The Nikon COOLPIX S3000 is a 12 Megapixel bunched with a 4x optical zoom

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Nikon COOLPIX S3000 review

The Nikon COOLPIX S3000 is a 12 Megapixel bunched with a 4x optical zoom and 2.7in screen. Launched in February 2010 it supersedes the accepted COOLPIX S220, abacus 2 Megapixels to the resolution, a bigger awning and extending the zoom mostly at the advanced bend end of the range.

The COOLPIX S3000 has absolutely automated acknowledgment with arena apprehension as able-bodied as a alternative of 16 arena modes. Clashing added account COOLPIX models we’ve activated it provides selectable ISO acuteness settings, but there’s still no optical angel stabilisation, aloof Nikon’s Electronic VR post-processing and a motion apprehension advantage which boosts the ISO to accommodate a faster bang speed.

At alone 19mm attenuate and belief a bald 116g including the battery, the COOLPIX S3000 is slim, feather-light and stylish. We activated it alongside compacts from Canon and Sony that not alone attending actual similar, but are additionally a abutting bout in agreement of specifications: the similarly-priced Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W310 and the hardly added big-ticket Canon IXUS 105 / SD1300 IS.

The COOLPIX S3000 is accessible in a best of six colours – black, albino silver, red, blue, orange, amethyst and green. We had the amethyst archetypal to analysis which is absolutely the one to go for if you appetite to be noticed. Like the Canon IXUS 105 / SD1300 IS and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W310 the COOLPIX S3000, is abbreviate and actual stylish, but the moment you aces it up you’ll apprehension a big aberration in the weight. At alone 116g including the array the COOLPIX is essentially lighter than either the Canon or Sony compacts.

Though it’s light, it doesn’t feel chiffon or insubstantial, admitting some of the controls are a little on the baby side. The COOLPIX S3000 is a adequate camera to authority in either in one duke or with both. The rear console is moulded with a recessed ascendancy console and a deride blow band is inset at the top.

On the bottom, the array and SD agenda alcove is on the adapted ancillary and the tripod backcountry is on the larboard corner. A centrally amid tripod backcountry would accommodate a added akin and abiding ascent point, but, unless you plan to do a lot of tripod-based photography this isn’t a aloft issue. The COOLPIX S3000 takes SD cards but clashing its doesn’t qoute affinity with the best recent SDXC accelerated high-capacity versions.

Like best compacts, you can about-face the S3000 on in playback approach by acute the playback button, but you’ll allegation to accumulate it captivated bottomward for a atomic a added afore the camera turns on, which prevents adventitious activation. With the camera in playback approach half- acute the bang absolution switches to the currently set cutting mode.

The COOLPIX S3000′s congenital beam assemblage has a quoted ambit of 4.5 Metres, which is absolutely impressive, but our analysis beam shot, which was aural that range, looked a little on the aphotic side. A pre-flash is accursed for metering purposes and the time taken to recycle amid shots assorted but about was amid 2 to 4 seconds. If you half-press the bang afore the beam has recharged the red flash-ready LED doesn’t brighten and you allegation to absolution the bang afore aggravating again. If you’re in a bustle to get a attempt this can be a bit arresting as you accept to again ache at the bang absolution until you get the red ablaze and beep signal. Also, aback you aboriginal about-face the camera on, if the beam is bare it takes a few added abnormal to allegation up.

The COOLPIX S3000′s EN-EL10 Lithium-Ion array provides abundant ability for 220 shots. The array is recharged in the camera by abutting the supplied USB cable either to the mains via the supplied AC adaptor or anon to the USB anchorage on a PC or Mac. This is appealing accessible as it agency if you’re travelling with a laptop or netbook you don’t accept to booty the AC adaptor with you to allegation the camera.

The COOLPIX S3000′s 4x optical zoom has an agnate ambit of 27-108mm. This is a big advance on the 3x zoom of its predecessor, the S220, abnormally as best of the added advantage comes at the advanced bend end of the ambit where, in our view, it’s of best use.

While a 108mm telephoto isn’t activity to get you abutting to abroad activity on the sports acreage or for wildlife photography, it’s a acceptable focal breadth for portraits and will accredit you to deeply anatomy capacity that would contrarily be absent in the boilerplate of the frame. For landscapes and axial the 27mm advanced angle, admitting not in the super-wide alliance of cameras like the Canon IXUS 210 / SD3500 IS, will get you acceptable across-the-board mural shots and acquiesce you to abduction ample accumulation shots in bedfast spaces.

Nikon COOLPIX S3000 advantage wide

When you about-face the camera on, the lens extends and the camera is accessible to shoot in a little beneath three abnormal – so the S3000 isn’t absolutely what you’d call as actuality quick out of the blocks. The zoom rocker takes you from the antecedent advanced bend appearance to abounding telephoto in about a added and a half. It’s not a actual bland ride, admitting it is analytic quick. Aback zooming from one end of the ambit to the added the focus wanders so far that initially you can’t see what you’re attractive at and it takes a atom of a added for the autofocus to cull things aback into aciculate relief. If you nudge the rocker you can get it to footfall through eight detached stages.

The zoom indicator on the awning is disconnected into two sections advertence the optical and agenda segments of the zoom range. Both segments are displayed whether the agenda zoom is activated or disabled which ability assume superfluous, but it does at atomic admonish you that the agenda advantage is accessible should you allegation it.

The S3000′s quoted abutting focussing ambit in macro approach is a disappointingly abroad 8cm, compared with 3cm on the Canon IXUS 105 / SD1300 IS and 5cm on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W310.

Nikon COOLPIX S3000 Electronic VR: VR off / Automatic

100% crop, 4.9-19.6mm at 19.6mm, 1/20, 400 ISO, Auto mode, VR off.

The COOLPIX S3000 lacks optical or sensor-shift angel stabilization, but it does accept several methods for ambidextrous with the furnishings of accountable movement and camera agitate at apathetic bang speeds The aboriginal of these is Motion Apprehension which, in low ablaze situations, or breadth cogent camera or accountable motion is detected, increases the ISO to accredit the use of a faster bang speed. Another method, Electronic Vibration Reduction, post-processes the angel to try and abate the abashing acquired by camera shake.

In antecedent tests on Nikon compacts, Motion Apprehension and Electronic VR haven’t been actual effective. The crops aloft are from shots taken with the COOLPIX S3000 with the lens set to its best focal breadth of 19.6mm (108mm equivalent). Both images were attempt in Auto approach with the ISO acuteness set to auto; on the left, Motion Apprehension and Electronic VR were angry off and on the adapted both were set to automatic.

Though the Motion Apprehension and Electronic VR icons were both displayed, Motion Apprehension was not activated as in both instances the aforementioned ISO and acknowledgment settings were acclimated – 1/20th of a added at f5.9 and 400 ISO. It’s absurd to say with authoritativeness whether the angel on the adapted has had Electronic VR column processing applied, but it does appearance abundant beneath affirmation of camera agitate and is a apparent advance on the attempt taken after it.

With duke captivated shots taken a apathetic bang speeds there’s consistently amount of adventitious involved. Sometimes you’re able to authority the camera added steadily than others and the results, alike in shots taken at the aforementioned time in the aforementioned altitude with the aforementioned bang acceleration can vary. Over a alternation of shots taken in low ablaze altitude both with Electronic VR enabled and disabled, however, the ones application Electronic VR were consistently better. But it charcoal no acting for a accurate optical or sensor-shift solution.

If you are cutting in low ablaze and appetite to maximise your affairs of accepting a camera-shake-free result, we’d acclaim application the S3000′s Best Attempt Selector (BSS) feature, which takes up to ten shots while the bang is captivated down, again saves the sharpest one.

The COOLPIX S3000 has an AF arrangement which automatically switches from nine-area to face apprehension aback a being comes into view. In low ablaze an AF abetment lamp amid on the top larboard bend of the advanced console illuminates. The autofocus works apace and accurately in all kinds of altitude including low ablaze and usually gets a lock in able-bodied beneath a second.

When faces are detected in the anatomy the S3000 locks focus on them. The aboriginal face, on which the focus is prioritized, is affected with a bifold chicken bound and added faces, up to twelve in total, are affected with a distinct border. About the face apprehension achievement is variable. In the adapted altitude – acceptable ablaze and bodies analytic abutting to the camera – it works well, but poor light, ambit to the subject, hats, and contour bend all compromised its achievement to capricious degrees. You can consistently about-face it off in the agenda arrangement if you prefer. The AF breadth approach advantage provides added options including axial and chiral focussing – in which you accept from one of 99 focus regions aural the frame.

In absence autofocus approach the camera doesn’t focus until you half-press the bang release. Changing this to full-time AF armament the camera to focus always and lock the focus aback the bang absolution is pressed, a advantageous advantage for sports photography or any added bearings with consistently affective subjects.

The COOLPIX S3000′s 2.7in awning has 230 thousand pixels and provides a analytic bright, contrasty and saturated appearance – as continued as you’re attractive anon at it. It has a actual poor bend of appearance decidedly in the vertical plane. Tilt the camera added than 20 degrees or so and the appearance deteriorates markedly. The ancillary to ancillary appearance is added acceptable so if you’re reviewing shots while accompany are attractive over your accept it may not be such a problem. Like that on the Sony Cyber-shot W310, the S3000′s awning artlessly isn’t up to the accepted of that on the Canon IXUS 105 / SD1300 IS.

The COOLPIX S3000′s agenda arrangement is annihilation if not straightforward. Acute the agenda button in Auto cutting approach displays a two-tabbed arrangement with a Cutting agenda on one tab and a Set up agenda on the other. The Cutting agenda includes Angel approach (size and quality), White Balance, Connected cutting options, ISO sensitivity, Colour options, AF breadth approach and Autofocus mode. The Set up agenda includes options for Motion Detection, Electronic VR, Agenda Zoom, Formatting, Blink admonishing and Date settings.

While it’s not adamantine to clue things bottomward in the COOLPIX agenda arrangement it would be nice if there was a quicker advantage for selecting frequently acclimated settings like ISO sensitivity, Connected cutting and AF modes.

In Auto approach the COOLPIX S3000 provides added ascendancy over acknowledgment than added COOLPIX models we’ve advised in that it allows you to set the ISO sensitivity. There’s still the advantage to accept the camera set the ISO automatically, depending on the prevailing ablaze conditions, but you can set it manually from 80 to 3200 and there’s additionally a anchored ambit Auto advantage that banned the ambit from 80 to 400 ISO.

Auto approach doesn’t apply arena recognition, for that there’s Arena auto selector mode. This automatically selects one of seven arena modes – Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night portrait, Night landscape, Abutting up and Backlight. In accepted use Arena Auto selector was appealing impressive, bound advancing to a cessation about the arena afore it and selecting (most of the time) an adapted mode. The alone criticism we’d accomplish is that it had a addiction to baddest Backlight approach for scenes that weren’t decidedly backlit, but aloof independent a lot of sky. To be fair though, this is a accepted declining of auto arena apprehension modes on added compacts. It additionally occasionally mis-identified barrio as people. Ok, that’s two criticisms.

There are sixteen arena modes you can baddest manually, including the seven acclimated by Arena auto selector mode. The actual ones are Sports, Party/indoor, Beach/snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Food, Museum, Fireworks show, Copy and Panorama assist.

Smile shutters are acceptable more accepted on compacts in this amount bracket – you either adulation them or avoid them. The COOLPIX S3000′s Smart account approach fires the bang automatically aback a smile is detected. Admitting it lacks the accomplished affability options accessible on models like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W310, it works actual able-bodied in acceptable ablaze with capacity that are adverse the camera.

Not so abundant an acknowledgment approach as an autofocus option, Accountable Tracking locks focus on an article and advance it in the frame. It’s accessible to use, you artlessly adjust the accountable aural the aboveboard ambition in the centre of the anatomy and columnist the OK button. Your accountable is again affected in chicken and followed if it or the camera moves. As continued as it moves calmly and predictably this works appealing well. But fast and hardly aberrant movements can account it to falter and already the little chicken rectangle has slipped of your accountable it not often finds its way back, banishment you to manually re-target.

The COOLPIX S3000 can shoot video in one of two modes. The default, alleged ‘TV’, captures 640×480 pixels (standard VGA resolution) and there’s additionally a ‘small’ 320×240 size, both recording at 30 frames per second. There’s no HD mode. The best connected recording time is 29 account or aback the book alcove 2GB, which will appear in aloof over 20 account in the VGA mode. The optical zoom can’t be acclimated during recording, but a basal 2x agenda zoom is accessible with the accepted accident in quality. Cameras like the S3000 that use a CCD sensor are decumbent to vertical streaking aback cutting actual blithely lit and backlit scenes, so you’ll allegation to watch out for this. Movies are recorded at an boilerplate bit amount of 11Mbps and adored application a Motion JPEG codec in an AVI wrapper. Registered associates of Vimeo can download the aboriginal video book apparent on the larboard here.

In Connected cutting approach the S3000 can shoot up to three frames at 0.9 frames per second. If you abide to authority the bang absolution bottomward it will abide to shoot, but the amount slows giving an boilerplate amount over 30 abnormal of 0.7 frames per second. Reducing the angel resolution didn’t aftereffect in an access in the anatomy rate. The S3000 has two added multi-shot modes. Best Attempt Selector shoots continuously for up to ten frames again selects and saves the sharpest one. Multi-shot 16 is absolutely a accurate affection which shoots 16 images in connected approach again arranges them in a distinct angel on a 4×4 grid.

The COOLPIX S3000′s 1/2.3in CCD sensor annal images with a best resolution of 4000×3000 pixels. At this size, two compression options are accessible and the best affection approach produces files of about 5MB in size. The ISO ambit of the sensor is 80 to 3200 ISO and the bang acceleration ambit is 1 – 1/2000 with a 4 added advantage in the Fireworks Appearance arena mode. The S3000 has 47MB of congenital anamnesis – abundant for about 10 full-resolution pictures if you balloon to put a agenda in.