Great features for a great price.
Though this camera is rated at only 7.1MP, it is one of my favorites for several reasons. It has a Time Lapse feature which Nikon doesn't put into the new Coolpix cameras. They now give you a 'High Speed Video' option instead. You can choose it to take pictures every 30 seconds, 1, 5, 10, 30, & 60 minute intervals, and when you play it back the camera formats it into a video clip that plays at 30 frames per second. The max recording for time lapse is 1500 frames (15 hours if 1 picture every 30 seconds), but I've only gotten 1499 on my long duration recordings. The average time with a good stock battery will take approximately 360 - 400 frames. I achieved the full 1499 frames by making a special battery pack of my own design, so I am able to record from before sunrise, to after sunset all in one incredible video at a fraction of the cost of an expensive camera.
It also has a Stop Motion Movie setting for those who want to get creative in their movie making skills without shelling out the big bucks.
The video this camera takes in dark environments is barely visible, and I'm guessing it is due to the type of sensor the camera has, and the length of shutter time each frame gets to gather light. It is too bad they did not have a feature/setting similar to the Sony 'Nightshot', where instead of all 30 frames per second taking its own picture, it could take 1 picture every 3-5 frames, which would allow the sensor to gather much more light, but with the drawback is that it would be playing back a 30fps movie clip that is actually 6-10 frames per second, but much brighter. It would, though, make any motion of camera or objects appear jerky.
The downside of this camera is that every single camera I have had has a few white or off color pixels that will show up in the dark environment settings. The auto ISO will give you a highly pixelated photo if lighting is dim, whereas if you use the 'Scene' option and 'Fireworks', the shutter time is much longer, and the picture is much clearer but is significantly darker. In some settings, this is more desirable as the picture is much sharper.
I also have a couple Nikon Coolpix S220 10MP cameras and have done many side by side resolution tests. Believe it or not, this 7.1MP beats them all the time. While the S220 is 10MP, the picture (when enlarged greatly) is not as sharp, and contrast is not as good as this lower rated S200. Compared to other camera brands, the overall picture is a 7 out of 10.
It has a built in microphone and speaker that with a good battery can be used to record lectures or other things for as long as 2 1/2 hours or more. The playback volume is not as loud as one would want, and there is no jack for headphones. But when downloaded and played back on a computer, the sound quality is pretty good. I've used it to record our band practicing, and for the size of the microphone and camera, it is a good feature.
The weakest link of this camera is the lens assembly. One good drop with the lens extended will damage the soft plastic grooves the lenses ride in and will normally get stuck and give you a 'lens error' message. The gaps between the lens assembly also allow fine dirt or sand to get into the lens assembly and can cause the small gears to get stuck, giving you a 'lens error' message as well. When plugged into a computer via cable, there is a 'check system' button which will always say the camera is working well, even if it's not.
Overall, It is my favorite pocket sized camera.Read full review
