Nikon COOLPIX S8200 Compact Digital Camera - Black (16.1MP, 14x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

I am a semi pro who uses full-frame Nikon D700 and DX format D7000 DSLRs. I had a basic Coolpix before and wanted a pocket camera that I could take anywhere when I didn't want the burden of my normal camera. How many times have you heard someone say "but I didn't have a camera on me" when they miss a photo opportunity?

The spec of this S8200 is very impressive and it's solidly and reassuringly made, with nicely weighted controls. A big 3 inch screen, an impressive lens and a number of extra modes (inc good close-up) for the more adventurous photographer, all for a reasonable price make this an inspired choice. I have only taken well exposed, sharp photos - it refuses to let me down!

The lens is a real cracker - and I use some very expensive Nikon Nikkor lenses with my DSLRs to compare it with - not only the wideangle at its widest setting but all the way up through its 14x zoom, at all settings it shows good sharpness and distortion is very well controlled. The built in anti camera shake feature kicks in on long lengths and is really effective. Even the extra 2x digital zoom beyond the normal is surprisingly usable.

For those wanting more exposure control, there's a really useful and easy to use compensation button on the main rocker switch. Press once and a vertical chart pops up on screen and you can increment in 1/3 stops up or down up to 2 stops either way. Press OK and the screen clears and you shoot. The screen image brightens and darkens accordingly, so you know how much to change it by. However, you have to remember to reset it after as there's no visual reminder. I used it with against-the-light landscapes through tress and it made enough of a difference to use it and the fact that Nikon place such a prominence and ease of this feature, means that they've thought about who will be using it, including experienced snappers like me.

I used the Coolpix to record my father's 80th birthday - including a precious video of the cake being presented to him. I entrusted this important event solely to this tiny, discreet camera, whereas I could have used my professional gear but looked like a press photographer rather than a participating, loving family member. The video is simple to use, you can also zoom slowly whilst video recording, which helps for smooth recordings, not fast enough for a child charging around but fine for a person walking toward you - and with the autofocus coping well, even under artificial light indoors. You end up with reasonable sized files that can be easily uploaded onto facebook etc but still with good quality.

The charging in-camera is via an adapter and the USB cable, a bit fiddly, so I have bought a separate charger and spare battery, along with a Tuff-Luv camera case that was a bargain at a fiver. I also got from Amazon a 16gb Sandisk SDHC card that should allow quite long video recordings and thousands of photos.

I'm very happy with my new little silver marvel; whilst I won't be using it for pro use I am reassured that I must surely have one of the best compacts on the market and I'm one who is photographically very difficult to please!

I am a DSLR user and owner/past owner of many cameras. My current pocket point and shoot/backup camera is a Canon Powershot SX210 IS. I bought the Nikon Coolpix S8200 mainly because of its backlit CMOS sensor (which is an improvement over the Canon's).
Since using the S8200, I have been very pleasantly surprised. First, the build quality appears to be solid, weighty and has a quality feel to it (although not too sure about the paint on the thumbwheel - bound to be susceptible to wear and tear). Secondly, the handling is pleasant and assured, with a DSLR feel. Thirdly, the image quality is very good for a point and shoot. Noise, the dreaded noise is well controlled when light is good, but noticable in low-light situations.
The biggest surprise to me is the way the camera takes pictures. It works entirely off auto or scenes, there is even an auto-scene setting which works like a dream. It automatically picks the scene settings, and the results are amazing; making taking pictures a breeze (because I no longer have to think about shutter speed, aperture, lighting etc...). There are no manual modes of any sort, and I can't even revert to my sometimes obsessive desires to control every aspect of a camera! What a joy.
I think Nikon has made a very good 'point and shoot' camera, if you just allow the camera to its own devices, it'll reward you with good pictures.

I finally worn out my poor Canon Powershot SX200 (I'm not a photographer but I take up to 200-300 pix a week as part of my work, plus nature photos at weekends, so I need something I can stuff into pockets, backpacks, handbags and briefcases). Convinced by the reviews on this site, I decided to give the S8200 a go.

I've given it 4 stars rather than 5 because the first one I received locked up when on full optical zoom - the entire camera froze, and the only way I could release it was to take the battery out. Nikon help line were great, and Amazon despatched the replacement before I'd managed to put the old one in the post to them! Then, the second one did it as well! But it's such a great camera, I decided to persevere, and with Nikon's help we managed to fix it by resetting the factory settings, and it's been fine ever since.

I don't much like Nikon's software for downloading and viewing - it's a cluttered screen and far more complicated to download than it needs to be, so I just use my old Canon software for that, but the Nikon software is very much better for editing.

But as for the camera itself, all I can do is echo some of the other reviews. The photos I've had from it so far are just stunning - I can't believe it was me that took them! I tested it out at a zoo, and even photos taken zoomed through grubby glass were awesome - it focused past the muck really well! The clarity and colour are amazing, and even I've found the settings and menus easy to work through. The macro shots are incredibly clear as well.

I'm not techie enough to go into the fine details of what the camera can do, and other reviewers have covered that really well, so read their comments and buy this camera. Despite the false start, this is the best compact camera I've owned, and I really do ask a lot of them.

Don't take too much notice of some people's comments about the flash popping up where you hold it. I've not had a problem with it. I guess it just depends on how much you need to grab your camera, but it's so light I often use it one handed anyway.

But do get a spare battery - it gets through them really quickly when reviewing on the monitor. The downloading using the USB cable is a bit hit and miss as well, so best get a card reader for that.

So, a great camera, despite a false start, and I'm glad I persevered with it.