Nikon Coolpix S220 review

The S220's best photo results come at ISO 80 and ISO 100. As soon as you go up to ISO 200, detail and sharpness start a steady decline. Unfortunately, the camera seems to love ISO 400 when the sensitivity is set to auto. There are three remaining sensitivities above ISO 400 -- 800, 1,600 and 2,000 -- but they're really not usable for prints. If you're in low or dark lighting, however, you'll be able to capture photos without a flash and, although they're ridiculously grainy and void of detail, they aren't without their charm. Just don't look at them too closely.

Colours aren't exactly accurate, but are pleasing and fairly natural-looking, with the exception of blues, which occasionally look too vibrant. The dynamic range of the camera seems limited overall. Highlights are a bigger issue, frequently appearing blown out. Also, the auto white balance is too warm indoors -- take the time to use the more accurate presets or the manual white balance option. Finally, the lens has some barrel and pin-cushion distortion, but it's effectively corrected by the camera's distortion control option. The lens distortion creates a fair amount of purple fringing in high-contrast areas -- something that's characteristic of this class of camera.

Video results are decent. They're good enough for Web use, but grainy, with noticeable colour banding.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Typical shot-to-shot time (flash)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim)

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot A480

1.8 

5.6 

2.7 

0.6 

0.6 

Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS

2.8 

1.4 

1.2 

1 

0.5 

Nikon Coolpix S230

3.5 

3.3 

3 

1 

0.5 

Pentax Optio E70

2.4 

4.2 

3.3 

1.2 

0.6 

Nikon Coolpix S220

2.2 

3.3 

3 

1.3 

0.8 

Conclusion
The inexpensive, lightweight, ultra-compact Nikon Coolpix S220 might not take particularly great pictures -- especially when viewed at full size -- but it really comes down to what you're after. If it's capturing the moment so that you can share with friends and family online, and you're sick of using your phone and want more control over the end results, the S220 is a viable option.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet