Nikon CoolPix S4300 supported with a 26mm wide angle zoom lens, a 3in 460k-dot LCD touchscreen and 720p movie recording it does well to offer a competitive set of specifications. Also present is Nikon's Vibration Reduction system and a Smart Portrait collection of people oriented technologies, together with 19 further scene modes.
The model's glossy outer casing may not be to everyone's taste, but build quality is no worse than expected for model priced this well. Thanks to the touchscreen's domination of the camera's rear only three controls are available, although, surprisingly for a 'style' compact, there's a thumb rest for a more secure hold.
The camera is ready to begin shooting in around a second, and powering down happens in roughly the same time. The focusing system is neither speedy nor sluggish, and in the shooting mode the screen responds well to the touch. In playback, however, some of the buttons become unresponsive, which can slow things down.
Images are largely well exposed, and white balance in natural light only shows the occasional inaccuracy, although many of the images are characterized by a general lack of fine detail and unsightly processing artefacts. The upshot of this is that image noise is largely minimized.
The f/6.5 maximum aperture at the tele end of the zoom, however, means the camera often needs to deploy its flash, even in fair conditions. Overall then, Nikon CoolPix S4300 has a lot going for it, but its image quality and minor touchscreen related foibles let it down.
