Nikon Coolpix S200

Reviewed April 2007

Test Photos

STILL LIFE PHOTO

This subject is photographed in a room that has a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light. The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.

The small built-in flash of the Coolpix S200 helps the camera yield a well-lit image which has no trace of light falloff in the corners of the frame. Moreover, the colours the camera records look natural and are quite accurate.

Image sharpness, however, is a bit on the soft side with this wide angle shot.

ZOOM PHOTO

Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum setting. The camera remains at the same distance as with the preceding photo.

Zoomed in, it becomes necessary to set the CCD sensitivity to Auto ISO and allow the camera to adjust it upwards to ensure a well-lit image.

At the maximum focal length, the widest aperture of the lens in f5.9, which forces the camera to increase the sensitivity to 234 ISO. The image the camera produces exhibits colours that are consistent with those captured with the wide end of the zoom.

Sharpness is noticeably better that with the wide angle shot however, and even the printing screen of the old photographic paper envelope is discernible. And, although the sensitivity is relatively high, noise is limited to the darker areas of the image.

Set to the Macro mode, the Coolpix S200 is able to focus on a subject that is 10 cm (3.9 inches) from the front element of the lens when it is at the wide angle end. At this distance the camera captures a field of view of 8.8 cm (3.52 inches).

The camera has a tendency to use the widest aperture to maximize the shutter speed, so the subject should be given as much light as possible to encourage the S200 to select a smaller aperture and in turn increase the depth of field.

BUILDING PHOTO

This image is our outdoor test. The architecture of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also often reveal the quality of the exposure.

The exposure calculated by the meter of the Coolpix S200 is perfectly accurate. Nevertheless, the sharpness is a bit on the soft side, as was observed in the wide angle shot of the Still Life above. Moreover, a chromatic aberration is detectable at the transition point between strongly contrasting areas, in this case along the edges of the beams and the sky.

ZOOM PHOTO

Zooming in on the entrance of the building, the shadowed entrance takes on a greater importance for the metering and can cause an overexposure of sections that are directly lit.

At the maximum telephoto setting of the lens, the metering yields an exposure that is perfectly balanced although there is an abrupt change in the brightness of the subject. The image is very detailed, and both the small sign on the left door, and items on the wall behind the glass doors are visible.

A slight amount of pincushion distortion is detectable in the image, however, noticeable in the light curvature of the vertical image elements aligned on the edges of the frame.

A bit of noise can be detected in the shadows, appearing as graininess. There is no chromatic aberration at this focal length.