I am back with my Nikon coolpix review hope u all like it. Well I bought this camera in March 2011. I m not very passionate about click photos but just like to capture some special moments. So I bought this.
The Nikon Coolpix S6000 is a sleek, user-friendly compact ultra zoom camera with a long 7x optical zoom It occupies the middle ground between standard ultra compact point-and-shoot cameras with 3x or 4x optical zoom,
The S6000 is a small, lightweight camera at 3.8 inches wide, 2.2 inches high and 1 inch thick (97x55x25mm), with a weight of only 5.5 ounces (156 grams). It has a 1/2.3-inch, 14.2 megapixel sensor. The S6000 comes in four colours - silver, red, black & bronze. I have Black one when I bought it one year back in march 2011 was Rs 11.750/-
Nikon packages this model with an EN-EL12 lithium-ion battery, an adaptor for plugging into a power source to recharge the battery, a USB cord for transferring files and battery recharge, an A/V cable, a wrist strap, a CD-ROM containing a 164 page User's Manual and various software programs including Nikon's ViewNX picture transfer and organizing software.
The S6000 was my constant companion during month . Throughout my experience shooting with the camera, I was continually impressed with its small size, quick operation and, above all, its ability to produce accurate colours. Let's examine this interesting camera in detailed.
BUILD AND DESIGN
The first thing one notices about the S6000 is its attractive, burnished metal front section. All the parts seem to be of high quality, with excellent fit and finish. The camera, while small and lightweight, feels solid. After two weeks of inhabiting my pocket it did not seem the least bit worn.
The S6000's buttons and dials work as they should. The camera has solid, tight-fitting coverings over its A/V and HDMI ports. Its wrist strap is well designed, as it is a good size (not too small) and loops over a solid metal ring built into the side of the camera. Its battery/memory card compartment cover, while plastic, seems firmly attached to the camera body, and is closed by a sliding latch.
The only design issue I found was that, when the camera was in use for a while, the LCD would get slightly warm. I don't know whether this is normal for Nikon cameras but I've never noticed it on any other camera I've used.
Ergonomics and Controls*
The S6000 has the typical boxy shape of most small cameras. It can be used with one hand, and it has a useful thumb grip at the rear that helps, but most people will probably want to use both hands to get the sharpest possible picture. Also, the metal front of the camera is rather slippery, which makes one-handed shooting more of a problem.
The camera's front is dominated by its lens, which retracts into the camera body when not in use. There is an auto focus assist/timer lamp next to the lens and a thin flash in the upper corner. Unfortunately, the flash is in a position where it is vulnerable to being blocked by fingers of a left hand steadying the camera. The camera's front also contains holes for the microphone
The sides of the S6000 are pretty barren, containing only the wrist strap ring, HDMI port and speaker pinholes.
The bottom portion of the S6000 contains a metal tripod socket, located at the far end of the camera. While placing the socket in the middle is best for proper balance on the tripod, the far end location should not be a problem here considering the light weight of the camera. The bottom also contains the A/V port, which is used for connecting the USB cable, as well as the compartment for the camera's lithium-ion battery and a memory card. As mentioned, the compartment's plastic cover, while sturdily attached, uses a sliding latch that doesn't always keep the cover securely closed.
The top portion of the S6000 contains the on/off button and a good-sized shutter button with a wrap-around zoom lever. I prefer this type of arrangement of the zoom lever, as it makes it easy to operate the zoom just by using a forefinger, even while gripping the camera.
The camera's rear contains the 2.7-inch LCD monitor. To the right of the monitor is, from top to bottom, a flash charging indicator, a dedicated movie recording button, side-by-side buttons for scene (shooting modes) and playback, a circular controller, and side-by-side menu and delete buttons. The controller rotates, to help moving through menu items and through pictures while in playback mode. The controller can also be used to select functions - pressing up for the flash, down for close-up macros, left for self-timer and right for EV compensation. In the center of the controller is an OK button for selecting menu items.
*PERFORMANCE
*The S6000 is a quick camera in most respects. It takes no more than two seconds both to start up and shut down. However, in selecting menu items I sometimes found some degree of hesitation between selecting the item and hearing the beep that indicated my selection was in effect. I especially noted this when selecting a shooting mode (auto, scene, smart portrait or subject tracking). Otherwise I was very pleased with the responsiveness of the camera.
Shooting Performance*
I found shooting performance to be very good overall. Shot-to-shot time is very quick, not more than a second or two, a bit longer with the flash activated. I was able to take ten photos as fast as my finger could press the shutter, and there was no delay to access the memory card.
Lens Performance
The wide lens range of the S6000 gives it great versatility for taking close macro photos and photos of far away objects. The lens is easy to control using the zoom lever around the shutter. While the lens maintained adequate sharpness throughout its zoom range, it did not produce images as sharp as pictures I've seen from other cameras. Photos tended to be sharper at the center and a bit blurry at the edges, but not to a great degree..
Video Quality
The S6000 takes good looking HD videos at 1280x720 resolution at 30 frames per second, with stereo sound..
Image Quality
By far the best aspect of the images produced by the S6000 are their highly accurate color. In virtually every picture I took the colors appeared to be spot on.
Part of the reason is the excellent auto white balance that the camera produces, both indoors and outdoors. In case you're unhappy with the auto white balance, you do have the option of using alternatives such as daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, flash and manual preset using your own white reference.
CONCLUSIONS
I enjoyed using the Nikon Coolpix S6000. It is an attractive, small camera that is easily transportable due to its compact size. It has good build quality and operates quickly and smoothly. The menu system is easy to use once you become familiar with it.
When it comes to lens performance and image quality, the S6000 is somewhat of a mixed bag. Its long lens provides great versatility and good performance, but images are a bit soft. There is very little evidence of distortion other than occasional chromatic aberration. By far the best aspects of the camera's image quality are its accurate color and excellent auto white balance. However, overexposure can sometimes be a problem.
The Nikon Coolpix S6000 would be very useful as a vacation camera I also see it as a good option for a second camera, to be carried in a pocket or purse when a larger camera would be inconvenient. It is a good, compact camera that should be very popular.
