Nikon Coolpix S8200

The CoolPix S8200 sports a square design that’s functional rather than pretty and ergonomic, and it doesn’t have any manual modes.

There is also a pop-up flash that can’t be pushed down manually, but almost everything else is spot on with the CoolPix S8200, especially considering the reasonable price.

The S8200's performance stands out, with sharp and detailed images at ISO levels up to 3200, even in challenging light situations.

Enlarging the 16-megapixel images recorded by the back-illuminated CMOS sensor to 100% for cropping is entirely possible, without noise or artefacts being visible.

At the far end of the 14X 4.5-63mm zoom with image stabilisation, the story is different: images start to look a little soft with less contrast. This is common with super zooms, and not a show-stopper. For sharpest results, keep the lens zoomed wide angle though. Autofocus is fast and accurate, and the macro mode
that takes you as close as 10mm is something else. The Coolpix S8200 is equipped with a 3in screen sporting 921k-dots that’s outstanding, like the Sony one.

Video at 1080p and 30fps looks great too, thanks to the combination of great optics and excellent image processing. The stereo microphones were prone to pick up extraneous noise however. An input for external mikes would make the S8200 the lightweight videographer’s choice.

Boxy and big, the Coolpix S8200 takes beautiful, sharp stills and videos and it’s affordable: Nikon’s aced the compact camera competition.