Nikon COOLPIX S32 Review | 108 Data compared

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Nikon Coolpix S32 as a budget-friendly, waterproof camera featuring an upgraded, higher-resolution sensor and an easy-to-use interface suitable for families and children. It is praised for offering excellent value with an optical zoom lens, accurate color reproduction, and fun creative filters, making it ideal for casual, rugged use. Conversely, the review notes significant limitations for advanced users, specifically the complete lack of manual controls for settings like ISO or white balance, restricting its use to automatic shooting. While delivering decent, functional image quality for snapshots, the camera's restrictive nature and limited performance in complex lighting make it unsuitable for serious photography, according to the review.

The Nikon Coolpix S32 is an affordable, robust point-and-shoot digital camera designed primarily for family travel and children, retailing for under £90. It features a 13.2-megapixel sensor and a Nikkor 3x optical zoom, packed into a lightweight, small body. Key advantages include its highly durable design, which is waterproof up to 10 metres and shockproof against drops from up to 1.5 metres. It is also incredibly simple to operate with an intuitive four-button on-screen menu rather than complex dials. The camera offers creative modes like diorama, cartoon, and a colour-highlighting feature, alongside a continuous shooting mode and a dedicated button to film up to 25 minutes of video. Its rechargeable battery lasts for roughly 200 photos per charge, and the included cable conveniently serves as both a charger and a USB transfer lead. However, the camera has notable limitations that make it unsuitable for serious photography enthusiasts who are used to DSLR quality. The overall photo quality is only average, and specialized settings like the "backlight" mode can sometimes produce blurry images. Additionally, the built-in creative features like "highlight colours"...

The Nikon Coolpix S32 is an affordable, entry-level toughcam specifically designed for children and beginners, launching as an upgrade to the older S31 model with a $120 list price. It features a playful, rounded, toylike exterior with a 3x zoom lens, simplified and unlabeled rear buttons that change functions based on the screen menu, and a 2.7-inch display. Its primary pros include enhanced durability—surviving drops from 1.5 meters and functioning up to 10 meters underwater—along with an upgraded 13.2-megapixel CMOS sensor that supports 1080/30p video capture and 4.7 frames per second burst shooting. However, the camera comes with notable downsides, including an increased asking price compared to its predecessor and a slightly smaller sensor size that results in a higher base ISO sensitivity of 125. Additionally, the button layout is somewhat unintuitive for users accustomed to traditional DSLRs or high-end compact systems due to the changing, unlabeled side controls. Ultimately, the review concludes that the S32 perfectly knows its niche, serving as an ideal, rugged, and highly accessible device for young shooters to learn photography without the confusion of complex...

from Visual Individual: The review presents the Nikon S32 as an exceptionally durable, consumer-grade waterproof point-and-shoot camera that offers high value for its $110 price tag. The reviewer notes several key pros, including its extreme ease of use and a rugged build that easily survives being dropped or tossed into suitcases, backpacks, and purses. It functions smoothly underwater down to 33 feet, allowing users to capture unique point-of-view shots that standard, non-waterproof gear cannot reach. Additionally, the built-in flash performs well, providing a bright exposure without completely washing out skin tones. However, the camera comes with a few notable cons regarding performance and hardware quality. The reviewer highlights a frustrating shutter button delay when the device is fully submerged, making it difficult to time underwater shots perfectly. Furthermore, the lens quality is only decent, and a recurring charging connection issue required the reviewer to blow into the charging port to clear the contacts before it would accept a charge. Despite these limitations, the reviewer gives the camera a Final Grade of B+, concluding that it is entirely worth the money...