NIKON - COOLPIX S220 Small Digital Camera

Author's Rating:

Pros:  Size, Features, LCD Brightness, Logical and Accessible menus.

Cons: Flash time lag, HD capable display needed for viewing.

The Bottom Line: 
It made a believer out of me - and I like it. You will too with a bit of patience. 

Author's Review
Nikon Coolpix S220 Digital Camera

Bottom Line: An all-around compact Digital Camera, surprisingly versatile and loaded with some of the latest features. Controls adequate to pre-adjust image quality

INTRODUCTION
NIKON has not been my brand of choice but circumstances overcame any bias and enlarged my world no small amount. The S220 reconnected me to the past as well as to a rapidly changing race to the future. I did not recollect writing a Digital Camera (DigiCam) review but Epinions records make it my ninth. My Second, an HP 618, came in 2001 after working on some scanned color photos taken in 1976, during our 11,000 mile 5 week tour of all 48 of the Continental United States and parts of Canada. On that trip, we used a borrowed Yashica "Instamatic" film camera, using Kodak Kodacolor and Fuji drop-in cartridges. We printed all of them and put them away. The negatives are lost.

In year 2000, I bought a scanner for my PC and commenced putting many pictures on digital media. In the process, I unearthed the 1976 prints and noticed while scanning them that all of the Kodacolor prints had faded - the green dyes were bleached out. I had heard of a program that could 'restore' such prints; it was Adobe PhotoTouch4 - The $400 cost of which was not affordable but we got back the original colors and were happy.

Within a year, I had one of those newfangled Digital Cameras, an HP 618 that sported a CompactFlash (CF) memory card. The camera images would be stored on the card, which could be "read" and transferred to the PC for archiving and for printing. Nearly every image was imperfect but could be 'adjusted' and I have done that ever since. These experiences gave rise to the McDonell Theorem of "No Image Left Behind".

Then I met Howard Creech; who suggested setting up every shot before pulling the trigger. The software program in the S220 can be used for that. This virtually eliminates the need for follow-on Image 'correction' software such as Adobe Photoshop Elements or Google's Picasa. At one time, I thought only the best shots belonged in that Adobe program collection. Even Adobe suggests that few images are that good.

A degree of manual control over the S220 is to the right of the 4-way rocker button. It is marked black and white on contrasting backgrounds, a tricky and deft thumb can operate this Exposure Compensation button. The button adds the most powerful adjustments in Picasa and Elements; that of adjusting the amount of light up (+) or down (-) over a design range of 0.3, 0.7, to a max or min of 3.0

Thus, one can perform the adjustments usually reserved for AFTER the shot is downloaded to BEFORE the shot is taken. The patience of Job is needed to make this work. After a dozen iterations, I found that the icon is pressed first with a thumbnail then pressing the Flash icon for up and the Flower (macro) icon for negative values. (See pg 32 of the user manual)

PURPOSE(S) of this Acquisition?
Primary: As an emergency replacement for capturing Tourist Mementos
Secondary: As a Field camera, to capture serendipitous events and happenings.

Introduced in early 2009, The Coolpix 220 Digital Camera has earned a "Bottom 5" rating by some expert reviewers* but it is still in the Amazon.Com (Rank #558 of 1,000) inventory ($115.00, or down 18%, some 28 months after we acquired ours.). The circumstances of the purchase were not pleasant, let me just state that it was an emergency purchase to replace another** that had been stolen from My Lovely Partner (MLP) the day before we were to hit the road to Los Angeles.

Preparatory to writing this Epinion; research on the NIKON S220 revealed consumer complaints about peculiar unwanted effects in images made using this camera. Those effects sounded familiar to me from my own experiences with this camera; so I will discuss this serious problem first.


Then I will address some of the many capabilities of the NIKON S220; which is a surprisingly versatile Digital Camera (DigiCam) in spite of its diminutive appearance.

Then will come some basic functions and how this digital camera can satisfy the user.

The VIEWPOINT herein is that of the poorly informed Amateur**** DigiCam consumer who is ready to be "Sold". Seven decades of using cameras has left little in my alleged mind about theory and design that would be of use to many readers. I can, however, attest to the utility and convenience of digital photography. For a dozen years, I shot up a roll of 35mm film every workday. The logistics were ferocious; there is no contest - Digital is better than film in all economic respects.


BACKGROUND
MLP, an executive of a Web Based Company, had a Cellphone Teleconference for 10am, from a Mall in San Luis Obispo, CA; where I had planned to be because there was a Best Buy store right there. While MLP was on the phone; I dashed into the store and asked for another of the stolen Camera model. They were sold out. The sales clerk suggested the NIKON S220 ($139.99), a memory card ($14.99) plus sales tax ($13.56). I haggled for just under 3 1/2 seconds and was out the door. And we were happy.


While fulfilling Our Tourist Moments; MLP shot up anything that moved and a lot of things that did not. Back home, we viewed the results on the Living Room TV, a 42" HD ready model. The connections were the same I have used since the first such viewing in the dark ages, some dozen years ago - I used the enclosed A/V (Yellow, Red, White) Cable. We recognized the subject matter but were surprised and disappointed more than somewhat by the poor image quality.


The objects in the images were outlined by a curious string of small bright spots, each spot emphasized with a black outline! I thought of it as a "Halo" effect but more annoying. Later shoots were plagued by the same effect. After 3 months of suffering, I repacked and sent the NIKON back to the factory. They checked it out under the terms of a 1 year warranty and pronounced it "To Spec." and I was horrified to find it in the mailbox soon afterward.


The NIKON rides "Shotgun" in my vehicle... kept it in the car console where I can whip it out when needed. But it comes in handy when we forget to bring a camera along when traveling. While walking along on a lawn at Stanford I stepped on something hard; picked it up and had found a small "Spider" camera Tripod nobody claimed.


I attached that to the NIKON so I could find both when needed. The tripod makes a dandy handle for carrying such a small camera. When a Kodak moment occurs, I can whip the combo out, fire and toss it back into the console in a few seconds. Last month, I was surprised to see that it had recorded 1,276 exposures in 2 years! This was clearly a love-hate relationship.


Fast forward 2 years:
I had graduated to reviewing High Definition everything (HDe) devices that usually do work. While testing a new DVD Player, I noticed the Universal Serial Bus (USB) mentioned in the Ad copy. I had to bring a magnifying glass (Apollo 27543) and an LCD flashlight to verify that it was a Female USB Port. AHA! I knew what to do.


In a flash, I brought out the USB Cable included in the NIKON Box. One end of it fitted that port. The other end was smaller, almost as if it might fit the hidden USB type B Port on the Camera. Empirical testing proved that it did. Now that player has an HDMI output port. I have a 1 to 3 HDMI Splitter that feeds signals from 3 components right to an HDMI port on the HD ready TV.


Fumble, fumble, switch, push, fumble.... click...
Me: "GOOD GRIEF, IT WORKS!"
MLP: "Yes, there's one of the La Brea Arm.., er Tarpits"
Me: "Look, that is the Balboa Ferry... and you're on it"
MLP: "And the Griffith Park Observatory"
Me "...and the rain at Descanso Gardens..."
MLP: "The Hog Trough*** at Burbank
Me: "...and the Farmer's Market"
...etc, for another hour.


But Wait!
"...Look at the clarity of the images! Why, they are beautiful!" Deep lovely shades of it, contrast, ....
What is different to cause this change? Not much, just the USB connections and HDMI outputs. And a modest bit of Up-Conversion.
Suspicious as always, I restarted the slide show using the A/V Cable and THERE IT WAS! The crummy, grainy definition I had blamed on NIKON!
~~~~~
HIGHLIGHTS
(See User Manual: http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/coolpix/S200_en.pdf )


Dimensions: 3.5" Long x 2 1/4" Hi x 5/8" Thick
Weight: 3.5 Ounces, with Battery.
No Memory Card included.
10 Megapixel Resolution
Image Sensor: CCD (Charge Coupled Detector), Size 1/2.33, Pixels 10.7 Million
3x optical Zoom - Nikkor glass lens, f/3.1 - 5.9, Lens Zoom 3x
Focus Range: 2 feet & up, Macro 4" & Up, on Wide Angle, 0.4" on Center
ISO: 50 to 2000


PHOTOGRAPHY BASICS (How NIKON does it in the S220.)
Aperture
Some camera designs are "Aperture Priority"; the default matching shutter speed is automatically selected by the camera software.
Acting somewhat like the Iris in the Human Eye, this is a hole (lens) with a controllable opening diameter that can limit the amount of light passing through in a given time. The target used to be thin plastic or rigid glass coated with a light sensitive chemical compound.


Shutter Speed
Sometimes "Shutter Priority" is the factory default; the matching Aperture is automatically selected.
Aimed at a fixed sensitivity target, the lower the light intensity, the longer the time required to capture enough light to allow an image to form on the target.


ISO  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization 
Analagous to Film Sensitivity and its reaction to light. The faster the "film", the less light needed to properly expose the light sensor. This is, after the I/O button, the easiest adjustment provided. Faster film can be exposed with less light in the same time period. Although one needs the proper MENU, this is another "manual" control.


Other Specifications:
Exposure Modes: Auto, Scene, Scene Auto Selector, Scenes: 16
4 Way VR
(Vibration Reduction or Image Stabilization) (AKA IS or Anti-Shake)
Face Recognition


High Resolution LCD Screen/Monitor, 3.8 x 2.5
Visible: 2.5" diagonal, (2.0" by 2.55") 
Interface: Hi-speed USB

MEMORY - Permanent, Internal: 44 MB +/- Enough for 15 to 20 Images.
(Access electronically by removing Memory Card)

Accessory Memory:
Removable SD/SDHC Class 2, 4, or 6 Cards, 2 or 4 GB recommended
Approved Secure Digital Memory Cards:
SanDisk:
64MB, 128MB, 512MB, 1 GB, 2GB, 4 GB
High-speed 10-MB/s Cards: 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB
High-speed 20-MB/s cards: 1 GB, 2 GB
Others by Panasonic and Toshiba, the other two SD Association founders
When the Camera does not support Memory Card, transfer images using USB cable.

LOWLIGHTS
Low Definition output on HD Ready TV using 480i A/V Connections 640 x 480 (TV)
Tricky Exposure Compensation

OTHER FEATURES
Removable Battery is a proprietary part number ENEL 10 Lithium-Ion
Rechargeable: 3.7 V, 0.71 Ah Minimum
Battery Charger MH-63 (in the box)
Color is Plum, also available in black, green.

D-Lighting: Revisions to Brightness & Contrast in a file may be saved as a new file
Timer: 3 and 10 Seconds
Editing:
Crop
Resizing to JPEG Compressed 1:16
Small Image 640x480, TV Playback
320x240, for Web Pages
160x120 for E-Mail
Editing creates a separate image - original is not lost.
Voice Recording
Movies:
Maximum File size is 2GB
Small size (320x240)
TV Movie (640x480)

USB Option, Setup Menu, Mode
Printing: Optional direct to printer.
BSS Best Shot Selection - shoots multiple exposures, sorts then records only the sharpest one.

EXPERIENCES
Once the cause of the aberrations in display mode was identified, I was all afire to get out there and shoot. We live on a fairly steep hillside and it is great exercise hiking up and down. With a camera, it is a challenge. But interesting subjects are everywhere. What I did try to do, I could do it; such as a Macro study of the threads in an already small star on a small American Flag.

CONCLUSION:
The strange effects noted by me and others were due to trying to display High Definition images on older pre-HD equipment.
Once a few special features were applied, the rest became easier to use. Here, reading the manual is very helpful.
Although not readily intuitive, the NIKON S220 exceeded what we expected.

I am sorry I did not explore the possibilities more thoroughly at the beginning. The flaws reported were more a matter of limited display equipment capabilities than internal camera deficiencies.
~~~~~

* See http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/articles/worst-cameras-of-2009
** Casio Exlim EX-Z80; which MLP had learned to use by reading and following, step-by-step, the user manual. I discovered the loss while on the way to visit family in L.A.
*** Pseudonym for "Home Town Buffet".
**** Amateur: "... one who does something for he love of it, AMO, AMAS, AMARE

PDF , A 134 page User Manual:
http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/coolpix/S200_en.pdf