Review: Nikon CoolPix S6900

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The selfie has become a part of everyday culture these days. Smartphones, with their forward facing cameras, have perhaps facilitated this trend, and it shows no sign of disappearing.

It can be a little more difficult to achieve the same effect with a standard compact camera, as you generally have no way of knowing exactly where you're pointing the lens for framing your best side.

That is, unless you pick up something like the Nikon Coolpix S6900, which has a fully articulating screen which can be flipped round to face forward. What's more, there's also an inbuilt camera stand which means you can prop the camera up to go hands free and banish that pesky arm-in-shot type photo.

Alternatively, you can use Gesture Control to trigger certain operations, including the shutter release.

Designed specifically with parties in mind, other features for the self-snapper include self-wide mode, which combines a sequence of shots to capture group shots, and self-collage, which enables you to combine nine different faces to combine them into a single photo booth style grid.

There's also inbuilt Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity to hook up the camera to your smartphone for quick sharing on social networks and the like.

Of course, you can also use the S6900 as a normal camera. It features a 16 million pixel backlit CMOS sensor, a 12x optical zoom (which gives you 25-300mm in 35mm terms), 20 different scene modes and the ability to add 33 different post-shot image effects.

The CoolPix S6900 is also available in pink.

Full HD video recording is also included.

The overall body size of the S6900 is bulked out a little by the fully articulating screen on the back of the camera. The screen folds out completely from the body to face forward and downwards to accommodate for a variety of awkward angles. It also folds into the body to protect the screen from damage.

Behind the screen you'll find the arm which can be pulled out to act as a stand – you can either use the stand horizontally, or vertically – this is designed to help with selfies and group pictures. To make it easier still, there's a shutter release button on the front of the camera, but you will need to steady the camera with your hand to use it.

The screen itself is touch sensitive, which means you can use it to trigger the shutter release too. There are no buttons on the back of the camera, with the bulk of operation taking place via the screen. Unfortunately, the screen is not as responsive as it could be, sometimes requiring more than one tap to get the desired effect.

The self-timer mode is useful if you want to take selfies but, annoyingly, you have to activate the self-timer every time you want to use it, meaning if you're taking more than one photo you'll have to keep repeating the process.

On top of the camera you'll find the device's only physical buttons, including an on/off button, a Wi-Fi button, a video record button and the shutter release. Around the shutter release is a rocker switch for zooming the camera's lens. Zooming is pretty quick and fluid, and you can reach the telephoto end pretty quickly.

To change shooting modes, press the green camera icon on the right hand side of the screen, from here you'll be able to choose between scene auto selector, scene mode, special effects, smart portrait and glamour mode.

On the left hand of the screen you'll see of the most commonly used settings – exposure compensation, macro focusing, self-timer and flash. For more advanced settings, you can press the menu icon just above the camera icon. Here you'll be able to change settings such as white balance, ISO (sensitivity), colour options and so on.

To use the Wi-Fi functionality, first you need to press the dedicated Wi-Fi button on top of the camera. From here you'll be prompted to connect your device – a password will be displayed. Once you've connected your device once, it should remember the password. You will also need to download Nikon's free Wireless Mobile Utility. Alternatively, if you have an NFC enabled device, you simply need to touch the two together to form a connection - the first time you do this, you will be prompted by the Google Play store to download the app; after that, the app should load automatically when the two devices are touched.

From the app, you can view the images on the camera's memory card, or take photos remotely, which is another useful option for group shots and selfies. It's worth noting, however, that control is limited to zooming the lens and firing the shutter release – you can't change any other settings.

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Nikon Coolpix AW120

Pros Sharp 5x zoom lens. 24mm wide angle. 3-inch OLED display. Waterproof to 59 feet. Integrated Wi-Fi and GPS.

Cons Images are on the noisy side. No external charger included. Bottom Line With Wi-Fi, GPS, and an OLED display, the Nikon Coolpix AW120 is one of the better rugged compact cameras you can buy, but it's not quite an Editors' Choice.

By Jim Fisher The Nikon Coolpix AW120 ($349.95) looks a lot like the AW110 that that preceded it, but includes a few important upgrades that aren't easy to notice on first glance. The lens has been redesigned to cover a wider angle and capture more light, and there's a subtle change to the rear control pad. The 59-foot water depth rating remains the same, Wi-Fi and GPS are still on board, and the 16-megapixel resolution is the same. The AW120 is a good option if you're in the market for a rugged compact camera, but it can't quite touch our Editors' Choice, the Olympus Tough TG-3. The TG-3 features a lens that captures twice the light at its widest setting and a Microscope macro mode that make it a better buy at the same price as the AW120. 

Design and Features
Available in black, blue, orange, or woodland camouflage, the AW120, like most rugged models, places its lens in the upper corner of its body. The body is small enough to slide into your pocket with ease, measuring just 2.6 by 4.4 by 1 inches (HWD) and weighing in at 7.5 ounces. It's a little taller than one of the rare rugged compacts with its lens front and center, the Pentax WG-3 GPS (2.5 by 4.9 by 1.3 inches, 8.1 ounces). The WG-3 has a ring of LED lights around its centered lens for macro photography. The AW120 also has a LED light, but it's only used when recording video.

The lens is wider than the 28-140mm f/3.3-4.8 zoom that Nikon used in the AW110. The AW120 doesn't expand on a 5x zoom ratio, so its wider 24-120mm f/2.8-4.9 zoom doesn't quite reach as far at the telephoto end, but the wider angle cover is welcome. If you're shooting underwater the field of view of the lens is narrowed a bit due to the way that light moves through water, and the wider lens will let you get closer to your subjects and put more in frame—you'll get clearer photos with less water in between you and what you're shooting. The f/2.8 lens captures roughly 50 percent more light than the f/3.3 lens that the AW110 uses, but it's light-gathering capability is half that of the f/2 lens on the Olympus TG-3. When zoomed all the way in all three lenses reduce to f/4.8 or f/4.9, placing them on even footing.

There aren't a lot of controls on the top plate, just a Power button and a shutter release. The bulk of the buttons are located on the rear panel, to the right of the LCD, but there are also two buttons on the left side. One activates the World Map feature, and the other is the Action button. Pressing Action brings up an overlay menu that allows you to adjust the shooting mode, record a video, enter image playback mode, or view the World Map. It's designed for one-handed operation, so you can shake the camera to scroll through options, and use the Action button to confirm selections. The World Map works in conjunction with the GPS to show you a map of the area you are in and to highlight local landmark. You can also browse any area of the map, even if GPS is enabled or if you're interested in a location on the other side of the globe. 

The other controls are more traditional. There's a rocker with up/down action to zoom in and out and a Record button for video at the top right of the AW120's rear. There's a directional pad with four marked positions (Flash, Exposure Compensation, Macro, and Self-Timer) at its cardinal points, and four unmarked ordinal points. The diagonal button presses come in handy when scrolling through the World Map.

The standard menu, playback, and delete controls are housed on the rear panel, surrounding the 8-way directional pad. There is also a Scene button, which gives you access to the AW120's various shooting modes. By default it's set to Easy Auto, which wrests all control from your hands. There's also an Auto mode which gives you limited control over exposure settings, but there are no true manual, aperture priority, or shutter priority shooting modes available. Instead you'll have to rely one of the nearly two dozen Scene modes, including Sports, Snow, Close-Up, and Fireworks, to name a few, to best capture the world in front of the lens. You also get about a dozen art filters and a Smart Portrait mode.

The display is a 3-inch OLED panel with a 921k-dot resolution. It's bright, but I did find it a little difficult to see under direct sunlight. I like the punchy colors an OLED delivers, but it's not quite as easy to see as the LCD that Canon uses on the rugged PowerShot D30. The Nikon OLED is noticeably sharper, as the Canon D30's screen has a 460k-dot resolution.

The AW120 is rated to shoot 59 feet underwater, and while we weren't able to take it down that far, it survived being submerged in water without issue. It also handled a number of drops without incident, from as high as 6.6 feet, and it's rated for use in temperatures as low as 14°F. The Canon D30 is one of the few rugged compactst that's able to go significantly deeper under water—it's rated for depths of up to 82 feet.Both GPS and Wi-Fi are integrated here. The GPS module adds your location information to photos; it takes about a minute to lock onto a signal, but updated pretty quickly after that in my tests. You can transfer photos from the AW120 to an iOS or Android device using the free Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility app. The camera acts as a hotspot which you can connect to using your device, so you won't need to be near your home network to make it all work. Transferring images is easy, and you have the option of moving full-size, 1.5-megapixel, or 0.3-megapixel photos, and it only takes a few seconds to copy from camera to smartphone or tablet. The app also lets you use your mobile device as a remote viewfinder. The Live View feed is smooth and you can adjust the focal length of the lens and fire the shutter, but no other controls are available.

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Nikon Coolpix P340

Pros Sharp, wide-aperture lens. Low-noise, high-ISO images. Raw shooting support. Excellent control layout. Sharp rear display. In-lens ND filter. Very small for a 1/1.7-inch sensor camera. 10.4fps burst shooting. 1080i60 video capture.

Cons Slow to recover after bursts. Noticeable distortion in Raw format. Finicky Power button. In-camera battery charging. Inconsistent Wi-Fi performance. Bottom Line The Nikon Coolpix P340 compact camera captures images with excellent detail and shoots Raw, but performance issues hold it back.

By Jim Fisher

The Nikon Coolpix P340 ($379.95) is a minor update to the Coolpix P330 I reviewed last year. There are a few minor changes—the P340 omits a GPS, but adds Wi-Fi, and performance is just a little bit snappier than its predecessor—although I still feel the new version is just a beat slow in that department. Its 12-megapixel image sensor and lens are unchanged, but the image processor has been updated to support 1080i60 video recording and burst shooting is improved to 10.4fps. It's not quite good enough to oust our Editors' Choice compact, the Canon PowerShot N100, from its perch, as the Canon is a better choice for most consumers. But if you're a serious photographer that wants a pocket camera and can live with one that's not quite as snappy as the competition, the Coolpix P340 is worth strong consideration.

Design and Features
The P340 is similar in size to competing 1/1.7-inch cameras with similar lenses, but it comes in at a lower asking price than the Canon PowerShot S120 and Fujifilm XQ1. The Nikon measures 2.3 by 4.1 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.8 ounces; the Canon and Fujifilm alternatives are only different by tenths of inches and ounces in size and weight. Like the Model T, the P340 can be yours in any color you'd like, as long as it's black.

The 1/1.7-inch image sensor is larger than the 1/2.3-inch sensors found in most compacts, including the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS. It's not the largest that you'll find in a compact camera, as Sony uses big 1-inch sensors in its RX lineup. But you'll have to lay down a lot more cash to purchase the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, RX100 II, or RX100 III ($799.99).

The 5x zoom lens is identical to the one used by the P330. It covers a 24-120mm (35mm equivalent) range and opens up to f/1.8 at the wide end. The aperture narrows to f/5.6 at the telephoto extreme, which is typical for a compact with a large sensor. If you want a 1/1.7-inch camera that captures more light throughout its zoom range, you'll need to move up to one with a noticeably larger lens, like the Fujifilm X20 with its 28-112mm f/2-2.8 lens.

Like most compacts, the P340 can focus quite close at its widest angle, about 2 centimeters from the front element of the lens. When you combine that with the f/1.8 aperture, you can capture images with a very shallow depth of field when working close. The lens also has an integrated neutral density filter, which cuts out the amount of light that can enter without narrowing the aperture; it's a very helpful tool for making longer exposures on bright days, especially when coupled with the low base sensitivity (ISO 80) provided by the image sensor. The ND filter can be engaged manually, or you can set it to automatically activate when needed.

The P340's control layout is strong. There's a programmable Fn button on the face, right next to the lens. By default it controls the drive mode, but you can set it to control a number of functions, including the ISO, metering pattern, and focus mode. There's also a control ring around the lens, which is also customizable to your liking. I set it to adjust exposure compensation, but it can also be used to fine tune white balance, act as a step zoom ring, adjust the shutter speed or aperture, or act as a manual focus ring. Peaking, which highlights in in-focus areas of an image, is available as a manual-focus aid.

The top plate houses a standard mode dial, the power button, an integrated zoom rocker and shutter release, and the top control dial. The rear panel houses a movie record button (directly next to the thumb rest), a second control dial, and playback, menu, and delete controls. The rear control dial has a center OK button and four directional presses that control the flash, adjust exposure compensation, toggle macro focus, and set the self-timer.

In most modes, the top dial adjusts the shutter speed and the rear the aperture, but there are a few exceptions. When shooting in Program, the top dial adjust the program line, narrowing or widening the aperture and adjusting the shutter speed in kind to capture a proper exposure at the set ISO. If you set the camera to Scene or Effects mode, the top dial will scroll through the available preset settings and art filters.

I have the same complaint about the P340's power button as I did with the P330: It's a bit finicky. Simply pressing it in does not turn the camera on; you have to hold it for an additional beat before the camera starts. This isn't the same when turning things off; a good, quick press powers down the camera. It'd be one thing if the button was easily tripped—it could save you from accidentally powering the camera on in your bag, and discovering your battery dead at the worst time. But the button is slightly recessed—the chances of it being pressed in accidentally are minimal. It's not a deal breaker, but it does take a little getting used to.

I have absolutely no complaints about the quality of the rear display. It's 3 inches in size with a 920k-dot resolution. It's sharp and bright, so I had no issues using it on a bright summer day. I did wish that it tilted at times, like the display Canon includes on the N100, but a tilting design would add some bulk to the slim P340. The Canon N100 screen also supports touch input, which makes tap to focus possible. The P340 has a flexible spot available for focus that's controlled via the rear dial's directional presses; it's not quite as quick to operate as a touch screen, but it's more than adequate.

The P340 drops the GPS that was included with the P330 in exchange for Wi-Fi. That's a positive change for photographers who like to share photos via social media, but a step backward for geotagging enthusiasts. Nikon has been a bit slow to add Wi-Fi to its camera lineup, and is still working on refining the experience. It's easy enough to connect your phone to the P340 via Wi-Fi, but I found that the performance was a bit inconsistent. On several occasions image transfer stuttered and stopped, which required me to power cycle the camera and close the Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility app on my iPhone 5 to get things working again. I had the most issues transferring Raw files, which the P340 converts to JPG before sending over to the phone for compatibility; my success rate was about 25 percent. But even when transferring JPGs, I dealt with about a 25 percent failure rate, and that's with the camera and phone right next to each other in areas without a lot of competing Wi-Fi traffic.

Wireless Mobile Utility also works as a remote viewfinder. A Live View is beamed to your iOS or Android device, but it too suffers from speed issues. The feed is very choppy, to the point where I fired the shutter as a coworker was walking by the lens of the camera. The P340 had no issues capturing an in-focus image, but he had not yet appeared on the Live View feed when I snapped the photo. That's not an issue if you're standing right next to the camera, but if you're attempting to mount the camera close to wildlife and trigger it remotely with your phone, the lag will kill your chances of getting the perfect shot. Controls are also limited when firing the camera remotely—you can adjust the zoom, set the self-timer, and fire the shutter, but that's it.

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Nikon Coolpix P340

Pros Sharp, wide-aperture lens. Low-noise, high-ISO images. Raw shooting support. Excellent control layout. Sharp rear display. In-lens ND filter. Very small for a 1/1.7-inch sensor camera. 10.4fps burst shooting. 1080i60 video capture.

Cons Slow to recover after bursts. Noticeable distortion in Raw format. Finicky Power button. In-camera battery charging. Inconsistent Wi-Fi performance. Bottom Line The Nikon Coolpix P340 compact camera captures images with excellent detail and shoots Raw, but performance issues hold it back.

By Jim Fisher

The Nikon Coolpix P340 ($379.95) is a minor update to the Coolpix P330 I reviewed last year. There are a few minor changes—the P340 omits a GPS, but adds Wi-Fi, and performance is just a little bit snappier than its predecessor—although I still feel the new version is just a beat slow in that department. Its 12-megapixel image sensor and lens are unchanged, but the image processor has been updated to support 1080i60 video recording and burst shooting is improved to 10.4fps. It's not quite good enough to oust our Editors' Choice compact, the Canon PowerShot N100, from its perch, as the Canon is a better choice for most consumers. But if you're a serious photographer that wants a pocket camera and can live with one that's not quite as snappy as the competition, the Coolpix P340 is worth strong consideration.

Design and Features
The P340 is similar in size to competing 1/1.7-inch cameras with similar lenses, but it comes in at a lower asking price than the Canon PowerShot S120 and Fujifilm XQ1. The Nikon measures 2.3 by 4.1 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.8 ounces; the Canon and Fujifilm alternatives are only different by tenths of inches and ounces in size and weight. Like the Model T, the P340 can be yours in any color you'd like, as long as it's black.

The 1/1.7-inch image sensor is larger than the 1/2.3-inch sensors found in most compacts, including the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS. It's not the largest that you'll find in a compact camera, as Sony uses big 1-inch sensors in its RX lineup. But you'll have to lay down a lot more cash to purchase the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, RX100 II, or RX100 III ($799.99).

The 5x zoom lens is identical to the one used by the P330. It covers a 24-120mm (35mm equivalent) range and opens up to f/1.8 at the wide end. The aperture narrows to f/5.6 at the telephoto extreme, which is typical for a compact with a large sensor. If you want a 1/1.7-inch camera that captures more light throughout its zoom range, you'll need to move up to one with a noticeably larger lens, like the Fujifilm X20 with its 28-112mm f/2-2.8 lens.

Like most compacts, the P340 can focus quite close at its widest angle, about 2 centimeters from the front element of the lens. When you combine that with the f/1.8 aperture, you can capture images with a very shallow depth of field when working close. The lens also has an integrated neutral density filter, which cuts out the amount of light that can enter without narrowing the aperture; it's a very helpful tool for making longer exposures on bright days, especially when coupled with the low base sensitivity (ISO 80) provided by the image sensor. The ND filter can be engaged manually, or you can set it to automatically activate when needed.

The P340's control layout is strong. There's a programmable Fn button on the face, right next to the lens. By default it controls the drive mode, but you can set it to control a number of functions, including the ISO, metering pattern, and focus mode. There's also a control ring around the lens, which is also customizable to your liking. I set it to adjust exposure compensation, but it can also be used to fine tune white balance, act as a step zoom ring, adjust the shutter speed or aperture, or act as a manual focus ring. Peaking, which highlights in in-focus areas of an image, is available as a manual-focus aid.

The top plate houses a standard mode dial, the power button, an integrated zoom rocker and shutter release, and the top control dial. The rear panel houses a movie record button (directly next to the thumb rest), a second control dial, and playback, menu, and delete controls. The rear control dial has a center OK button and four directional presses that control the flash, adjust exposure compensation, toggle macro focus, and set the self-timer.

In most modes, the top dial adjusts the shutter speed and the rear the aperture, but there are a few exceptions. When shooting in Program, the top dial adjust the program line, narrowing or widening the aperture and adjusting the shutter speed in kind to capture a proper exposure at the set ISO. If you set the camera to Scene or Effects mode, the top dial will scroll through the available preset settings and art filters.

I have the same complaint about the P340's power button as I did with the P330: It's a bit finicky. Simply pressing it in does not turn the camera on; you have to hold it for an additional beat before the camera starts. This isn't the same when turning things off; a good, quick press powers down the camera. It'd be one thing if the button was easily tripped—it could save you from accidentally powering the camera on in your bag, and discovering your battery dead at the worst time. But the button is slightly recessed—the chances of it being pressed in accidentally are minimal. It's not a deal breaker, but it does take a little getting used to.

I have absolutely no complaints about the quality of the rear display. It's 3 inches in size with a 920k-dot resolution. It's sharp and bright, so I had no issues using it on a bright summer day. I did wish that it tilted at times, like the display Canon includes on the N100, but a tilting design would add some bulk to the slim P340. The Canon N100 screen also supports touch input, which makes tap to focus possible. The P340 has a flexible spot available for focus that's controlled via the rear dial's directional presses; it's not quite as quick to operate as a touch screen, but it's more than adequate.

The P340 drops the GPS that was included with the P330 in exchange for Wi-Fi. That's a positive change for photographers who like to share photos via social media, but a step backward for geotagging enthusiasts. Nikon has been a bit slow to add Wi-Fi to its camera lineup, and is still working on refining the experience. It's easy enough to connect your phone to the P340 via Wi-Fi, but I found that the performance was a bit inconsistent. On several occasions image transfer stuttered and stopped, which required me to power cycle the camera and close the Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility app on my iPhone 5 to get things working again. I had the most issues transferring Raw files, which the P340 converts to JPG before sending over to the phone for compatibility; my success rate was about 25 percent. But even when transferring JPGs, I dealt with about a 25 percent failure rate, and that's with the camera and phone right next to each other in areas without a lot of competing Wi-Fi traffic.

Wireless Mobile Utility also works as a remote viewfinder. A Live View is beamed to your iOS or Android device, but it too suffers from speed issues. The feed is very choppy, to the point where I fired the shutter as a coworker was walking by the lens of the camera. The P340 had no issues capturing an in-focus image, but he had not yet appeared on the Live View feed when I snapped the photo. That's not an issue if you're standing right next to the camera, but if you're attempting to mount the camera close to wildlife and trigger it remotely with your phone, the lag will kill your chances of getting the perfect shot. Controls are also limited when firing the camera remotely—you can adjust the zoom, set the self-timer, and fire the shutter, but that's it.

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Nikon Coolpix P600

Pros Sharp 60x zoom lens. Vari-angle LCD. Integrated EVF and Wi-Fi. Manual shooting controls. Solid image stabilization system.

Cons Slow focus when zoomed. Noisy images at moderate ISOs. Unresponsive after burst capture. Doesn't include external battery charger. Bottom Line The Nikon Coolpix P600 covers an incredible 60x zoom range, but focus speed is an issue when zoomed.

By Jim Fisher

The Nikon Coolpix P600 ($499.95) features an ambitious 60x zoom lens married to a 16-megapixel CMOS image sensor. It includes a sharp vari-angle rear display, an integrated EVF and Wi-Fi, and manual controls, but it's hindered by slow focus when utilizing its telephoto reach, noisy images at moderate ISO sensitivities, and a few other quirks. Its specifications are promising, but it disappoints in reality; at its asking price the P600 should be a better camera. Most photographers can live without the zoom power that the P600's lens provides, and for them we recommend either our Editors' Choice Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 or the premium Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10, both of which have constant-aperture f/2.8 lenses. But if you do need that extra reach (such as for wildlife photography) consider the 50x Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 as a better, less expensive alternative.

Design and Features
Like its bridge-style brethren, the P600 is shaped like a scaled-down D-SLR. It measures 3.4 by 5 by 4.2 inches (HWD) and is a bit heavy at 1.2 pounds. That's not out of line for this class; the 50x Fuji SL1000 is 3.4 by 4.8 by 4.8 inches and weighs a bit more, 1.5 pounds. Most cameras of this class are available only in black, but Nikon also offers this one in a dark red finish.

The 60x zoom lens covers a 24-1,440mm (35mm equivalent) field of view with an f/3.3-6.5 aperture. The more you zoom in, the less light is captured, so the camera will move up to a higher ISO in order to capture a sharp shot. The image stabilization system does a good job in steadying shots; I was able to get sharp, handheld results at as short as 1/50-second when zoomed in, but image stabilization won't help if you're trying to freeze motion when photographing a bird or fox. There are a few cameras in this class that offer f/2.8 fixed apertures throughout the zoom range—that's more light than the P600 can capture at any focal length. None of them can zoom anywhere near as far as the P600; they include the Panasonic FZ200 (25-600mm), the Olympus Stylus 1 (28-300mm), and the Sony RX10 (24-200mm).

It's easy to lose track of your subject when zoomed in, so many cameras now offer what's called a framing assist system. It's usually a button that widens the field of view of the lens, lets you reacquire your subject, and then automatically goes back to the previous zoom position. You can configure Snap Back Focus on the P600 (it's an alternate function of the zoom lever that's on the left side of the lens barrel), but it acts a little bit differently. Pressing the lever down pulls the lens back, but you'll need to push it back up to go back to the original zoom position. If you happen to tap another control on the camera before doing so, you're forced to manually readjust the lens to its previous focal length.

Nikon has put a number of shooting controls on the P600, taking advantage of its bulky body. There's a mode dial on the top plate, along with a standard zoom rocker and shutter release, the programmable Fn button, and the power button. An EVF/LCD toggle button, the Display control, a movie record button, and a control wheel run along the top of the rear, to the right of the EVF. Below the thumb rest there's a flat command dial with a center OK button and four directional controls. They adjust the flash settings, exposure compensation, macro focusing mode, and the self-timer. You'll also find the playback and delete controls, and the menu button on the rear.

The rear LCD has a vari-angle design; it's mounted on a hinge and can swing out and away from the camera, and twists all the way around so you can view it from the front, above, or below. It's a 3-inch panel with a 921k-dot resolution, so there are no complaints about its quality. The P600 does have an eye-level EVF; it's a good thing for a camera like this to have, as holding the camera to your eye will help you get steadier handheld shots at telephoto distances. The EVF is on the small side, but it's plenty sharp thanks to a 201k-dot resolution.

Compared with others, Nikon has been slow to integrate Wi-Fi into its cameras. The P600 has it, so you can copy images to your iOS or Android device using the free Wireless Mobile Utility application. The implementation is identical to that of the Coolpix S9700, a pocketable compact with a 30x lens, but the P600 lacks the S9700's GPS capability. In addition to direct transfer to your device, the P600 supports wireless remote control. Its capabilities are limited; you can adjust the zoom, activate the self-timer, and fire the shutter, but that's it—there's no way to select a focus point or to access more advanced shooting controls via remote. You also can't post directly from the P600 to social networks, as you can with the Samsung WB350F.

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