Nikon Coolpix S230 Camera

With the three buttons (shutter release, review and capture mode buttons) and a zoom-toggle the S230 ensures that its 3.0 inch 230,000 colour touchscreen is not missed. The touchscreen controls most of the controls of the camera, and with a Nikkor lens providing the pictures, the screen looks crisp and bright. The camera is slim (0.8in) and does well for being an ultracompact with an indented grip, sturdy brushed-metal coated plastic body and is ergonomically sound.
The UI is simple and straightforward with 4 shooting modes (Auto, Scene, Scene Auto Selector and Video Recording)

Pros

• Face, smile and blink detection give you value for money for a $230 ultra-compact that fits into your pants pocket pretty neatly. The photo quality is good (not all that great, however).
• The shooting modes are simple and straightforward so much so that you do not need to look at the manual for understanding what stands for what. Drive modes for Best Shot Selector (Takes 10 shots in a short interval and saves the best one), interval timer shot (captures every thirty seconds, one, five or ten minutes) as well as the standard continuous mode.
• There are 15 scenes to select from as well as an Auto Scene Selector that determines which scene is the best for the current view.
• The video shoots at 320×240 or 640×480 with a decent frame rate and clarity.
• ISO sensitivity from ISO 80 to ISO 2000, although the best pictures are obtained under ISO 200.

Cons

• Colours are natural, but the red is too vibrant and at times washes out the other colours. This can be corrected by manually adjusting the white balance.
• The lens has quite a bit of barrel distortion but is corrected by using the camera’s distortion control.
• Purple fringing occurs at high contrast.
• The camera is slow – 3.5 seconds for the first shot and 3 seconds from shot to shot. Burst is fast at 1.6 frames per second and with flash the shot to shot increases only by 0.3 seconds.

Final Word
For a point-and-shoot camera that has an intuitive touch-screen and decent photo quality and great looks, the Coolpix holds on its own with the affordable $230 price tag and since it is slim enough to be with you at all times, this camera is great for the sudden picture-taker.

SPECIFICATION

Manufacturer: Nikon
Part Number:26145
General
Product Type Digital camera – Compact
Width 3.5 in
Depth 0.8 in
Height 2.2 in
Weight 4.1 oz
Enclosure Color Jet black
Body Material Aluminum
Main Features
Resolution 10 megapixels
Color Support Color
Optical Sensor Type CCD
Total Pixels 10,340,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 10,000,000 pixels
Light Sensitivity ISO 80 , ISO 100 , ISO 200 , ISO 400 , ISO 800 , ISO 1600 , ISO 2000 , ISO auto (80-800) , ISO auto (80-1600)
Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
Shooting Programs Copy , Food , Museum , Sunset , Close-up , Dawn/dusk , Fireworks , Landscape , Back light , Beach/snow , Sports mode , Party/indoor , Portrait mode , Night portrait , Night landscape , Panorama assist
Exposure Metering Spot , Matrix , Center-weighted
Exposure Modes Program ,  Automatic
Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Exposure Metering Zones 256
Face Detection Yes
White Balance Presets , Automatic
White Balance Presets Flash , Cloudy , Daylight , Fluorescent , Incandescent
Digital Video Format AVI
Still Image Format JPEG
TV Tuner None
Video Capture AVI – 640 x 480 , AVI – 320 x 240
Memory / Storage
Supported Flash Memory SD Memory Card
Integrated Memory 44 MB
Floppy Drive None
Digital Storage Media None
Image Storage JPEG 3648 x 2736 , JPEG 2592 x 1944 , JPEG 2048 x 1536 , JPEG 1024 x 768 , JPEG 640 x 480 , JPEG 3584 x 2016

Camera Flash
Camera Flash Built-in flash
Flash Modes Auto mode ,  Fill-in mode ,  Slow synchro ,  Flash OFF mode ,  Red-eye reduction
Red Eye Reduction Yes
Lens System
Type Zoom lens – 6.3 mm – 18.9 mm – F/3.1-5.9
Focal Length 6.3 mm – 18.9 mm
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 35 – 105 mm
Focus Adjustment Automatic
Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
Min Focus Range 23.6 in
Macro Focus Range 10cm
Lens Aperture F/3.1-5.9
Optical Zoom 3 x
Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
Features Built-in lens shield
Additional Features
Self Timer Yes
Self Timer Delay 2 sec , 10 sec
Additional Features Audio recording , Touch-screen control , In-camera red-eye fix , Face-priority AF function , Blink Detection technology , Smile Detection technology , Digital image stabilization , Motion Detection Technology
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type None
Display
Type LCD display – TFT active matrix – 3 in – Color
Display Form Factor Built-in
Display Format 230,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
Type None
Microphone
Type Microphone – Built-in
Microphone Technology Electret condenser
Microphone Operation Mode Mono
Connections
Connector Type 1 x USB , 1 x Composite video/audio output
Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
Software Drivers & Utilities
Miscellaneous
Carrying Case None
Included Accessories Carrying strap
Cables Included USB cable , A/V cable
Power
Power Device Battery charger – External
Battery
Supported Battery Nikon EN-EL10
Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included )