Nikon Coolpix S6300 Digital Camera Review

Handling

If you've ever handled a bottom-rung compact digital camera before, you know what the S6300 feels like. On the plus side, it's tiny enough to easily fit in a tight jeans pocket. The downside is that it's not terribly comfortable to hold. The body is glossy and slick, and the braille-style rear thumb grip doesn't really give you a ton of traction. Still, its light weight and button layout mean you can do everything with just your right hand.

The buttons are raised above the surface of the camera, making them easy to feel and press even in total darkness, with the exception of trash and video recording. These two are left flush with the body, making it less likely that you'll inadvertently hit them and accidentally delete a cherished photo or record a useless movie.

Buttons & Dials

The S6300's button layout is about as minimal as you can get without resorting to touchscreen control. Up top are the on/off button as well as the zoom ring and shutter release. On the back you'll find several more buttons. The uppermost button provides direct access to video recording. Below it are shooting mode and playback buttons, and below that is the four-way control pad/rotary command dial, which surrounds the OK button. The four directional buttons double as direct controls for flash, timer, macro, and exposure compensation. Finally, below this cluster are the main menu and trash buttons.

Display(s)

At 2.7 inches on the diagonal and a display resolution of 230,000 dots, the S6300's LCD is a pretty weak effort. The low resolution makes it difficult to determine the sharpness of your shots, or the exact area in focus, though as we've suggested pretty much everything will be in focus with this sensor/lens combo. The screen is bright enough, but it's difficult to see in bright outdoor light, and in dimmer lighting it tends to struggle to keep up with motion.