Nikon COOLPIX S4150 Pro Reviews

The Nikon Coolpix S4150 is a camera that has to be placed into context. With this being a new release, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it's going to offer a lot for a relatively cheap price. But what Nikon have released here is predominantly a happy snappy camera that looks nice and is easy to use. Couple that with the convenience of a touch-screen and you have a camera that a lot of people will be interested in. What we have to look at more critically, though, is the actual image quality. Sure, the type of person that would buy the Nikon Coolpix S4150 probably won't be interested in the dynamic range or the ISO settings being accurate, but ask a happy snapper what they look for in a camera and they all say the same thing: “I just want it to take good pictures.” And that's where we'd hesitate to recommend the S4150. As we mentioned earlier, if all the different elements that make up a picture are perfect, the camera can take good photographs. However, in real life situations with complex lighting, low light or if you just need to be fast, the S4150 simply can't keep up or deliver the goods. We also don't think many people will use the pen to operate the touch-screen, but without it, the LCD screen is difficult to use.

The Nikon Coolpix S4150 is priced at £129.99 and given its feature set and the attractive styling and build; it's a relative bargain. The image quality is on a par with other cameras of this ilk, nothing to shout from the rooftops about but good enough for most tasks. Given the price the touch screen is a real bonus when snapping quickly or for providing improved flexibility over capture options. It's an excellent feature if the camera's mounted on a tripod too, say, shooting macro subjects because you can pick the focus point and take the shot at the relevant point on the screen simply by touching it. Overall, the Coolpix S4150 represents great value in a stylishly svelte snapper that does plenty in terms of features and just enough in terms image quality.

In comparison with the recently reviewed Coolpix S6150 and considering they are available for a very similar price (as of 30th November 2011) there is little reason to suggest buying this model. The S4150 is smaller but the S6150 is only slighter bigger and has much better image quality, more megapixels and more optical zoom. The S4150 can take a good picture but will suit those who prefer to share images on social networking sites rather than printing their images in a large format.

This is a good camera to sling into a bag or to quickly pack away for the beach, coping well in most ordinary, every day situations. However, using the touchscreen is frustrating for those used to the ease of something like the iPhone, which will be enough to put some off, but if you can live with the stylus this is a good all round camera.