Nikon Coolpix S3000

Design And Features

Nikon's latest compact Coolpix range has taken a leap for the better in the design stakes. The S3000 is a slim and attractive camera that, while inexpensive (S$279), doesn't belie its asking price in terms of the overall aesthetic. Clad in an attractive brushed metal finish, the look and feel is rather similar to the Canon Digital Ixus 105 IS. As we'll see later, these two shooters share more than just these exterior similarities.


Measuring 55.9 x 94.3 x 19mm and weighing 116g, the S3000 comes in an entire gamut of colors: Silver, black, red, purple and magenta. The back of the camera houses a 2.7-inch LCD screen and silver-tipped control buttons that provide an attractive finish against the black rear panel. At the base, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery holder sits next to the memory card (SD or SDHC) slot. Like most other Coolpix cameras, the battery is charged in-camera from a power source or via the USB port.

Apart from the standard 12-megapixel sensor, the S3000 also has a 27mm wide-angle 4x optical zoom. The maximum lens aperture ranges from F3.2-5.9. Let's compare it now with a very similar camera, the Ixus 105 IS.

Model/Specifications	Nikon Coolpix S3000	Canon Digital Ixus 105 IS
Sensor resolution	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
LCD size	2.7-inch	2.7-inch
Wide-angle lens	28mm	27mm
Max. video resolution	640 x 480 pixels	640 x 480 pixels
Image stabilizer	Electronic	Optical (via lens)

Shooting modes include full automatic; scene mode, which covers a range of regularly encountered situations like sports and portraits; smart portrait, which smooths out skin imperfections; subject tracking; and movie mode. As would be expected of most entry-level compacts, the movie mode is only VGA (640 x 480-pixel) resolution.

Performance And Image Quality

The S3000 starts up and takes its first shot in 2.4 seconds without flash, which is relatively slow even for a basic compact camera. It manages to take approximately one shot every second in continuous/sports mode, and shutter lag is an average 0.6 second.

Once you turn on the snapper, the S3000 starts up with a zippy little musical introduction. This is a slice of cuteness which spices up the shooting process.

Colors from the S3000 are good, with warm overall tones and nice saturation. Depending on the situation, some exposures seem more accurate than the IXUS 105, with the S3000 choosing to under- rather than overexpose some tricky lighting scenes.


A 100 per cent crop (inset) of a photograph taken on the S3000. (Credit: Alexandra Savvides/CNET Australia)
Comparing color rendition side-by-side shows punchier tones from the Canon, as can be seen below.


(Credit: Alexandra Savvides/CNET Australia)
Some images did suffer from a fair amount of over-processing and digital artifacts, even on images taken at low ISO levels. Daytime shots didn't really show too many of these issues, but indoor and low-light shots exhibited it a lot, particularly at 100 percent magnification.

Video quality is decent for this resolution and acceptable for Web use. Note that there is no optical zoom during filming.

The S3000 is pretty good for a cheap point-and-shoot camera, as long as you keep photo quality expectations in check considering its price.