Nikon Coolpix S5200 review

The 1080p video mode produced attractive results with plenty of detail, but the optical zoom was locked for the duration of clips. Autofocus was fixed by default, too, and enabling continuous autofocus peppered the soundtrack with tapping noises. These limitations used to be common, but the S5200’s rivals handle video more elegantly.

Photo quality was generally up to scratch, but here too, the S5200 lagged behind its rivals. Focus was sharp in the centre of frames but it trailed off slightly towards the edges. As usual for a 16-megapixel compact camera, noise-related problems were evident even in brightly lit shots. While bold details were handled well, subtler textures were obscured by noise reduction and smooth gradients looked a little grainy. These problems were mild in bright conditions, but the Canon Ixus 255 HS coped much better.

There’s plenty of crisp detail in these high-contrast textures…

…but the sky here looks a little grainy and the sea and sand have a textureless sheen

Colours are great here but focus is a little vague towards the corners, and there’s not much definition in the grass and distant treeline

Noise was more noticeable in dimly lit shots. Skin tones were grainy and textures such as hair and fabric lacked any definition. The combination of heavy noise reduction and digital sharpening left high-contrast lines looking spidery. We also found that automatic exposures in low light were rather unpredictable, sometimes using excessively slow shutter speeds that caused camera shake. Otherwise, low-light photos looked fine when resized for online sharing, but they fell short of the standards set by the Sony WX200 and Canon Ixus 255 HS.

There’s not a huge amount of detail in this shot but it’s good enough for resizing and sharing online. However, with a 1/13-second shutter speed, most of the photos in this batch suffered from camera shake or subject motion blur

The S5200 has an attractive combination of features and a great price. For us, though, the Canon Ixus 255 HS or Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX200 are well worth spending a little extra on, with their longer battery life, more capable video modes and superior image quality.