Nikon Coolpix S630

Viewfinder

Like many compact digital cameras, the S630 does not have an optical viewfinder.

LCD

The S630's LCD display is bright and crisp, measuring 2.7 inches diagonally with a total of 230,000 dots to show you the image you're framing in all its glory. It has an anti-reflective coating to help prevent glare in bright settings, and you can choose between 5 brightness levels in the main settings menu.

The S630's LCD display/viewfinder

Flash

The S630's flash is to the left of the lens. If the Nikon logo to its left were to be relocated elsewhere, and the flash re-positioned in its place, it would be even further from the lens to minimize the potential for red eye.

The S630's flash in a less-than-optimal location

Lens

The S630 has a 7x Zoom NIKKOR glass lens that spans from 6.6 to 46.2mm, equivalent to 37-260mm in 35mm photography. This is quite a lot of zoom power for a compact camera that weighs in at at a scant 4.9 ounces (without the battery and an SD card). In macro mode, it can focus as close as 0.8 inch away. In normal mode, it can focus as close as 2 feet away and out to infinity.

Zoom in for the close-up

Jacks, Ports & Plugs

The S630 has a single port that serves as a USB connection to your computer and also as an AV out port. Thankfully, it comes with both cables in the box, which is quite nice to see.

Combined USB/AV out port under über-shiny tethered plastic cover

Battery

The S630's battery compartment closes securely. When you finally manage to open it, you'll find the rechargeable battery held in by a small orange plastic tab, which is a nice touch to prevent it from falling out as soon as you open the compartment. Below the battery compartment is the SD card slot.

The S630 comes with a Lithium Ion battery, model number EN-EL12. The spec sheet claims it's capable of taking 220 shots on a full charge.

The compartment for the battery and SD card slot

Memory

The S630 comes with 44MB of built-in memory. While this isn't a lot at all, it should still be sufficient to capture a few shots if you're caught without an SD card on hand, which is greatly appreciated, particularly since the S630 doesn't come with an expansion card in the box. The S630's expansion card slot is in the Secure Digital format and it can also take high-capacity (SDHC) cards.

Look below the battery for the SD card slot