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The Nikon Coolpix S6 doesn’t have much manual control. It is made for snapping a picture three seconds after it’s snatched from a pocket. Ironically, most manual control is available from the auto mode, which provides access to exposure compensation, white balance, ISO, and auto focus mode.
F ocus
Auto Focus (6.5)
The Nikon Coolpix S6 has a contrast detection auto focus system that can focus as close as 1.6 inches in the macro mode or 1 ft in the normal shooting mode. Pushing the bottom of the multi-selector activates macro mode, which works well most of the time. When subjects are within three or four inches though, the lens has trouble focusing. The camera displayed a message that said, “Initializing lens cannot focus!” but this always went away and the shot could be taken. The message just added to the time it took to get the picture. The camera also has trouble focusing in low contrast situations like shooting the surface of water. This is expected though, as the system works by detecting subjects’ highlights and shadows of subjects.
When a subject is in focus, a green dot appears at the top of the LCD screen, with ‘AF’ next to it. This dot turns red when the subject is not perfectly focused. Pushing the shutter release button halfway down locks auto focus and causes the camera to make a small clicking noise.
It’s possible to select Center or Manual as the auto focus area, but the S6 lacks the Multi option that is available on so many other digital cameras. The Manual auto focus area mode lets users move the point of focus around on the LCD, to 99 different places, using the multi-selector. When the camera is in this mode, the flash, self-timer, and macro modes are unavailable. The Nikon S6 has an auto focus assist lamp on its front that shines in low light; this can be turned to Auto or Off in the setup menu. Overall, the auto focus area selections are a little incomplete. A Multi AF mode would have allowed users to focus on subjects that aren’t centered without taking 30 seconds to manually scroll around the LCD for the exact point of focus.
Manual Focus (0.0)
Users can select the focusing area manually, but not the focus itself.
 Exposure (7.0)As a product of its shutter speed and aperture ranges, the Nikon Coolpix S6 offers exposure values from +1.2 to +16.1 EV in wide and + 2.9 to +17.8 EV in telephoto. Manual shutter speed and aperture adjustments are not available, however, so users must rely on the S6’s good will to achieve the proper settings. The camera does provide the standard +/- 2 exposure compensation scale in 1/3 increments, which is available in all still image recording modes, for times when users don’t agree with its choices.
The Nikon Coolpix S6 has three Best Shot Selector modes: Highlight BSS, Shadow BSS, and Histogram BSS. These modes take pictures as long as the shutter release button is held down, but save only one picture. Which one? In the first mode, it is the picture with the best exposure in the highlights. In the second, it is the best-looking one with shadows. The Histogram BSS saves the picture with the closest bell curve histogram. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t show the pictures taken; it automatically picks one. Just one! When I used the Histogram BSS mode, the picture that had the best curve turned out to be one that included my left finger on the lens. Oops.
Metering (5.5)
Despite some versions of Nikon’s specifications, the Coolpix S6 does not let users manually select a metering mode. The digital camera uses a 256-segment matrix metering system as its default. Any backlit subject will need a flash for sure, as the system won’t be able to compensate for it.
 White Balance (7.25)
Like the ISO options, the white balance menu is available in the auto mode and not in the scene modes. The offerings are Auto, White Balance Preset, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, and Flash. The selection is good, with an auto setting, a manual setting, and everything in between to cover most situations.
The manual mode, also known as the “white balance preset” on this model, provides a small box within which users must frame something white. This is great because users don’t have to fill the entire frame with white, which can be difficult in crowded settings. Manual mode is by far the most accurate, as the auto mode always seemed a little off. When users scroll through the presets, a live preview appears behind the text. This is difficult to see, though, because of the text itself.
 ISO (6.5)Despite the recent influx of compact digital cameras with higher ISO sensitivities, Nikon did not include a wide range on the Coolpix S6. The only options available are Auto, 50, 100, 200, and 400. The automatic mode uses a truncated 50-200 range and is used in the scene modes. There are no live views in the menu, so users should test out the setting before photographing Cousin Joan’s candlelit wedding.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
The Nikon Coolpix S6 has a short shutter speed range of 2-1/500th of a second. Most compact models offer at least another stop at 1/1000th of a second, but the Nikon’s mechanical and charge coupled electronic shutter just doesn’t flip as fast as its competitors. Because of this, users could see the on-screen Blur Warning often, unless they use the flash or turn the warning signal off in the setup menu. The shutter speeds cannot be manually controlled, but choosing certain modes can move the camera toward one side or another of the range. The sports mode uses quicker shutter speeds, for example, and the landscape mode uses slower ones.
Aperture (0.0)
Like the shutter speed, the aperture has no manual control and is about a stop short of that offered by the competition. Most compact digital cameras offer a maximum aperture of f/2.8, but the Nikon S6’s Nikkor lens has a max of f/3.0 in wide. It uses a maximum of f/5.4 in the telephoto mode. The aperture can shrink as small as f/8.5 throughout the zoom range.
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