Nikon Coolpix S600 review

Although it's one of the faster Coolpix S series cameras we've tested lately, the S600 nevertheless has some sluggish aspects to its performance. It starts up in a flash--only 0.8 second. Individual frames focus and shoot pretty quickly, as well: 0.4 second where there's good contrast and 1.1 seconds when there isn't. However, shooting two frames in a row takes a sluggish 2.1 seconds, about the same as the similarly pokey Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS but far slower than most other competitors. On occasion, an hourglass actually appeared on the screen. Flash shooting doesn't add much time to that, it only jumps to about 2.5 seconds, and actually comes out a bit faster than most of its class. The middling-for-its-market burst rate of 1.3 frames per second, disappointingly short battery life--its CIPA-rated at 160 shots per charge, compared with well over 200 for a typical snapshot camera--plus the slow typical shot-to-shot time drags down the S600's performance rating. On the upside, the camera has a nice 2.7-inch LCD that boasts a relatively wide viewing angle and is easy to see even in direct sunlight.

That said, the S600 produces photos that are generally better than a lot of competitors. It does particularly well in outdoor shots, where it renders saturated, pleasing, and accurate colors. Highlights do tend to blow out, though. For low-detail subject matter in sunlight, you can probably go as high as ISO 800 with little image degradation; in low light, I'd keep that to ISO 400 or lower. However, indoor shots tend to look somewhat overprocessed. There's some distortion, but not more than we expect from a wide-angle lens. Unfortunately, the S600's photos are almost universally just a smidge too soft, and there's no way to control sharpness. And though the camera provides a decent low bit-rate movie mode--30 frames per second VGA at 1.3MB/sec--you can't zoom while recording, which greatly limits its usefulness, and I noticed odd exposure fluctuations during at least one of my clips. (For more details and photo samples, click through the slide show.)

So while the Nikon Coolpix S600 is pretty to look at, fun to hold, and will frequently produce nice photos, disappointing aspects of its performance and operation keep it from getting higher marks. Check out our list of best compact cameras and best ultracompact cameras for some alternatives.

Shooting speed (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Flash shot-to-shot time

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim light)

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS

1 

3.5 

2.1 

0.7 

0.4 

Kodak EasyShare V1253

2 

1.6 

1.2 

0.8 

0.4 

Nikon Coolpix S600

0.8 

2.5 

2.2 

1.1 

0.4 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T70

1.5 

3 

1.3 

1.2 

0.4 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130

1.8 

2.8 

1.4 

1 

0.4 

Olympus Stylus 1030SW

1 

4.1 

2 

0.6 

0.5