The Nikon Coolpix S6000’s features and performance are very good for its price, but its photos are best suited for small prints and Web use. When a 5x zoom isn’t enough and a 10x zoom is too much (either in size or price), there are the likes of the 7x zoom Nikon Coolpix S6000.
Combined with its 28mm-equivalent wide-angle starting point, you get an extra bit of flexibility in a pocketable body that does make a difference, especially when there’s just no physical way to get closer. Add in this camera’s relatively speedy shooting performance and you have a decent, well-priced compact camera for shooting from the sidelines.
It’s still a compact point-and-shoot, though, so despite its high resolution and Nikkor ED glass lens, the photos are best enjoyed at smaller sizes as prints or for online sharing with little to no cropping or enlarging.
The S6000 is basically a slightly smaller version of its linemate, the 10x S8000. It has the same squarish all-metal body with a smoothly flared lens surround. Also like that model, the S6000’s flash is poorly located at the top left, easily blocked by careless fingers.
The controls and menu system are fairly uncomplicated, so out-of-the-box shooting shouldn’t be much a problem. The menu system is broken into three tabs: Shooting, Movie, and Setup. The layout keeps you from doing too much hunting through settings.
Squeezed between the large thumb rest and the screen, is a record button for movies. Below that is a shooting mode button labeled "Scene" with a playback button to its right; a four-way control pad/wheel with an OK button in its center (Nikon calls it a Rotary Multi Selector); and then Menu and Delete buttons at the very bottom.
The control pad is used for menu and image navigation as well as setting the self-timer, adjusting flash and exposure compensation, and turning on macro focus. Should you want to move faster through menus or images and videos, you can spin the wheel instead of doing single presses with underlying control pad. Although the wheel moves easily, you can feel stops. All in all, it’s a pretty standard digital camera arrangement.