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Nikon Coolpix S6
Sudeep Naik, Aug 16, 2006 1500 hrs ISTIt seems it's raining slim cameras this season and world is getting slimmer. Cashing in on this trend, Nikon launched another in a series of slim cameras, the S6.
Slim, Sleek, Extremely good looking, Easy to use interface, Good quality still pictures, Battery life.
Red eye reduction systems fail most of the times, No support for USB 2.0, Camera dock required for USB or A/V output, No Image Stablization Fuctions
Expert Rating :
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Performance
The Nikon Coolpix S6 gets high points on looks and feel. Its simple design is something that will draw a lot of people who are most interested in the end results; capturing the moments.
Although the rated Start up time is approx 0.8 second, it takes around 1.5 seconds till you get the image on the LCD; which, by the way, is pretty neat. All image and scene modes are easily accessible. Unlike a lot of other cams that we have reviewed here, I found the menus have been made easier for the eye with a pretty decent color scheme. The Help button provides easy-to-understand explanations for functions on main menu, which can be very helpful for novices to get acquainted to digicam terminology.
Image quality is decent (if not exceptional) thanks to a 1/2.5-inch CCD and 6.0 effective Megapixel resolution that produces sharp image that don't get blurred or grainy even when significantly enlarged. There were times when I was really irritated with the camera for not having any image stablization fuctions, but after a few attempts I did manage to get it right. Delay between shots is pretty low as well.
The high-quality Nikkor ED lens gives the flexibility to zoom out for beautiful landscapes, zoom in for tightly-composed portraits. As you can see from the sample pictures, the camera gives good quality images for far-out scenes and for close-ups as well. But, I must say I was expecting a better low light performance.
Note: Please go to next page for sample pictures.
The Coolpix S6 has a two-stage redeye reduction system. The camera first uses preflashes to shrink the subject's pupils, and if it still detects redeye the camera removes it with software. Unfortunately, both these systems failed very often during our tests.
Continuous shooting mode allows you to take images at a rate of 2.2 fps. It's pretty handy when the subject is in motion. For still subjects, the BSS (Best Shot Selector) works pretty fine. Exposure BSS automatically selects and saves the shot most closely matching user-selected criteria from five sequential shots.
We tried recording video in all modes (with and without sound) and, although the sound could have been better, the results were all well above average but nothing exceptional. There's also an electronic vibration reduction feature which digitally reduces any "shakes" in your movies.
A major con of this camera is that it is not USB 2.0 compatible making image transfers very slow. The WiFi support that Nikon broadly claims works well but, you cannot e-mail or upload files wirelessly. Another irritating con is that the camera dock required for USB or A/V output.
The rechargeable Li-Ion EN-EL8 battery lasts for at least 180-195 shots with minimal surfing between shots and around 150 shots with some fiddling around with options and image surfing, which is decent enough. But I must say, having a fully charged spare battery always helps no matter what camera you use(I found that out the hard way.)
Conclusion
The Nikon Coolpix S6 is available for Rs. 15,995 with a one-year-warranty. I'd say it's a decent camera with really easy functions. This is the most ideal for point and shoot enthusiasts who want a bit more than just capture frames from life. We strongly advise users to try out a few options before settling down on any single camera.
Test Unit sourced from: J.J. Mehta & Sons, Mumbai.
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