Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

Given the relatively small sensor, the high-ish pixel count and the low price tag attached to the Nikon Coolpix S2700, on a clear, bright day the picture quality isn’t at all bad for a modest pocket snapshot. In fact it can be distinctly impressive in its crispness of detail and overall clarity, if you overlook the likes of converging verticals at maximum wideangle setting, instances of pixel fringing between areas of high contrast, occasional blown highlights and the odd bit of image blur resulting from camera shake/hand wobble - which we’d expect of most any point and shoot compact, to be fair.

In terms of low light performance we’re beginning to first notice a grittiness to shadow detail at ISO800, though this is by no means ruinous and is only really noticeable if actively looking for it. At ISO1600 the performance isn’t significantly worse either, though we are noticing a softening to edge detail and an overall smudging effect. There’s a colour shift and an even grittier and simultaneously washed out appearance at ISO3200 setting, but again this is no worse than we’d expect of any snapshot camera. Actually, it might even be slightly better. Indeed, if we’ve one conclusion to draw as regards the shooting performance of the S2700, it’s that it is very much better than expected. At this price we weren’t expecting miracles, but the Nikon certainly holds its own.

Noise

The Nikon Coolpix S3000 has sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 1600 at full resolution, with ISO 3200 available at reduced resolution.

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Nikon Coolpix S2700's 6x zoom lens provides a focal length of 26-156mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

26mm	156mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops - he right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are slightly soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can't change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Nikon Coolpix S2700 shows some purple fringing in areas of high contrast, as shown in the examples below.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)	Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Nikon Coolpix S3000 allows you to get as close as 5cms to your subject, in this case a Compact Flash card.

Macro	Macro (100% Crop)

Flash

There are five flash modes on the Nikon Coolpix S2700. They are auto, red-eye auto, flash off, flash on and slow sync.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (26mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (26mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (156mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (156mm)

And here are a couple of portrait shots. Red-eye wasn't a major problem.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red Eye Reduction	Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Nikon Coolpix S2700 is hardly the ideal tool for night photography, as the longest shutter speed is 4 seconds in the Fireworks Show scene mode and you cannot set it manually. The shot below was captured at a shutter speed of 1 second at ISO 800.

Night	Night (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix S2700 camera, which were all taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Turned On

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

Even though the Nikon Coolpix S2700 is ‘just’ a point and shoot camera, as it costs just a penny shy of £70 in the UK it’s hard to be disappointed with what’s lacking - or even its slight operational niggles, like deployment of a digital zoom only in video mode, the fact that the media card is hard to retrieve from its slot and you can inadvertently switch the camera on in the process of trying to do so. The pictures we got from the camera were better than expected, and indeed better than we have any right to demand at this price.

With official GfK industry sales figures constantly telling us that smartphones are eating into the lower end of the compact market, it is slightly surprising however that the major manufacturers like Nikon are still maintaining such comprehensive point-and-shoot ranges with very little to differentiate from one low cost model to the next. But if the Nikon S2700 is anything to go by, then news of this market’s demise is, perhaps, as they say, ‘greatly exaggerated’ and there could very well be life in the old dog yet.

In short the Nikon Coolpix S2700 is the very best digital camera this reviewer has handled at such a low asking price. Take into account the caveats mentioned above before purchasing and it seems hard to imagine how anyone could be disappointed - save for fellow retailers at the fact that the ‘stack ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap’ Argos chain has been given first dibs on sales of this model in the UK.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	3.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	3.5
Value for money	5

Specifications

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