ISO comparison

The photo quality from the Nikon S6000 is good to very good, but it really depends on how you intend to use the photos. The biggest issue is regardless of ISO sensitivity, the photos are soft meaning you'll never get very sharp fine detail directly from this camera. As the ISOs go higher, the photos get softer from noise reduction. It can be improved by sharpening with software, but that adds its own problems. On the other hand, this Nikon's noise reduction retains detail in exchange for a painterly appearance, so at smaller sizes subjects will look detailed--even at ISO 800. If you're looking to make prints larger than 8x10 inches or typically do a lot of heavy cropping or enlarging before printing, the S6000 isn't a good choice. For 4x6-inch prints, the occasional 8x10, and for Web use, though, it can produce very good photos for its price and class.