This camera was announced back in August, but slipped under my radar. I wanted to go back and catch it up because the Nikon S8200 is a really decent mid-range offering from Nikon at an attractive price point.
The S8200 sports a 16-megapixel 1/2.3 in BSI-CMOS chip behind a healthy 25-350mm 14x built-in zoom lens. Backing up the optics is Nikon’s Expeed C2 image processor.
The ISO range is a respectable 100-3,200 with optical image stabilization and boasts a 3” live view fixed-position LCD on the back. Controls are a mix of menu and manual controls that’s heavy on the buttons.
The autofocus system contrast detect with a multitude of options including multi-area, center, tracking, face-detect and live view.
On the software side it has panorama modes for both 180 and 360 panoramas.
Video is full size 1080 HD at 60 fps in MPEG4 format with the added bonus of HDMI mini connector.
Two minor niggles with this camera are Nikon’s reluctance to add 24p support to their smaller cameras and some serious photographers will be put off by the lack of a RAW output option. The S8200 is not the smallest of pocket size cameras at 33mm wide and weighing in at 213 grams (roughly half a pound), you’ll need a big pocket, but it’s solid to the touch.
Still, overall a nifty little package for $329, worth a look for anyone shopping for a second camera that’s easier to pack around than a full size DSLR.