 Nikon Coolpix S640 Camera |
| Review Date: November 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. Kocmoud, Chicago Il |
| I bought my Nikon S640 pocket digital camera after I dropped my Olympus pocket camera and broke it this summer. I was an avid Cannon and Olympus fan and finally decided to try a Nikon this time after reading some of the online reviews before the launch of this camera in the market in Sept 2009. I must say, this is by far, the BEST pocket camera I have ever owned! The pictures are consistently crisp with vibrant colors in any setting and that is using only the AUTO feature for settings. I took the camera to Paris in Oct and took many night shots -- all with no flash , and only had 4 out of 125 that I had to delete because they were too blurry to use. The high ISO (6400) in low light is a real differentiator for this camera. I also liked the fast shutter lag between startup and first pic as well as between pics. Its a bit longer if using the flash, but overall, much improved over my Olympus. I have a Cannon digital Rebel 5MP that I used to consider my favorite / BEST camera for special occasion photography, but now I think I can easily consider my new Nikon the BEST for ANY occasion. I Highly recommend this camera. |
easy to use, great pics, just point & shoot
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| Review Date: March 26, 2010 |
| Reviewer: U. Dor, |
| just wanted to say I love this camera... easy to use, but with automatic modes that shoot good pictures easily! |
Speedy point and shoot camera!
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| Review Date: November 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Regan Cheng, CA, USA |
I have been looking for a compact all around point and shoot camera for awhile now. I have used multiple cameras in the last few months, and I think I have found my favorite. I'm not an expert in terms of color reproduction, or other details aspects of the final photo, but I don't see much to complain about in terms of photo quality.
PROS:
Ultra fast focus. This baby can focus and lock on in < 1 sec. This ensure that you'll be able to capture those timeless moments in a blink of an eye.
Fast startup. The startup of 0.7s is true, BUT only if you are in Auto Mode and Single Shot mode with AF/Center Focus. If you are in another mode or continuous/BSS, face detect, the camera takes almost 5 seconds before you can take your first show. Although I'm a little bit disapointed that the startup of the camera is limited to a very specific mode, I use Auto/Single/AF 99% of the time so I'm not too concerned.
Easy, intuitive controls. I didn't have to read the manual, and I can get around easily.'
High ISO modes, up to 6400. Although I would not recommend anything greater than 800 (or even 400 if you can help it), just have a capability just in case is nice.
Fast 5x wide angle lens. This lens has a pretty standard wide angle lens, 28mm, but the nice thing is that is also a fast lens - maximum aperture of 2.7. Helps a bit in low light. 5x is more than what basic P&S have (usually 3x).
Extremely compact and solid. Its pretty small, but still has a good feel in your hand. Easily slips into your pocket.
CONS
Picture quality is just SO-SO. There hasn't been many compact 12mp P&S that excel in picture quality. While its not terrible, its not something to be excited about. Its comparable to any of the SD800-SD960, SD1200 cameras.
ISO800 is barely usable, and anything above that I don't recommend. Of course, I've been spoiled by DSLRs, but I was hoping for better.
Battery drains pretty quickly. I don't get the 200+ shots that Nikon says I can get. I get maybe 100? Of course, I use flash sometimes, I replay the photo's quite a bit, turn it on/off a lot. Maybe that 270 shots per battery is 270 continuous shots? I don't know. Get a second one in my opinion.
This camera takes a while to write to the SD flash card. On my previous Canon SD800 and Panasonic ZR1, I was able to take a picture, and flip it to the playback mode instantly. Now, it takes about 1.5 seconds to write to the card, before I can enable the playback mode. Slightly annoying.
So, who is this camera for? Its for the amateur photographer who needs a fast, compact, basic Point and Shoot that will get the job done. I would recommend this over the Canon SD1200, SD800-SD960. But, because of the wide angle and fast shooting capability, you will be able to take quick shots which usually lead to more keeper photo's. |
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