Nikon outs Coolpix S6500 with WiFi, new beauty touch-ups (update: hands-on photos)
The budget, compact long-zoom camera field must be a cutthroat one -- Nikon unveiled the Coolpix S6300 early last year, quietly slipped out the S6400 later in 2012, and it's already previewing a S6500 at CES. What's new that justifies such a quick refresh? WiFi, mostly: the S6500 should be one of the less expensive cameras in its class to share its photos directly over a local network. Photographers with self-conscious subjects also get five new Glamor Retouch modes that brighten cheeks, eyes and teeth. Otherwise, those who bought an S6400 will feel like they're in familiar territory between the 16-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, 12x (25-300mm equivalent) lens and 1080p video capture. The S6500 arrives towards the end of January for $220, which makes it low-hanging fruit for anyone who wants a dash of everything in their next point-and-shoot upgrade.
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Dana Murph contributed to this report.
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WITH A COMPACT, STYLISH DESIGN AND ADVANCED FEATURE SET, THE NEW NIKON COOLPIX S6500 CAPTURES HIGH-QUALITY IMAGES AND FULL HD VIDEOS WITH EASE
Sporting High Power Zoom Capabilities and Wi-Fi® Connectivity, the COOLPIX S6500 Makes It Easy to Capture Life Moments and Share Them with Others
Las Vegas, CES Booth #8643 (January 7, 2013) – Today, Nikon Inc. announced the new COOLPIX S6500, the latest addition to Nikon's extensive line of COOLPIX cameras. The Nikon COOLPIX S6500 comes equipped with a 12x optical zoom, a 16-megapixel backside illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor and a variety of user-friendly features, including five new Glamour Retouch effects, all packed into a slim, stylish camera body. In addition to an extensive feature set, the COOLPIX S6500 features built-in Wi-Fi connectivity that allows users to transfer images and HD movies from their camera directly to a compatible smart device through the Wireless Mobile Utility1 application, for easy sharing with others.
"Built for those looking for an easy-to-carry camera that takes and shares great photos, the stylish and compact COOLPIX S6500 offers trusted Nikon technology and features that users have come to expect in Nikon COOLPIX cameras," said Bo Kajiwara, Vice President of Marketing, Planning and Customer Experience, Nikon Inc.
Stylish, Compact and Feature Packed: The New COOLPIX S6500
Though sleek and slim, the S6500 boasts a high-performance 12x optical zoom lens, covering a long focal range from a wide angle 25mm to 300mm, with lens-shift Vibration Reduction (VR) technology to reduce the effects of camera shake including image blur. In addition to these features, the COOLPIX S6500 also sports a 16-megapixel backside illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor that helps produce sharp detail and vivid color whether capturing extensive landscapes or close-ups. The COOLPIX S6500 also comes with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity so that users can share and transfer images and videos with family and friends by easily sending them to compatible smart devices, like smartphones and tablets, without the need of wires or cables. Users will then be able to post their Nikon quality images and movies to social networking sites from their smart devices. Consumers will also have the ability to use their smart devices to remotely take pictures with the S6500, which is extremely convenient when trying to capture a group photo that includes the photographer.
Unleashing Creativity: Unique Shooting Controls in the COOLPIX S6500
The COOLPIX S6500 offers many user-friendly shooting features and controls. Like previous COOLPIX models, the S6500 includes Glamour Retouch effects for portraits, but also features five new effects that users can take advantage of during their photo taking experience:
* Brighten Face: Lightens skin tones on a person's face
* Reduce Dark Circles: Lightens the effects of dark colors under a person's eyes
* Whiten Eyes: Makes the whites of people's eyes appear more sharp and white
* Whiten Teeth: Makes a person's teeth appear whiter
* Redden Cheeks: Applies a blush-like effect to a person's cheek to give them a livelier look, plus several colors (orange, red, blue-pink and yellow-pink) can be selected to best complement the subject's cheeks in the photo.
High Quality Video Recording: Capturing Full HD Movies with the COOLPIX S6500
Users can capture Full HD movies with stereo sound and rich detail by simply pressing the dedicated movie record button. The COOLPIX S6500 also allows users to pause movie recording by saving multiple scenes recorded intermittently to eliminate unwanted portions as a single file. Users can enjoy playing back one continuous movie while also having the option to trim selected scenes from the footage.
Price and Availability
The Nikon COOLPIX S6500 will be available in late January 2013 for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $219.95* in a variety of colors including Silver, Black, Red, and Orange.
