Model Design / Appearance (8.25)

The Nikon Coolpix S6 comes in a sleek metal body that is modeled by none other than Kate Moss herself. Nikon describes the camera as “provocative” and “stunning” and the claims are almost correct in this case. Its body is plain, but sophisticated, boasting a frosty looking surface with chrome highlights so shiny they could be small mirrors. The skinny 0.8-inch thick camera can fit easily into a pocket or in a hand. Its wavy design makes it thicker on the left side where the lens and WiFi chip reside and thinner at the point where the right hand grips the camera. The Nikon Coolpix S6 will turn heads – especially when handled by the likes of Kate Moss.

 

Size / Portability (8.25)

The camera’s size is one of its best attributes. It measures only 0.8 inches thick, 3.9 inches wide and 2.4 inches tall. This is slightly taller and wider than the S5, but no thicker. The Nikon S6 weighs in at 4.9 oz, which is perfect for its metal body. It’s both durable and lightweight: a tough combo to find. An included strap, which attaches to the eyelet on the right side, makes the S6 comfortable to carry around on a wrist, and the wave design lets it slide easily into a pocket.

 

Handling Ability (5.0)

The wave design does wonders for aesthetics and portability; it plays a small part in handling, too, making the lightweight Nikon S6 relatively comfortable to hold and steady. Handling can still get tricky though. Users have to be vigilant of the lens or risk blocking it with their left fingers could block it.

 

The biggest hindrance to handling is the tiny buttons and controls. The zoom switch on the top of the S6 is the smallest we’ve seen to date. The power button is so small that large-fingered users will have to use the tip of a pen to boot up the camera. Nikon made a few attempts to make handling comfortable with the wave design and a thumb divot on the back, but their controls are just too small for any user to handle.

The Nikon Coolpix S6 has incredibly small controls on the top of the camera and decently sized and positioned ones on the back side. The shutter release button is adequately sized, but the power button is tiny and recessed into the camera body, thus hard to push. The zoom switch isn’t much larger than the power button. It does protrude from the camera body, but users will still have to sacrifice their freshly manicured nails to pry the tiny thing right and left.

 

A multiselector, which incorporates a rotary dial, is the most interesting control on the S6. The central OK button has a ring around it that rotates smoothly and accurately to scroll through pictures and menu options quickly. The dial can be pushed in the four navigational directions too. It’s the only redeeming quality on an otherwise bleak landscape of miniscule controls that make handling difficult and tedious.

 

The new S-series cameras have a different menu system from Nikon’s last setup. Their new menus use larger fonts and icons along with different, lighter colors. A rotary dial, which can scroll like a multi-selector or rotate quickly through many options, makes them even cooler.  The menus show gray text on a white background; the selected option is highlighted yellow and has an arrowed edge to show which way to scroll for more choices. Even the 3-inch screen cannot display all the options at once, so the Nikon S6 shows a scroll bar on the right side of the window and page numbers at the top (eg. 1/3). An Exit option and an OK icon occupy the bottom of the screen. The following is the recording menu from the auto mode, which provides the most options.

 

 

Live views are available when choosing the white balance, exposure compensation, and color option, but large icons and text block the view. If users get lost at any time in the menu system or don’t understand an option, they can push the ‘T’ end of the zoom switch to access the Help function. This function provides such explanations as “Exposure Compensation: Adjust exposure to make pictures brighter or darker.”

 

The playback menu can be accessed by pushing the playback button and then the menu button.

 

 

The playback menu has the same white background with gray text, as does the setup menu.

 

 

Menus can be set to display text or icons in the setup menu; the icon system is set up in a grid and looks way too cluttered. The text option is much better because it is more organized and displays both text and icons. Overall, the menu system is intuitive and even fun to navigate with the rotary dial/multi-selector.

 

The Nikon Coolpix S6 has multiple personalities. As an automatic point-and-shoot digital camera, it is definitely easy to use. There is a recording mode with plenty of scene modes and a playback mode that users won’t have to squint to see. There are “scene assists” to help users properly place subjects and get a clear focus. A one-touch portrait mode calls up Nikon’s technology suite: face priority auto focus, in-camera red-eye fix, and D-lighting compensation. These features debuted on 2005 models but were buried within menus. Nikon made them easier to find by designating a button atop the S6 as the one-touch portrait button. The Nikon Coolpix S6 is easy to use as an automatic camera.

 

Its other identity is a little more twisted. The wireless S6 requires patience and a bunch of wires, ironically, to hook up to the network. Users must know their network settings and other tech garble to set up the S6. If the term ‘SSID’ doesn’t ring a bell, it will not be an easy task to set up the WiFi function on the Nikon S6. Once the camera is initially hooked up to the wireless network, life gets a lot easier.