Nikon CoolPix S630 (jet black)

Summary: I purchased a Nikon Coolpix S630 just before I went to Europe five weeks ago. After 1000 pictures of mountain tops, boat rides, dark rooms and action shots, I am done testing it and am very pleased. For years I wanted a hassle-free camera with a high amount of optical zoom yet small in size, shoots well without a lot of light and a number of other features. I hoped to spend less money but was afraid a cheaper camera would frustrate me due to lack of features, poor quality or confusing operation. The S630 gives me all I want in a camera for a reasonable price.

My cousin was a professional photographer and he is impressed with how well this camera performs. Closeups of flowers are spectacular. Pictures displayed on a 42" TV have great resolution and color accuracy. Pictures in poorly lit rooms come out with amazing clarity. Video and audio quality also are outstanding.

Reading reviews critical of this camera made me a little nervous about deciding to buy this camera but I am glad that I figured out they are overly critical except for the zoom speed. The zoom motor is too fast and you often overshoot where you want it to stop. All too often it will not stop where you want it to and you have to walk forward or backward to frame the shot. No camera will always produce a perfect shot on the automatic setting. Photography is a learned skill. The large screen lets you see if the shot did not come out right. You learn and try one of the other settings available. Battery life was roughly 125 pics. Time between pics is a little slow, but ok.