Nikon Coolpix S · announced August 2011
The Nikon Coolpix S8200: a fast 14x pocket zoom that one reviewer called overpriced
We found no other regional name for it: Nikon's global release uses the S8200 name.1
In August 2011 Nikon swapped the S8100's 12-megapixel sensor for a 16-megapixel back-illuminated one and stretched the zoom to 14x. Reviewers loved the speed and the macro, and one called it overpriced next to Nikon's own S9100.
- Launched
- August 2011
- Sensor
- 16.1 MP CMOS
- Lens
- 25–350 mm, 14×
- Card
- SD, SDHC, SDXC
- Battery
- EN-EL12
Nikon Coolpix S8200 specs: sensor, lens, battery, memory card and cable
Launched in August 2011 at $329.95, the Nikon Coolpix S8200 is a 16.1 MP CMOS compact with a 25–350 mm (35 mm equivalent) 14× zoom lens. Inside: it takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards and runs on the EN-EL12 battery. Sources
Is the Nikon Coolpix S8200 worth buying now?
Our reading of the three reviews: it suits someone who wants a long zoom that just about fits a shirt pocket, for pictures in good light and close-ups, and who can live with soft files, noise as the light fades and no manual exposure. It is a poor fit if you want clean pictures in dim light without the flash, manual control or GPS.234
What it does well
- A 14x lens covering 25 to 350 mm in 35 mm terms, in a body about 104 × 59 × 33 mm that weighs 213 g with battery and card.5
- Autofocus that TechRadar called quick and precise; PhotographyBLOG put focus lock under 0.2 seconds.42
- Close-ups: PhotographyBLOG called the macro excellent and TechRadar called it particularly impressive.24 Nikon's manual gives 1 cm as the closest focus only when the zoom is set wider than a marked position; where the macro icon and zoom indicator glow green, the closest is about 10 cm (page 64).5
- Colour that TechRadar found rich without being oversaturated, and a 14x lens that Expert Reviews found sharper than the S9100's 18x.43
What to watch
- Dim light. PhotographyBLOG saw obvious noise and softer detail at ISO 800, and Expert Reviews found ISO 1600 noisier than the S9100's.23 In Auto, Nikon's manual lets the camera climb to ISO 1600.5
- Soft files. PhotographyBLOG said pictures came out soft and that the in-camera sharpening cannot be changed.2
- No manual exposure modes and no GPS, TechRadar's stated dislikes.4 Movies stop at 4 GB or 29 minutes, whichever comes first.5
- Battery age. Nikon rates the EN-EL12 at about 250 shots on a full charge and says a marked drop in how long a full charge lasts means it needs replacing.5
What do its photos look like?
These eight pictures were taken with the S8200 (the EXIF model reads COOLPIX S8200) and are on Wikimedia Commons under free licences. The line under each one comes from the file's own EXIF data: ISO, shutter speed, aperture, focal length, and whether the flash fired.
Daylight and available light, flash not fired
With the flash
The boat picture was taken at 63 mm, the long end of the lens's 4.5 to 63 mm range.5 Flash pictures are a minority in the free pool: the EXIF data records the flash as fired in 270 of the 1,773 files in Commons' “Taken with Nikon Coolpix S8200” category whose EXIF model is COOLPIX S8200 (our count from the file metadata, 28 October 2026). We picked pictures with no people in them. Our reading, not a test: the white background of the beetle picture is burnt out, which is what a flash at close range can do to a pale surface.
Will a used S8200 still work? What to check
These checks come from Nikon's own manual and from one collector's buying list on Reddit. We have not tested a unit.
| Check | What to know |
|---|---|
| It switches on, and the battery holds a charge | The camera cannot be turned on while the battery-chamber and card-slot cover is open (page 14) or while it is connected to a wall outlet through the charging adapter (pages 16 and F7).5 It uses the EN-EL12, rated at about 250 shots on a full charge by the CIPA test.5 Nikon says a marked drop in how long a full charge lasts, at room temperature, means the battery needs replacing (page F4).5 A fresh one is on Amazon ↗; our AW120 review uses the same battery code. |
| A charger comes with it | Nikon's package list names the Charging AC Adapter EH-69P and a USB cable (page ii); the battery charges in the camera, about four hours from empty (page 16). The charge lamp blinks green slowly while charging and flickers green if the temperature is wrong or the cable, adapter or battery has a problem (page 17).5 The camera can also charge from a computer, if Charge by computer is not set to Off (page 96), or in the separate MH-65 charger (page 17).5 One collector's checklist says the camera should come with a good battery, a charger and a memory card.6 |
| The clock battery | A separate backup battery runs the clock. It charges while the main battery is in the camera, and about ten hours of charging gives several days of backup. If it is exhausted, the date and time screen appears when you switch on (page 23, and page F8).5 |
| The memory card | The camera takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, and has about 89 MB of its own memory for use with no card.5 Nikon's approved-card list names SD cards from SanDisk, Toshiba, Panasonic and Lexar; the largest are 64 GB SDXC cards from SanDisk, Toshiba and Panasonic. Nikon says it cannot guarantee other makes, and recommends Speed Class 6 or faster for movies (page 19).5 It advises formatting a card that was used in another device in this camera first (page 18). If “Memory card is write protected” appears, slide the card's write-protect switch to the write position (page E86).5 See our memory card guide. |
| Getting pictures off | Nikon's package list names a USB cable UC-E6 and an audio/video cable EG-CP16 (page ii);5 see UC-E6 on our cable pages. Nikon says to check that a card reader supports SDHC or SDXC if you use one (page 19).5 The same collector says a USB cable or memory-card adapter should come with the camera if possible.6 |
| The flash | It rises by itself when you half-press the shutter in dim light, and in fill-flash mode it rises when you half-press. Nikon says not to pull it up or push it down, and it lowers when the camera is switched off (page 58). If something holds it down, the camera shows “Flash is not fully raised” (page E88).5 |
| The lens, screen and dial | The lens extends when you switch on (page 20); “Lens error” means turn the camera off and on again, and if it persists, service (page E89). Nikon says not to apply force to the lens or lens cover (page F2).5 A few dead or always-lit pixels are normal for this kind of screen, Nikon says (page F3).5 PhotographyBLOG described the mode dial as having a positive action that prevents unwanted movement, so check that it still clicks and holds.2 |
| The seller | The collector's advice: arrange a meetup if possible, check the seller's previous ratings, and be suspicious of a deal that looks too good to be true.6 |
Meet the camera
The S8200 is a slim, metal-bodied compact, about 104 by 59 by 33 millimetres and 213 grams with battery and card.1 Nikon announced it on 24 August 2011 as the successor to the S8100, a high-zoom model it said had been extremely well received.1 The lens grew from 10x to 14x, covering 25 to 350 millimetres in 35 mm terms.1 TechRadar said it launched alongside a lower-spec S model, the S6200.4 It came in black, silver, white and red.1
Nikon's US estimated selling price was $329.95, with shops expected to have it in mid-September.7 PhotographyBLOG listed £279.99 and €325 at the announcement;8 Imaging Resource's page gave an availability date of 15 September 2011.9 Expert Reviews found it at about £270 when it reviewed it.3
- Sensor
- 16.1 MP back-illuminated CMOS, 1/2.3"1
- Lens
- 14x, 25–350 mm equiv., f/3.3–5.9, lens-shift stabilisation1
- ISO
- 100 to 3200; Auto covers 100 to 16001
- Video
- 1080p with stereo sound; zoom works while recording1
- Close focus
- About 1 cm at wide angle1
- Card and battery
- SD/SDHC/SDXC, about 89 MB built in · EN-EL12, about 250 shots1
Why this one was interesting
More zoom, more pixels, the same body
TechRadar described the upgrades as modest: a 16-megapixel sensor against the S8100's 12.1, 14x zoom against 10x, and a 25 millimetre wide end against 30.4 Nikon called the new sensor back-illuminated, and TechRadar explained that this places the circuitry behind the light-collecting layer, which should in theory help in dim light.14 The body, TechRadar said, was near-identical to the S8100's.4
A new autofocus idea
Nikon said Target Finding AF, which predicts the subject and sets the focus area, was used for the first time in a Nikon compact. It said the S8100's nine-point Auto AF could favour subjects close to the camera.1 The camera also added Smile Timer Continuous, which takes up to five shots when it sees a smile.1 Nikon rated start-up at about 0.95 seconds, autofocus at about 0.29 seconds and shutter lag at about 0.35 seconds.1
Speed and a long list of modes
It could shoot five full-resolution frames at about 6 frames per second, keep a pre-shooting cache of up to five frames, and record Easy Panorama sweeps of 180 or 360 degrees.1 PhotographyBLOG counted 18 scene modes.2
See also our reviews of the Nikon Coolpix S3300, S3700, S6300, L810, AW120 and P7000.
What was lost
There was no GPS, no manual exposure modes and no way to grow into the camera: TechRadar's stated dislikes were the missing GPS and manual modes.4 PhotographyBLOG said the new sensor did not improve image quality over the S8100's, and listed the price as slightly higher than its predecessor's.2 Expert Reviews was blunter: the extra pixels added more noise than detail, and nothing justified charging more than for the 12-megapixel, 18x Nikon S9100.3
The dark: its weak point
Low light was the camera's soft spot, though the reviewers did not agree on how soft. PhotographyBLOG found ISO 160 and 200 noise-free, some grain and slight desaturation at ISO 400, obvious noise and softer detail at ISO 800, and called ISO 3200 not worth using.2 TechRadar said images stay pretty clean up to ISO 400, then quality drops fairly sharply; it would use ISO 1600 at a push and leave 3200 alone.4 Its resolution-chart scores (line widths per picture height, x100) slid from 24 at ISO 100 to 20 at ISO 800 and 16 at ISO 3200.4 In the same test the camera's noise handling beat the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20, Canon IXUS 310 HS and Samsung WB700, while its dynamic range lagged the Canon and the Panasonic.4 Expert Reviews was the harshest: ISO 1600 noise was worse than the S9100's and well behind the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS's, and the camera was noticeably slower to focus in dim light.3 PhotographyBLOG noted a longest shutter speed of four seconds and called its night photograph merely OK, but said stabilisation worked very well for handheld low-light shots.2
The sample photos near the top of this page include two museum interiors taken without flash, at ISO 400 (1/50 s) and ISO 500 (1/8 s), with the settings read from each file.
On eBay right now
Live listings for this camera, supplied by eBay and updated automatically. We earn a commission if you buy through them.
The little wins
Autofocus that finds the subject
TechRadar called the autofocus quick and precise, its wide coverage helping with off-centre and moving subjects, though it was less reliable at the telephoto end.4 PhotographyBLOG put focus lock under 0.2 seconds.2
Stabilisation you could see
PhotographyBLOG's 1/6 second test at 350 millimetres showed a clear improvement with stabilisation on, though it warned not to expect sharp results every time at longer focal lengths without a fast shutter speed.2
A 1 cm macro
PhotographyBLOG called the macro excellent and TechRadar called it particularly impressive, with punchy images and plenty of sharp detail.24
Panoramas without effort
You frame the start, hold the shutter and pan; TechRadar said the camera stitches the shots automatically, with excellent results in all its tests.4
How it drew the picture
PhotographyBLOG scored image quality 3.5 out of 5: images came out soft straight from the camera, whose sharpening level cannot be changed, and it suggested sharpening them on a computer; purple fringing in high-contrast scenes was handled fairly well.2 TechRadar was happier: colours rich without being oversaturated, good detail from the 16-megapixel sensor with some loss of sharpness at the long end, and visible distortion and some colour fringing, typical of a high-zoom compact.4 Expert Reviews found bright scenes fine at a glance but noisy in the shadows on close inspection, noise reduction that smoothed subtle textures such as foliage and skin, and a 14x lens sharper than the S9100's 18x, especially at full zoom.3 TechRadar also said it occasionally overexposed bright detail.4
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture. These nine come from two uploaders (mineral-show displays in 2012 and museum interiors in 2016); the section near the top of this page shows eight more, seven of them from other photographers, with their settings.
Where it let you down
PhotographyBLOG's complaints were practical: ISO and other key settings sit in the menu, there is no histogram while composing, the tripod socket sits in the far-left corner, no HDMI cable is supplied, and the zoom is painfully slow.2 It also noted the f/5.9 telephoto aperture is slow and that face detection, which handles up to 12 faces, needs people to look at the camera.2 Expert Reviews found the camera slower than the S9100 to show a picture on the screen after shooting.3 Video was limited to 4 gigabytes or 29 minutes per clip, by Nikon's own spec sheet.1 The battery was rated at about 250 shots, and PhotographyBLOG said it stayed near that with stabilisation on.12
Where the sources disagree: PhotographyBLOG's review introduction listed a US price of $399.95, but its announcement and DPReview gave $329.95;287 TechRadar's text gave the screen as 961,000 dots while Nikon and PhotographyBLOG say 921,000;412 Expert Reviews described a 10 frames-per-second burst of five frames where Nikon's sheet says about 6;31 and TechRadar put the S8100 at 180 grams, while PhotographyBLOG's announcement described the new camera as only 4 grams heavier than its predecessor.48 PhotographyBLOG also gave start-up as under half a second, a pre-shoot cache of 2 shots and about 32 MB of built-in memory, against Nikon's 0.95 seconds, 5 shots and about 89 MB;21 and Nikon's own spec table labels the battery-life row EN-EL19 while its power-sources line and supplied-accessories list name the EN-EL12.1 Nikon's reference manual names the EN-EL12 in its safety notes, its battery instructions and its specifications (pages vii, 14 and F17),5 so we use that, but confirm the battery on the camera you buy.
What the reviewers said in 2011
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| TechRadar | 15 Oct 2011 | 4 out of 5 (per the page's structured data); quick, compact and beginner-friendly, with GPS and manual modes the only things missing.4 |
| PhotographyBLOG | 20 Oct 2011 | 4.5 out of 5 and Highly Recommended for good-light point-and-shoot use (design 4.5, features 4.5, ease of use 4, image quality 3.5, value 4); a better camera than the S8100 on paper, with no better pictures.2 |
| Expert Reviews | 29 Oct 2011 | Impressive features but "woefully overpriced"; the S9100 is the better buy. Two of five stars filled on the page's rating icons.3 |
The timeline
- 24 August 2011Nikon announces the S8200 alongside the S6200: $329.95 in the US, £279.99 in the UK.1784
- 15 September 2011Availability date on Imaging Resource's page.9
- 15 October 2011TechRadar publishes its review.4
- 20 October 2011PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.2
- 29 October 2011Expert Reviews publishes its review.3
Settings in Nikon's manual that change how pictures look
Nikon's manual lists these. We have not tested how each one looks on a used camera.
| Setting | What Nikon's manual says | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Flash mode | Auto is the default in Auto mode. The choices are Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Off, Fill flash (fires on every shot, to lighten shadows and backlit subjects) and Slow sync (auto flash with a slow shutter, for night portraits with background scenery).5 | 56–57, 69 |
| Scene modes | A scene auto selector picks a scene for you. Night landscape, Backlighting and Pet portrait are set on the mode dial. The scene menu holds Portrait (the default scene), Landscape, Sports, Night portrait, Party/indoor, Beach, Snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Close-up, Food, Museum, Fireworks show, Black and white copy and Panorama. In Night landscape, Hand-held (the default) combines a series of shots into one picture, and the saved picture has a narrower angle of view than the screen showed.5 | 39–41 |
| White balance | Auto by default, with Preset manual, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Flash. Nikon says to turn the flash off at settings other than Auto or Flash.5 | E30–E31 |
| ISO sensitivity | Auto by default: ISO 100 in good light, rising to a maximum of ISO 1600 when light is dim. Fixed range auto limits that to ISO 100–400 or 100–800; fixed values run from 100 to 3200. Motion detection is disabled when ISO is fixed.5 | E34 |
| Creative slider | In Auto and continuous modes it adjusts brightness (exposure compensation), vividness and hue; it is off by default. Adjusting hue makes the White balance menu unavailable until the slider is reset.5 | 65–67, 69 |
| Motion detection | Auto by default: when the camera sees camera shake or subject movement it raises ISO and shutter speed. Nikon says pictures taken this way may look somewhat grainy.5 | E68 |
| Special effects | Six effects: Soft (the default), Nostalgic sepia, High-contrast monochrome, High key, Low key and Selective color.5 | 53 |
| Print date | Off by default. Date, or date and time, can be imprinted on pictures as they are taken; the stamp cannot be deleted afterwards, and Nikon says it can be hard to read at 640 × 480.5 | E66 |
Where to look for one
Nikon's global release uses the single name Coolpix S8200, so one search covers it; the S9100 is a different camera, so check its listing separately.13 The checklist near the top of this page covers the battery, charger, clock battery, card, cable, flash and lens. It launched at $329.95;7 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗EN-EL12 battery ↗
Sources
- Nikon Corporation, Digital Compact Camera Nikon COOLPIX S8200 (news release, 24 Aug 2011)
- PhotographyBLOG, Nikon Coolpix S8200 review by Mark Goldstein (20 Oct 2011)
- Expert Reviews, Nikon Coolpix S8200 review by Ben Pitt (29 Oct 2011)
- TechRadar, Nikon Coolpix S8200 review by Josie Reavely (15 Oct 2011, eight pages)
- Nikon, COOLPIX S8200 Reference Manual (PDF, English; page numbers are the printed ones: plain numbers, E and F pages)
- r/VintageDigitalCameras, “A GUIDE TO DIGICAMS - BUYING & REPAIRING” (28 March 2025): one collector's buying checklist, not a test
- DPReview, Nikon releases CoolPix S1200pj, S8200, S6200 and S100 compacts (24 Aug 2011: estimated selling price $329.95, mid-September)
- PhotographyBLOG, Nikon Coolpix S8200 announcement (24 Aug 2011: £279.99, €325, $329.95)
- Imaging Resource, Nikon S8200 overview page (posted 24 Aug 2011, availability listed as 15 Sep 2011; overview and specs only, no review text)
Photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links. We read TechRadar's overview, handling, performance, image-quality, test-chart, noise and verdict pages.