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Nikon Coolpix S4300 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £150
inc VAT

A smart design and an elegant touchscreen interface can't make up for basic videos and noisy photos

Specifications

1/2.3in 15.9-megapixel sensor, 6.0x zoom (26-156mm equivalent), 139g

http://www.jessops.com
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The video mode is limited to 720p recording, and the inefficient M-JPEG encoding gobbles up around 230MB per minute. Along with the usual 4GB file size limit, this restricts clips to just over eight minutes each. Optical zoom is fixed for the duration of clips, and the digital zoom made a mess of picture quality. By default, autofocus is fixed during recording, too. There is an option for full-time autofocus but it consistently failed to lock onto a new subject mid-way through a clip. With noisy shadows even in bright sunlight and no HDMI output, we can’t imagine this video mode seeing a lot of use.

Nikon Coolpix S4300 samples
Even at a conservative ISO 200 setting, noise reduction has made a mess of this foliage and hasn’t coped too well with the water either – click to enlarge

Sadly, photo quality wasn’t much better. With a needlessly high 16-megapixel resolution packed into the tiny 1/2.3in sensor, we saw the usual litany of noise problems. Noise reduction smeared fine details in bright light, but failed to suppress multi-coloured blotches and grainy shadows when lower light or longer zoom positions called for faster ISO speeds. Aggressive sharpening was used in bright light to accentuate details but it gave high-contrast lines an artificial looking glow. Automatic exposures were well judged and focus seemed to be OK, although the limitations of the sensor made it impossible for us to assess the lens’s sharpness with any confidence.

Nikon Coolpix S4300 samples
Details are sharp here, but the halo along the edge of the branch is a tell-tale sign of aggressive digital sharpening – click to enlarge

The S4300 isn’t a terrible camera, but it’s beaten on virtually every front by the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS. The Ixus has a bigger zoom, faster continuous performance, longer battery life and vastly superior photo and video quality, especially in low light. It’s well worth the extra £20.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ***
CCD effective megapixels 15.9 megapixels
CCD size 1/2.3in
Viewfinder none
Viewfinder magnification, coverage N/A
LCD screen size 3.0in
LCD screen resolution 460,000 pixels
Articulated screen No
Live view Yes
Optical zoom 6.0x
Zoom 35mm equivalent 26-156mm
Image stabilisation optical, lens based
Maximum image resolution 4,608×3,456
Maximum movie resolution 1280×720
Movie frame rate at max quality 30fps
File formats JPEG; AVI (M-JPEG)

Physical

Memory slot SDXC
Mermory supplied 74MB internal
Battery type Li-ion
Battery Life (tested) 180 shots
Connectivity USB, AV
HDMI output resolution N/A
Body material aluminium
Lens mount N/A
Focal length multiplier N/A
Kit lens model name N/A
Accessories USB cable
Weight 139g
Size 60x96x21mm

Buying Information

Warranty two-year RTB
Price £150
Supplier http://www.jessops.com
Details www.nikon.co.uk

Camera Controls

Exposure modes auto
Shutter speed auto
Aperture range f/3.5 (wide), f/6.5 (tele)
ISO range (at full resolution) 80 to 1600
Exposure compensation +/-2 EV
White balance auto, 5 presets, manual
Additional image controls none
Manual focus No
Closest macro focus 5cm
Auto-focus modes multi, flexible spot, face detect
Metering modes multi, flexible spot, face detect
Flash auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, red-eye reduction
Drive modes single, continuous, self-timer, smile detect