Foreword:

With the three buttons (shutter release, review and capture mode buttons) and a zoom-toggle the S230 ensures that its 3.0 inch 230,000 colour touchscreen is not missed. The touchscreen controls most of the controls of the camera, and with a Nikkor lens providing the pictures, the screen looks crisp and bright. The camera is slim (0.8in) and does well for being an ultracompact with an indented grip, sturdy brushed-metal coated plastic body and is ergonomically sound.

The UI is simple and straightforward with 4 shooting modes (Auto, Scene, Scene Auto Selector and Video Recording)

+Ves:

• Face, smile and blink detection give you value for money for a $230 ultra-compact that fits into your pants pocket pretty neatly. The photo quality is good (not all that great, however).
• The shooting modes are simple and straightforward so much so that you do not need to look at the manual for understanding what stands for what. Drive modes for Best Shot Selector (Takes 10 shots in a short interval and saves the best one), interval timer shot (captures every thirty seconds, one, five or ten minutes) as well as the standard continuous mode.
• There are 15 scenes to select from as well as an Auto Scene Selector that determines which scene is the best for the current view.
• The video shoots at 320×240 or 640×480 with a decent frame rate and clarity.
• ISO sensitivity from ISO 80 to ISO 2000, although the best pictures are obtained under ISO 200.

-Ves:

• Colours are natural, but the red is too vibrant and at times washes out the other colours. This can be corrected by manually adjusting the white balance.
• The lens has quite a bit of barrel distortion but is corrected by using the camera’s distortion control.
• Purple fringing occurs at high contrast.
• The camera is slow – 3.5 seconds for the first shot and 3 seconds from shot to shot. Burst is fast at 1.6 frames per second and with flash the shot to shot increases only by 0.3 seconds.

Final Word:

For a point-and-shoot camera that has an intuitive touch-screen and decent photo quality and great looks, the Coolpix holds on its own with the affordable $230 price tag and since it is slim enough to be with you at all times, this camera is great for the sudden picture-taker.