Review Nikon Coolpix S620

Nikon has released several ultra-compact models for 2009, including the S620. The little brother of the Coolpix S630, the S620 combines a stylish exterior that’s available in five unique colors (noble purple, jet black, dusty pink, sky blue and rich pear) with various Nikon Coolpix standard features, like D-lighting, Face Detection, a Nikkor zoom lens, etc.

In addition, the S620 also boasts Nikon’s EXPEED image processing, enhanced Smart Portrait System, and 4-Way Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization technology (lens-shift, motion detection, high ISO, best shot selector). These technologies combined will help users capture pleasing snapshots in various shooting situations.

Nikon CoolPix S620 Major Features:

• 12 Megapixels (effective), 1/2.33′ CCD Image Sensor
• 4x wide-angle optical zoom-NIKKOR Glass Lens, f2.7-f5.8
• 2.7-inch High Resolution TFT-LCD with 230,000 Dots
• EXPEED Image Processor
• 4-Way VR Image Stabilization:
  • Nikon’s Optical VR Image Stabilization
  • Motion Detection
  • High ISO 6400
  • Best Shot Selector (BSS)
• Shooting Modes: Auto, Scene, Smile,Subject Tracking and Movie
• Standard Definition Movies: 640×480 or 320×240
• Nikon’s Smart Portrait System:
  • Smile Mode
  • Blink Proof
  • In-Camera Red-Eye Fix
  • Enhanced Face-Priority AF
  • D-Lighting
• Auto Scene Selector
• AF Modes: Face Priority, Auto (9-Area automatic selection, Manual (99 focus areas), Center
• Exposure compensation: +/-2EV in 1/3-step increments
• 1/1500 sec. – 2 sec. shutter speed (4 sec. Fireworks show scene mode)
• 1/4000 sec. – 1/15 sec. (Sport Continuous)
• Rechargeable Li-Ion battery
• USB 2.0 connectivity for PC and Mac
• PictBridge compatible

Included Accessories:

• Li-ion rechargeable battery EN-EL12
• Battery Charger MH-65
• USB Cable UC-E6
• Audio/Video Cable
• Wrist Strap 
• Coolpix Software Suite CD-ROM

The Nikon Coolpix S620 is available now with an MSRP of $269.95

.

Specifications

• Image Sensor Type

  CCD

• Sensor Size

  1/2.33 in.

• Total Pixels

  12.39 million

• Effective Pixels

  12.2 million

• Image Area (pixels)

  4000 x 3000(12M)
  3264 x 2448(8M)

• Image Area (pixels) – 5M

  2592 x 1944(5M)
  2048 x 1536(3M)
  1024 x 768(PC)
  640×480(TV)
  1920 x 1080 (16:9: 1920)(16:9)

• LCD Monitor Size

  2.7 in. diagonal

• LCD Monitor Type

  TFT-LCD

• LCD Monitor Resolution

  230,000 Dots

• Lowest ISO Sensitivity

  100

• Highest ISO Sensitivity

  6400

• Storage Media

  SD
  SDHC

• Internal Memory

  Approx. 45MB

• Image Stabilization

  Optical

• Movie Modes

  Movie with sound
  TV movie (640×480), Small size (320×240)

• Interface

  Hi-speed USB

• Lens Zoom

  4x

• Lens Specification

  4x Optical Zoom-NIKKOR Glass Lens, f2.7-f5.8

• Focus Range

  Approx. 1 ft. 8 in. (50cm) to infinity, Macro close-up mode: 0.8 in. (2cm) to infinity.

• Exposure Modes

  Auto
  Scene
  Scene Auto Selector

• Scene Modes

  Portrait
  Night Portrait
  Sports
  Landscape
  Party
  Beach/Snow
  Sunset
  Dusk/Dawn
  Night Landscape
  Museum
  Fireworks Show
  Close Up
  Copy
  Back Light
  Panorama Assist
  Food

• Battery Type

  Rechargeable

• Battery / Batteries

  EN-EL12 Lithium-ion Battery

• AC Adapter

  EH-62F AC Adapter
  optional

• Battery Charger

  MH-65 Battery Charger

• Battery Life (shots per charge)

  Nikon Rechargeable:
  250 shots (CIPA)

• Approx. Dimensions

  Height: 2.1 in. (53.2mm)
  Width: 3.5 in. (90mm)
  Depth: 0.9 in. (23mm)

• Approx. Weight

  4.2 oz. (120g)

• Other

  World’s fastest startup and most compact camera in it’s class*. Startup time is a mere 0.7 seconds. Face Detection (up to 12 faces can be detected).
  * – Among compact digital cameras with optical VR function and a zoom lens covering 28mm (35mm-format equivalent) as of January 5, 2009.

• Supplied Software

  Software Suite CD-ROM

• Supplied Accessories

  • Li-ion rechargeable battery EN-EL12
  • Battery Charger MH-6
  • USB Cable UC-E6
  • Audio/Video Cable EG-CP14
  • Strap AN-CP19
  • Software Suite for COOLPIX CD-ROM

  *Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area.

Physical Views

The Coolpix S620 compared to a standard CD.

Features & Controls

The Coolpix S620 is equipped with a 4x Zoom-NIKKOR optical zoom lens with a 28 – 112mm (in 35mm equivalent) focal length coverage. The maximum aperture is f/2.7 – 5.8. When powered down the lens retracts into the body and is protected by a built-in shutter, no lens cap needed.

Auto focus is handled by a contrast detect AF, the focus range is from Approx. 1.8 ft. (50cm) to infinity, Macro close-up mode: 0.8 in. (2cm) to infinity.

The built-in speedlight has a shooting range of approx. (W) 1.5ft. to 26.0 ft. (0.5 to 8.0m), (T) 1.8 ft. to 11.0 ft. (0.5 to 3.5m) at ISO Auto. Available mode are: Auto Flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill Flash, Disabled or Slow Sync.

On the top is the Power button and Shutter Release with zoom control.

On the back is a large 2.7 inch LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 pixels.

The contoured thumb groove on the back allows for easy operation and control of the camera with just one hand. Controls on the back: On top are the Mode selection and Playback buttons. In place of the 4-way controller is a rotary multi-selector. This dial works in the same way as the 4-way controller, allowing you to press any of the 4 directions to access timer, flash, EV compensation and macro modes, but it also allows you to scroll through images and menus by turning the dial. Under the dial are the buttons for the Menu and Delete functions.

On the right side is the PC/AV port, which handles both the USB 2.0 (High-speed) connection for downloading images and movies to your PC, and the Audio/Video output for TV display.

The Coolpix S620 is equipped with ~44MB of internal memory and a SD/SDHC memory card slot, no card is supplied with the camera. Images and movies can be copied from internal memory to SD card or vice-versa. We recommend the purchase of at least a 1GB (or larger) SD/SDHC card or your picture taking will be quite limited.

The S620 is powered by a proprietary rechargeable Li-Ion battery that is charged in the included battery charger. Nikon claims this pack provides approx. 250 shots (CIPA standard) per charge.

Record Screens & Menus

AUTO record is the point-n-shoot mode that lets anyone get great pictures with little or no fuss. The "12M*" icon indicates the image resolution is 12-megapixels at High quality, there are 299 pictures remaining at the current image resolution. The zoom lens gauge is shown for a few moments whenever the zoom control is toggled (not shown above.)

When you half-press the shutter release the autofocus is locked and the exposure is calculated and set. If autofocus was successful the AF brackets will turn green, if it fails they will be red and blink.

Pressing the mode button brings up this screen which allows you to choose your shooting mode from the selections above.

Auto – Fully automatic, simple shooting mode.

Scene mode – options include: Scene Auto Selector, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close Up, Food, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, Backlight, Panorama assist and Voice Recording.

Smile mode – will detect a smiling face within the frame and release the shutter
automatically; much like Sony’s Smile Shutter mode.

Subject Tracking - perfect for moving subjects, allows you to lock focus on a specific person or object, and the camera will follow their movement.

Movie – record standard definition video.

Auto record mode menu option:

• Image mode – 12M* High, 12M Normal, 8M Normal, 5M Normal, 3M Normal, PC, TV, 16:9
• White balance – Auto, Preset Manual, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy or Flash
• Metering – Matrix or Center-weighted
• Continuous – Shooting mode: Single frame, Continuous, BSS, Multi-Shot 16 or Intvl timer shooting
• ISO sensitivity – Auto, Fixed Range Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
• Color options – Standard color, Vivid color, B&W, Sepia, Cyanotype, Pastel
• AF area mode – Face Priority, Auto, Manual, Center
• Autofocus mode – Single AF, Full-time AF

Pressing the 4-way selector "up" changes the flash mode, "right" adjust exposure compensation, "down" changes the focus mode, and "left" enables the self-timer. You set these options via onscreen pop-ups as shown above.

Movie mode screen display. You can record 640×480 .AVI MOTION JPEG Movie clips at 30fps, limited in length by either the amount of available space on the memory card or 25 miuntes max. clip lenght. Sound is recorded so the zoom cannot be used while recording, but can be preset beforehand.

Movie mode options:

• Movie size – TV (640×480) or Small (320×240)
• Autofocus mode – Single AF or Full-time AF

Playback Screens & Menus

Pressing the Play button enters review mode. Minimal information is show, just the image size/quality, time and date of capture, the folder name and file name. 

Here you can see he Index mode options, which are activated by pressing the Wdie zoom control. It can show 4, 9 or 16 thumbnail images per page as well as a calendar that breaks up the images by the date they were taken.

You can also magnify an image for critical inspection by pressing the telephoto control. The image is enlarged from 1.2x to 10x in several steps, once enlarged you can scroll around inside of it using the 4-way controller. At any magnification step you can save the cropped image by pressing the Menu button.

Playback menu has options for Quick Retouch, D-Lighting, Print set (DPOF) printing information, Slide show, image Delete, image Protect, Rotate Image, Small pic, Voice Memo and Copy.

Resize (Small picture) allows you to make a smaller copy of your images. These are great for sharing pics via uploading to the web or through email.

The rotate option allows you to change the orientation of your image by 90 degrees at a time.
Here you can see the D-Lighting menu option. This editing tool will help bring more detail out of shadow areas by increasing the gama, producing a brighter image.

Above is the Quick Retouch function, which is a quick and easy way to process images (one at a time) in-camera. This option adjusts both the contrast and saturation of the image. 

Movies are played back in full screen mode, playback starts by pressing the Ok button in the center of the 4-way controller. You get VCR-like controls to pause, stop, fast-forward and rewind the video. 

The Set-Up menu options:

• Menus – Select text or icon style menu screens
• Welcome screen – Change the image used in the power up screen
• Date – Set the internal time and date
• Monitor Settings – Info displayed on LCD, brightness
• Date imprint – Records date, date & time, date counter onto image
• Vibration Reduction – On or Off
• Motion Detection – Auto or Off
• AF Assist – Auto or Off
• Digital Zoom – On or Off
• Sound settings – Camera sound effects and volume
• Auto Off – Sleep delay time: 30s, 1m, 5m, 30m
• Format card – Format SD card
• Language – Choose from one of the many languages
• Video Mode – NTSC, PAL
• Blink Warning – On or Off
• Reset all – Reset all settings to default
• Firmware version – Display the camera’s internal software version

Sample Photos

All photos taken using Auto mode, ISO Auto, with all other settings at default, unless noted.

DSCN0003.AVI
640×480
20,418,004
15 seconds

DSCN0007.JPG
4000×3000
4,757,178

DSCN0008.JPG
4000×3000
5,008,924

DSCN0013.JPG
4000×3000
4,821,213

DSCN0016.JPG
4000×3000
4,554,075

DSCN0020.JPG
4000×3000
4,537,880

DSCN0025.JPG
4000×3000
4,496,235

DSCN0031.JPG
4000×3000
4,452,299

DSCN0091.JPG
4000×3000
4,835,705
Macro example 1

DSCN0092.JPG
4000×3000
4,978,616
Macro example 2

DSCN0095.JPG
4000×3000
4,396,089
ISO 100 w/flash

DSCN0097.JPG
4000×3000
4,544,720
ISO 100

DSCN0099.JPG
4000×3000
4,705,820
ISO 400

DSCN0103.JPG
4000×3000
4,619,986
ISO 800

DSCN0105.JPG
4000×3000
4,644,578
ISO 1600

DSCN0107.JPG
4000×3000
4,873,928
ISO 3200

DSCN0109.JPG
4000×3000
4,651,606
ISO 6400

Source : http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/nikon/coolpix-s620/nikon-coolpix-s620.html

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