, and using tripods in low light. What I wanted to see if, with this Nikon, IF you set it to complete auto, you could get great pictures. Has the computer advanced far enough, where it could anticipate all these situations and give you a great picture? Answer is a resounding yes. I have tested this for a month, and I love it so much; I have now bought one for one of my daughters. This model as some professional reviews have said is a bit more practical for everyday situations, because of the wide angle. What it lacks in the Zoom, though the S630 is tempting; it makes up in speed, to handle all the above situations well. The controls are easy to operate. The high Megapixel count let you crop photos closer and still have a great picture; like the one I uploaded with the bird nesting. The anti-shake /vibration works well; to give you almost always clear shots, in these difficult situations.
UPDATE MAY 7th. : I looked at the S630 Product page and noticed 6 reviews, all but one positive. The one negative review, talks about noise in pictures and poor performance in low light. The speed rating of the 620 is much higher than the 630, at native resolution; thus resulting in sharper pictures in the extremes of photography, low light and high speed. I belive by my own photo's the 620 is a remarkable advancement in giving excellent pictures acorss the range. I am not saying, to not buy the 630; only that the powerful zoom in such a small camera is not without compromise. Thus there may be issues with that camera when used as an all around camera. If you are looking for an excellent all around camera; the Nikon S620 is THE one to buy!
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I purchased this S620 as a replacement for my aging and failing Coolpix S51. I was looking for something faster and smaller and this camera is definitely both of those things. It was a tough decision between this and the S630.. which has a slightly higher resolution and a 7x zoom, but I decided that the speed more than makes up for it.
The advertised .7 second startup time is pretty much right on... power button press to first image recorded is a little less than 2 seconds, and it can take 2 pictures in about 3 seconds in single mode. This varies a bit depending on light, subject and which extra features that you have on. The smile detector and blink proof are nifty toys, but I don't really care and I leave them off. It's true that it takes about 3 seconds to load up the zoom and other features, but if you just need to power up fast to catch an unexpected shot, then 2 seconds is all it takes.
The pictures it takes are very sharp and the colors are vibrant, and the macro works great down to less than 1". It takes pretty clear pictures in nearly pitch black, automatically adjusting to ISO 1600. I tried setting it to ISO 6400 to see what would happen but the resulting picture was mostly useless. It must be for high speed action rather than low light applications.
As for negatives, my biggest would be that the metering options are limited. The 2 choices are Matrix and Center Weighted, but the Center Weighted is all over the place. On my old S51 if you told it center, then it focused on whatever was in the center no matter what. The center weighting on the S620 tries to guess what you were aiming for somewhere near the center, and it's often not right.... so you have to keep trying until it figures out what you want. The other negative was already mentioned by another reviewer, and that's that Nikon uses a non-standard USB cable. I usually pull the card out to save battery power when I'm transferring pictures, but it's worth noting for other potential purchasers.
As a side note, I purchased this from J&R, and when it arrived it was the kit version, which included the Nikon 5811 leather case - so I'm glad I didn't spend the extra $18 on that... before you buy the case separately, check with the retailer to see if it's included.
** Update ** Okay - it's been a few weeks, a few thousand miles and 1000 or so pictures and I have one negative to add to my review. The camera boots up and shoots instantly and takes a few seconds to load up everything else, which is already known. What I discovered is that between about 2 and 4 seconds after the camera is turned on it won't do anything at all. So 0-2 seconds = take a picture, 2-4 seconds = miss your shot, 4+ seconds = full power. I tend to turn my camera off and was relying on the instant startup, but I had to plan accordingly if something was coming in 3 seconds that I wanted a shot of... :)
Otherwise, the camera has worked perfectly in every other respect so far.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropolismusic/
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I love this camera. I also bought it to replace an aging digital (Kodak). I did a lot of research because for me $300+ is a lot of money. For my purposes, which is home inspection pictures, I could not be more pleased!
It is THE fastest starting, compact digital point and shoot out camera out there right now. The speed of startup is very important to me. The old camera took about 7+ secs. to start. This one is about 1.5 like others have said but, not all the functions are available for another second or so depending on which features you have enabled. It shuts off just as fast. I turn the camera on and off a lot and it adds up over the course of a day.
The other nice thing about this camera is that it is almost a pro-sumer camera. It's a great blend of a high end digital SLR features and the ease of point and shoot. I know it's not a $2,000 SLR so pros please don't blast me. What I mean is that it takes excellent photos in a wide range of situations, automatically. Auto is the setting I use most because, unlike a lot of other cameras, other Coolpix included, it does do what it is supposed to do. Odd huh? Funny when that is the exception instead of the norm.
That said, it is easy enough to use right away and has list of features deep enough for anyone wanting to manually set any or all the the controls manually. There is an automatic setting, the one I use most of the time, which is like any other auto setting people are used to but, there is also an *automatic* SCENE setting. So it's not just inside vs outside or flash vs no flash. No guessing or fiddling with "Is this a sport shot or a back lit situation?". That will change to the best scene mode available, automatically. It's all the cool features I was ever promised on other cameras, delivered.
It also has an automatic lens cover which is awesome. My other one was always clanging around one way or another. Putting it on or taking it off sometimes I would accidentally touch the front of the lens and it drove me nuts!
The stabilization is also very good. I shake a lot when taking photos and this camera has two stabilization methods. You can use one or the other or both or none. Depending on how you set the camera up it, works very well. I used to have to carry a mono pod with me all the time. I now leave it at home.
The panorama feature is also one of the best and easiest I have ever used. It overlays the last shot to the next in the LCD as you take the series of photos. It can pan left, right, up or down. Very cool!
The only con I can think of is that the LCD screen on the back of the camera is flush with the back of the case, like an iPod, and I am afraid I'll forget and set it down on its back and scratch the screen. I am looking for one of those silicone skin covers to give it a smidgen of inset to prevent this from happening. So no worries there for me.
Aside from that one issue the camera is just great and I am very happy with my purchase.
Whether you want to take no hassle pictures or dig into all the settings available (which you don't have to) it really is a wonderful camera!
There is so much more I could say but you're probably tired of reading by now. :0)
PS. After owning the camera for a week I bought a nice Nikon neoprene case fitted just for this camera for $15 at Target that works like a charm!
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Pros: Great Flash, Three inch LCD, Easy Controls
Cons: Made in China, Long time to take picture, PROPRIETARY USB CABLE
Best Uses: Point and shoot, Flash shots
I just got back from two weeks in Australia and bought this a couple days before I left for my point and shoot as an adjunct to my Nikon D200 DSLR.
I got flash shots the wimpy flash on my D200 wouldn't get.
Startup time is a bit too long for me. Time between shots is great.
I didn't take the manual figuring if I needed it, I'd download it. I didn't need it. Controls are intuitive although it takes getting used to the rotary control. HOWEVER, the flash is fast and easy to shut off (or change settings) and that's a big plus over my old Canon.
On the negative side, this baby takes a long time to take the photo. It's about 2 seconds. It must be doing all the face searching and focusing, etc., but I had to learn to hold the button down until it went through it's gyrations, and that's a long time.
MOST ANNOYINGLY: I went to download the pictures at the end of the first day in Australia only to find it doesn't use a standard USB cable. I left the proprietary cable at home because I carry one standard USB cable. I didn't have a card reader with me (I have about 3 at home) and they were very expensive in Austalia. So I waited until I got back to download and backup my photos. With my girlfriend's Canon point and shoot and my D200, I downloaded the photos each night to my Macintosh laptop, then copied the full sized photos to my iPod. That way, there were 3 copies. And I never keep the 3 devices in the same place.
I'd give this camera 4 stars with faster shoot times and 5 stars for a standard USB cable interface.
Lastly, I would never take the advice of "get a large memory card." Get several 2Gb cards and rotate them. This way, if you lose a card or the camera gets stolen, you don't have all your vacation photos in one place. This tip was given to me by a pro photog friend.
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I got my Nikon Coolpix two days before leaving for a two week trip to Thailand. My son-in-law actually advised me to get this camera for it's simplicity and easy to use qualities. As usual,I am always late in getting organized. I ordered the camera from Amazon and thought there would be no way I'd get the camera before I left. It arrived in plenty of time. I had plenty of time on the plane to 'study' the instructions. Finally, in Bangkok and ready to shot pictures.
I had a blast on the trip and a ball using my new Nikon. It is so easy to use and takes great pictures. I have a wonderful pictoral history of my Thailand trip. I have clear, beautiful pictures of elephants and a cyrstal clear photos of ants marching one by one on top of a ledge. What fun. I'm not technical genius when it comes to new gadgets, but this Nikon turned me into a Ansel Adams, in my mind.
Come over I'll show you the big elephants and the tiny ants.
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The S620 has a nice portable design and can be ready to photograph in about 1.5 seconds.
It will turn on quickly but controls and focusing aren't availabe unit three quarters of a second later.
The wide angle 28mm equivalent makes group shots in tight areas easier as well. Lots of fun to use.
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Since this is my first digital camera I don't have anything to really compare the 620 against. I was looking for something relatively small in size that would be easy to use, take great pictures and not be too terribly expensive. The 620 has met and exceeded my expectations. The start up time and picture quality are stand outs for me. I've taken about 50 shots so far with this camera in different situations and I have yet to be disappointed. If your an average user like me who wants to be able to take great pictures right out of the box with minimal adjustments then look no further.
PS I got this camera from JR music through amazon and like the other reviewer said, it was the kit version and it came with the carrying case and the extended warranty. So yes it may be worth your wild to verify what your getting before you order any extras.
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Very nice little camera, the images of course still look like they're from a compact, but they're better quality than most. The camera does very nicely in low-light situations, and the close-up feature works surprisingly very well.
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I bought this camera specifically to get better photographs in low light, close-up conditions because from what I've read it's one of the best point-and-shoots you can get for that. Both the photo and video quality fulfill my expectations. It's amazing how fast and how much the technology is improving!
Overall, I think this is a great point-and-shoot camera for low-light close-ups.
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I was looking for a simple camera not too expensive just to have pics of birthday parties and trips. found a deal but this camera is way better thatn i thought for its price. starting with the size...it feels very confortable in the hand and is small.
picture quality is incredible for a point and shot digital camera, in 2 days using it i've taken pics that seem like taken with profesional cameras...it works incredibly well in the night with no flash and captures true colors with no flash as well (personaly i dont like using flash)
i works good in auto mode you feel like a pro taking pics. havent tried face detection or smile detection that much bec im not interested in those features so much.
usd cable is not the standar but i can use the sd cards to my laptop if have no cable
the start is not that fast but is compensated with the quickly shootting..
the anti shaking and vibration reduction works fine.
in conclusion my only complaint would be with the start time its about 4 seconds, all other features are just the best!! i would recomend this camera !
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