Nikon Coolpix 4600
Manufacturer: Nikon Inc. Part number: 25524
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The entry-level model in Nikon's low-cost point-and-shoot line, the Coolpix 4600 has several leading-edge features that help compensate for its limited ISO range and lack of manual settings.
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CNET editors' review
Nikon Coolpix 4600 price range: $299.99
- Reviewed by: David English
- Edited by: Aimee Baldridge
- Reviewed on: 12/14/2005
- Released on: 03/15/2005
The good: Compact size; macro-focus indicator; Best Shot Selector; D-lighting mode; Blur Warning; 16 shooting modes.
The bad: Narrow ISO range; slow flash recovery time; limited manual settings; video recording that doesn't include audio.
The bottom line: The entry-level model in Nikon's low-cost point-and-shoot line, the Coolpix 4600 has several leading-edge features that help compensate for its limited ISO range and lack of manual settings.
The Nikon Coolpix 4600's well-designed, compact body is lightweight and easy to hold with one hand. Most of the buttons and controls cluster together on the back within easy reach of your right thumb. Southpaws, however, will find it difficult to hold this camera with just the left hand. The clustered buttons and controls leave ample room on the back for the 1.8-inch LCD screen. It's large enough to do the job, though you can find low-cost point-and-shoot cameras with larger screens, if that's important to you. The LCD shows you about 97 percent of the image you'll capture, while the optical viewfinder provides only about 82 percent coverage.
The menu selections on the Coolpix 4600 are almost identical to the ones on the 5600. Since the camera provides essentially no manual settings, and the setup options have a dedicated spot on the mode dial, the Nikon's menus contain a limited number of choices. That's a plus for beginners who might be confused by too many options. It's a minus, however, for experienced users who might want to explore the creative principles of photography.
Even an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera should have at least a few manual settings. The Nikon Coolpix 4600 is all automated, all the time--except for the ability to adjust the exposure plus or minus 2EV and select a light source for the white balance. You can also set the white balance to match a white or gray object, such as a handkerchief or an industry-standard white-balance card. That's an unusual feature for a low-end model.
The camera's 16 shooting modes consist of Portrait, Landscape, Sports, and Night Portrait assist modes, as well as 12 scene exposure modes, including Close Up, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Museum, and Underwater, which you can use with an optional underwater housing. Those are more options than many point-and-shoot cameras offer, and they could help beginners feel more confident about producing quality results in difficult situations. The shooting modes help make up for the lack of manual settings, which you would need for just these kinds of challenges.
Other features include Blur Warning, which checks each photo immediately after it's captured. If it's too blurry, you can eliminate it before it's saved. A related feature, Best Shot Selector, lets you shoot as many as 10 photos with a single press of the shutter-release button. The camera analyzes the images and saves the sharpest one. Another useful feature, D-lighting, brightens photos that are too dark. It could come in handy for low-light, backlit, or partially flash-illuminated images. Unfortunately, it also boosts visual noise, so you should use it sparingly.
These features also compensate for the camera's limitations. The Nikon Coolpix 4600 has a narrow ISO range of 50 to 200, so you're more likely to have blurred or poorly illuminated photos in dim light. To meet the low price point, Nikon had to limit the camera's hardwired capabilities. Features such as the Best Shot Selector, D-lighting, and Blur Warning restore some of those capabilities through software.
The results of our performance tests for the Nikon Coolpix 4600 were very close to those for the Coolpix 5600. Shutter lag measured a reasonable 0.31 second in bright light and 0.43 second in dim light; you'll be able to respond quickly to changing environments, such as when you're shooting sports events or fast-moving children. When we tested the Coolpix 4600, its poor time of 7.25 seconds from start-up to first shot surprised us. By turning off the default opening screen animation, we were able to reduce that time to 5.86 seconds, which is still much too slow. We were also disappointed with this camera's flash recovery time. While the shot-to-shot time without the flash was a fairly typical 1.89 seconds, when we engaged the flash, the time jumped to a frustratingly slow 12.11 seconds. You could miss many valuable shots while waiting for the tiny red light to stop flashing.
The Coolpix 4600's photos were similar to the Coolpix 5600's, except for the lower resolution. Overall, the image quality was quite good. The colors in our exterior shots looked a bit oversaturated, even for a point-and-shoot camera. This was especially evident with the brighter hues, though less obvious with more subdued colors, such as skin tones, that need to be more realistic. Image noise, sharpness, and exposure accuracy were better than average in our well-lit exterior shots.
With our interior photos, we began to see some deterioration. We couldn't adjust the ISO setting, so we experienced higher noise levels on some low-light photos, especially with flash-illuminated shots where the camera would sometimes boost the ISO to artificially extend the range of the flash. The narrow 50-to-200 ISO range for this camera will limit your ability to capture low-light and long-exposure shots, unless you're willing to live with elevated noise levels.
The video mode on the Nikon Coolpix 4600 is hardly worth having. Even the best setting (640x320 at 15 frames per second) was jerky and riddled with compression artifacts. Also, the camera doesn't record sound along with the video.
One bright spot is the camera's macro mode. We produced some excellent close-up shots using the macro-focus indicator. The macro icon changes from white to blue when the zoom is within the proper focus range. Note: The manual says the icon changes to green, but it definitely looked blue on our review camera.
User reviews
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Worth the Money
by dehaven.j on April 1, 2005
Pros: it is small and light, it has excellent image qaulity, lots of scene asist modes,macro modes
Cons: no sound with video
Summary: I bought this camera to replace my Hewlett packard photosmart 720 which was a nice camera but it was way to big to carry around. I really like this camera ...
Summary: I bought this camera to replace my Hewlett packard photosmart 720 which was a nice camera but it was way to big to carry around. I really like this camera it is a lot smaller than I expected. This camera is in the same price range as other 4 megapixel digital cameras that have less features than this one has. The only complaint that I really have if you even call it a complaint is that the movie mode does not have sound capability, this really is not a big deal because I did not buy a video camera I bought a digital camera. If I wanted to take a lot of movies I would have boughten a video camera. The pictures turn out really good for a camera in this price range. I would definitely recomend this camera to anyone looking in this category.
22 out of 24 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Exactly what I asked for*
by clayrr on May 27, 2005
Pros: Easy to use, GREAT pictures
Cons: Long refresh time
Summary: I'm not what you'd call an enthusiast. I travel a lot on business, though, and wanted to be able to snap pictures here and there in interesting places ...
Summary: I'm not what you'd call an enthusiast. I travel a lot on business, though, and wanted to be able to snap pictures here and there in interesting places and situations. At the camera store I said, "All I care about is - the camera must be small and easy to use." The salesman went immediately to the Coolpix 4600; he pushed the button and took my picture. Sold.
First, the "pros." The camera is extraordinarily simple to use, and the more advanced features are intuitive to learn. I've glanced in the manual a few times but learned the ins and outs mainly by doing. Maybe most importantly, it takes beautiful pictures. I bought a 256mb chip and have never had any issues with memory space. Photos have blown up to 8X10 wonderfully (partly because of the macro close-up feature, which I've played around with by creating giant pictures of - yes - grains of salt).
The ONLY downside of the camera is the (from what I've read) relatively long time it takes after a flash picture to prepare for another. Indoors, the screen goes blank and the camera isn't ready for a new flash picture for 6-10 seconds.
If you wanted the camera for vacation snapshots or just random miscellaneous stuff, this would be hands-down a "Perfect 10."12 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Even novice can get great Pics
by cynergy on May 14, 2005
Pros: Small, easy to use, take it anywhere
Cons: Definitely needs extra memory and rechargeable batteries.
Summary: Very, very easy to set-up, use and be on the way to take great pics;even for the novice. It has some very nice options to get the best picture ...
Summary: Very, very easy to set-up, use and be on the way to take great pics;even for the novice. It has some very nice options to get the best picture in a particular environment. This is akin to a CD player that enhances the sound for jazz, rock or classical. You determine what the setting is from indoor to fireworks and the camera does the rest. With the 4600 you can take pictures that are vivid, black and white or sepia tones in addition to standard color. It is very versatile and small enough to keep with you all the time. There are many built in helps for the beginner. It allows you take pics just about anywhere with success. Great bang for the buck. The longer I have it the better I like it. Even the first day I was able to take photos and embed them in a newletter and power point display.
9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good camera for taking photos of adults
by Jamo99 on October 23, 2005
Pros: buld quality, image quality, size
Cons: long picture delay if flash is used, blurry images if flah not used
Summary: Good little camera, my only issue was that I wanted to take images of my two and one month old daughters. If the flash was used it took a good ...
Summary: Good little camera, my only issue was that I wanted to take images of my two and one month old daughters. If the flash was used it took a good 5 seconds to take an image (shot was gone by that time). If the flash was not used the images were blurry. If you were only taking pics of adults or bigger kids, this is a great camera.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Awsome camera
by Number-41 on July 8, 2005
Pros: Beatiful macro mode, lots of colour modes,etc
Cons: Not THAT much colourdept, no other cons.
Summary: I bought this camera and was astounded by it's beatiful pictures. It has some noise in the pics, but only when it's very dark. go to
number-41.deviantart....Summary: I bought this camera and was astounded by it's beatiful pictures. It has some noise in the pics, but only when it's very dark. go to
number-41.deviantart.Com to see some pics, especially the "bee" pic, wich confirms its superb macro-quality. This is a must for beginningphotographers. My next camera will be a Nikon D70, but I'm broke now, so I'll have to wait a few more years. But this Nikon camera deserves to have the Nikon logo on it
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Definitely a good buy
by soonerdog on April 7, 2005
Pros: The camera is small, it takes excellent pictures, 16 scene modes
Cons: It doesn't record sound with the movie recorder
Summary: This is an excellent camera for point and shoot. The image quality is very good. The only draw back with this camera is the no sound. I recommend this camera ...
Summary: This is an excellent camera for point and shoot. The image quality is very good. The only draw back with this camera is the no sound. I recommend this camera to anyone that is looking for a quality camera.
4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Ya about the guy below
by genestarwind3002 on August 14, 2005
Pros: awsomeawsomeawsomeawsome
Cons: nonenonenonenonenone
Summary: ok the guy below said u have to wait for it to be ready to take another pic......if u just hit one of the buttons it goes right back ...
Summary: ok the guy below said u have to wait for it to be ready to take another pic......if u just hit one of the buttons it goes right back so u donthave to wait.......so no waiting just hit the button and it wont have to go to the black screen
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best I could afford ... (some major flaws though)
by olatewe on January 20, 2006
Pros: affordable, compact, takes great pics, the lcd screen is
Cons: flash takes a long time to recharge, can't focus in dim light
Summary: First off, I'll get the bad things about this camera out of the way ... and just assume everything else about it is perfect, because that's the way it ...
Summary: First off, I'll get the bad things about this camera out of the way ... and just assume everything else about it is perfect, because that's the way it really is
The flash takes about 5 seconds to recharge with each shot it is used, and not the 12 seconds I've been reading all over the place(I don't really use flash anyway)
No audio is recorded during videos. (this might matter to others but it doesn't to me) also, a side note about the video in 640x480 mode - it is actually 320x480 but nikon just interpolates vertically to make it appear like it's 640 pixels as a result, the quality isn't so great but it's manageable.
Now it is very annoying that Nikon didn't place a focus illuminator, I can hardly take pictures without lighting up my room (or else the pictures blur), now of course you can always use the flash but then again I don't like using flash simply because people look more photogenic when flash isn't used.
Now there are lots of modes and they're all useful, I'm not going to go into detail because that'll take a while.
The battery life is way above average, but still rechargeable batteries are a good investment IMO, the camera uses SD cards, and the SD slot feels a little loose but it still holds perfectly.
Now the whole interface for this camera is just beautiful; I mean in the set-up mode you can adjust everything about the camera - the lcd brightness, type of batteries, language you can quickly move pics from internal to external memory cards, the menu's are well laid out and it's never confusing, check out this link for a better review it covers EVERY aspect of the camera you'll need to know ...
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/nikon4600.html
Oh it also has a D-lighting function thing that lets you brighten the pics after they are taken, I know I know you can do that in photoshop but come on this thing makes a pic that wasn't taken with flash appear as if it was!
when reviewing a pic you can zoom in a little and crop it to save as a whole new file I think it's common in cameras but I still thought I should give it a mention (so when your ugly friend ruins a pic just crop him/her out, if they were at the end)
Good luck shopping for a camera. I like the camera if there was one thing I could change it would just be the focusing in dim light thing everything else about the camera is fine, I did grueling research and I decided this was my best bet.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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PAINFULLY....... S......L......O.....W....... flash!!
by chrisk0612 on January 3, 2006
Pros: Cheap price
Cons: Flash time is a KILLER!
Summary: I've never been so aggravated at a camera before, average flash recycle time is 12 SECONDS! Try taking a picture of a 2 year old with that kind of ...
Summary: I've never been so aggravated at a camera before, average flash recycle time is 12 SECONDS! Try taking a picture of a 2 year old with that kind of lag time... Returned to store, bought Canon Powershot, 2 second flash recycle. (and $100 more but well worth it!)
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Perfect Entry-Level Digital Camera
by MrCseol on August 22, 2005
Pros: Ease of Use, Menu Dial, Great Pix
Cons: Time b/w Flashes, Battery Consumption
Summary: This is my third digital camera and I can't believe how great it works for it's size. It's smaller than most other digitals in this price range. ...
Summary: This is my third digital camera and I can't believe how great it works for it's size. It's smaller than most other digitals in this price range. This camera has all the things you need to take great pictures and it's SUPER easy to use.You almpst don't even need to read the Owner's Manual; it's that simple!! The AA batteries lasted almost exactly as long as the manual states (140 pix), and as long as you don't mind a 3-6 second delay between flash pictures inside, this is a great camera for under $200. Highly recommended for 1st time buyers.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
- Part number: 25524
- Description: Nikon Coolpix 4600 gives you fun digital photography with 4.0 effective megapixels and functions to improve images in-camera! PRODUCT FEATURES: Easy to operate, fun to use; 3x Optical Zoom-Nikkor lens; New GUI lets you choose functions by name or icon; HELP button brings up explanations for functions on main menu; Bright, 1.8-inch LCD monitor; Reduced power consumption makes batteries last much longer; D-Lighting automatically adds light and detail to dark parts of pictures; In-Camera Red-Eye Fix makes it easy to achieve pleasing night portraits; Blur Warning alerts the user of camera shake, allowing another shot to be taken; High-density design achieves truly compact dimensions; 16 Scene Modes, four featuring Scene Assist; New Underwater Scene mode; 14MB of internal memory, SD card compatibility; Choice of three movie modes.
General
- Product Type Digital camera
- Point-and-shoot highlights A panoramic assist function is provided in this camera, making it ideal for vacation pictures. Having video capture capability adds convenience for the user.
- Width 3.3 in
- Depth 1.4 in
- Height 2.4 in
- Weight 0.2 lbs
- Enclosure Color Silver
Main Features
- Resolution 4 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Optical Sensor Type CCD
- Total Pixels 4,230,000 pixels
- Effective Sensor Resolution 4,000,000 pixels
- Light Sensitivity ISO auto (50-200)
- Digital Zoom 4 x
- Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
- Shooting Programs Copy, Museum, Sunset, Close-up, Dawn/dusk, Fireworks, Landscape, Back light, Beach/snow, Underwater, Sports mode, Party/indoor, Portrait mode, Night portrait, Night landscape, Panorama assist
- Max Shutter Speed 1/3000 sec
- Min Shutter Speed 4 sec
- Exposure Metering Spot, Matrix, Spot AF area
- Exposure Modes Program, Automatic
- Exposure Range EV 1.1-17.1 - Wide lens, EV 2.6-18.6 - Tele lens
- Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
- Exposure Metering Zones 256
- White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
- Digital Video Format QuickTime
- Still Image Format JPEG
- TV Tuner None
- Video Capture QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 320 x 240, QuickTime - 160 x 120
Memory / Storage
- Supported Flash Memory SD Memory Card
- Integrated Memory 14 MB
- Floppy Drive None
- Image Storage Fine JPEG 2288 x 1728 : 7 - With 14MB built-in memory, Normal JPEG 2288 x 1728 : 14 - With 14MB built-in memory, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 1024 x 768, JPEG 640 x 480
Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Built-in flash
- Flash Modes Auto mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction
- Red Eye Reduction Yes
- Effective Flash Range 1.3 ft - 11 ft
- Features AF illuminator
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 5.7 mm - 17.1 mm - F/2.9-4.9
- Focal Length 5.7 mm - 17.1 mm
- Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 34 - 102 mm
- Focus Adjustment Automatic
- Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
- Min Focus Range 11.8 in
- Macro Focus Range 4cm
- Lens Aperture F/2.9-4.9
- Optical Zoom 3 x
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
- Lens Construction 6 group(s) / 7 element(s)
Lens System (2nd)
- Type None
Additional Features
- Self Timer Yes
- Self Timer Delay 10 sec
- Additional Features DPOF support, Direct print, Auto power save, Cropping an image, PictBridge support, In-camera red-eye removal, Display brightness control
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type Optical - Real-image zoom
- Field Coverage 82%
- Magnification 0.30 - 0.76x
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 1.8 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Built-in
- Display Format 80,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x USB, 1 x Composite video output, 1 x DC power input
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
- Software Drivers & Utilities, Nikon PictureProject
System Requirements for PC Connection
- Operating System Support MS Windows ME, MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows 98 SE, Apple Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later
- Peripheral Devices USB port, CD-ROM drive, SVGA monitor
- System Requirements Details Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP - 64 MB - 60 MB, MacOS X 10.1.5 or later - 64 MB - 60 MB
Miscellaneous
- Carrying Case None
- Included Accessories Carrying strap
- Cables Included USB cable, Video cable
Power
- Power Device Battery charger - External
Battery
- Supported Battery AA
- Supported Battery 2 x AA Alkaline battery, 2 x AA Lithium battery, 2 x AA NiMH rechargeable battery ( Included )
Product series
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Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
Specs: Compact, 4 megapixels, 3 x, 1.8 in LCD display
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Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
Specs: Compact, 7.1 megapixels, 3 x, 1.8 in LCD display
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Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
Specs: Compact, 5.1 megapixels, 3 x, 1.8 in LCD display
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Nikon Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Nikon Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.nikonusa.com/
- Address:
1300 Walt Whitman Rd.
Melville, NY 11747 - Phone: 516/547-4200
- Fax: 631-547-4025
