Nikon Coolpix S4000 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Panel LCD (Red) Review

It’s interesting how Amazon has divided up the reviews for the Coolpix S4000 based on the color of the camera (at least as of this writing). Moving on: This is a nice little camera, it’s the third in my collection of compacts, the only one with a touch screen. I have posted photos taken with it, both post-processed and straight out of the camera. My notes:
There is an issue with charging the battery. This has been mentioned in at least one other review, don’t remember the color of that camera (doesn’t matter). Recharging is not done as described in the quick start guide. Put the USB connector in the wall plug-in part, and plug it into your outlet, THEN attach the other end to the camera. This is the only way that the camera will be triggered to turn on and recharge. Wall first, camera second.
The guide says charging a fully discharged battery can take up to two hours and 10 minutes, or thereabouts. After three and a half hours, though the light was still blinking, I unplugged mine during its first charge. The battery icon did not show up in the display, meaning it was charged.
The default should not be for digital zoom to be turned on. Make your first menu adjustment turning that off!
Another reviewer got the best results with a setting of 3m for the images. I set mine at 8 and they seem fine; unless you are going to print very large posters, you also may want to cut back from the 12m.
Flash settings aren’t sticky, so if you turned it off and then turned the camera off, the flash will be back on auto when you turn it back on.
I found the color to be good, white balance to be fairly accurate, exposure to be so-so, all in auto scene mode. The touch screen works well but it does pick up fingerprints–scrolling and selecting worked better for me using my fingernail; they provide a stylus that can be attached to the strap and would also help reduce greasiness on the screen.
The red version looks just plain cool. It’s very small, even for a compact, and very lightweight. It’s a camera for snapshots, and with that limitation in mind, I think it does very well. (Don’t over-expect.) I noticed that it sometimes found more than one focus spot in a scene, and that worked well. Mine came with a carrying case included in the box. It comes with the full manual on a CD. The card readers built into both my laptop and desktop computers (both Windows 7, a Dell and an HP) were able to read the card with no problem, so I did not install any of the software that came with it.
Nikon Coolpix S4000 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Panel LCD (Red) Feature
- 12.0 megapixels for stunning prints as large as 16 x 20 inches
- Bright 3.0-inch touch-panel LCD; Sensitive Response Touch Panel; Touch Shutter and Autofocus
- 4x wide-angle Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens
- 720p HD movie recording at 24 fps
- 4-way VR Image Stabilization System; Smart Portrait System
Nikon Coolpix S4000 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Panel LCD (Red) Overview
Get in touch with your sensitive side with Nikon’s S4000 12-megapixel COOLPIX digital camera with touch screen technology. If you can point, you can take one great shot after another. Add to this Nikon’s standard, yet exceptional, features like the 4x optical zoom, VR Image Stabilization, Smart Portrait and Auto scene technology, and one sleek-looking chassis and you might not be able to put this camera down.

Customer Reviews
Excellent – Rena –
I absolutely love this camera. It takes very clear pictures. Im so happy about the shipping and how fast it was delivered to me. I definently would order from this place again. This camera is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
Daughter loves it – JFC – Lakewood, CO
Bought this for my 20yr old daughter as a birthday present. She loves it!
Disappointing time until next picture – Stacy I. – Maryland United States
I like everything about this camera except the Image Review time setting. The only option for Image Review is On or Off. I primarily take pictures of my young children, so I need the instant image review after taking a picture so that I can make sure I got the shot. However the image review time is between 5-7 seconds and there’s no option to reduce that time. My previous Kodak would clear the image review when I pressed the shutter button, but this one doesn’t have that feature or any other way to clear the image review early. Turning off the image review just doesn’t work for me since I then would have to hope I got the picture or go into the image review and check the shot. It’s also possible that it just takes too long to store the image, though this doesn’t seem to be the case when I turn off image review. Nikon tech support wasn’t very helpful. They said that maybe a faster data card would help (I have a class 2 I believe though they weren’t even able to help me confirm the class.)
The size of the camera is great and picture quality seems good and the price is good. The touch screen is also great and it’s easy to use.
Unfortunately the image review issue is a deal breaker so I’m looking into a Canon.
Got plum not red camera – Linda Noland Aikins –
Ordered red. Came in box marked red. This camera is plum which is the only color i was sure I did NOT want. Had to go ahead and use it due to family get-together. Not happy.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 02, 2010 19:28:46
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