I exchanged Airmiles Reward points for the Nikon Coolpix S4300. I was looking for a replacement for my 10 year old Fuji Finepix. I needed a camera for the convenience of being able to leave it in my bag and carry it everywhere I go.

The following are included with the camera:
Strap
Rechargeable Li-ion battery
Charging AC adapter
USB cable
Audio video cable
Stylus
Software CD-ROM
User's manual

It is easy to use. There's a quick start manual, but the basic functions are pretty standard to other cameras so one can easily figure out how to use the camera without reading the manual. There's a reference CD-ROM that comes with it with more detailed instructions.

This camera comes with a touch screen, so it doesn't have as many buttons as the standard point and shoot cameras. Buttons available are the power, shutter (you can also tap the touch screen to take a picture), zoom, video mode, scene selection button (it's a quick button to take you to the scene selection window) and playback images. Everything else is on the touch screen. It took me a while to figure out how to select different shooting modes and camera functions, but once I got use to the touch screen it was very intuitive.The sensitivity of the touch screen is just right. It's not Ipad good, but with a camera, I don't want a touch screen that is too sensitive. There is no optical viewfinder, therefore the screen is all you have when framing your photos, which is not really a problem, because nowaddays, almost no one knows how to use an optical viewfinder. With my old camera, when I ask people on the street to take a picture of me, they are always puzzled because I turn off the screen to conserve energy.

The body of the Nikon Coolpix S4300 feels very sturdy and feels very comfortable in my hands. The lense retracts with an integrated cover when the power is off. There are hardly anything that pokes out of the camera and it is like a little box when turned off, so even if you do not have a camera case, it can easily be thrown into a bag or pocket without damage. I prefer to use a camera case so as not to damage the touch screen, but I've thrown the camera in my bag with my keys and items that can damage the camera, but so far there is not a scratch.

The image quality on the Nikon Coolpix S4300 is lacking. Pictures are not very sharp, it smooths the image thus some images look fuzzy. Colours are dull. For a camera loaded with so many features, the image quality is disappointing. My ten years old Fujifilm Finepix takes better pictures than that and it only has one shooting mode, point and shoot, no face recognitions, landscape mode, portrait....

The camera uses a USB cable to charge the batteries. The Nikon Coolpix S4300 comes with an adapter that allows the USB to connect to connect to a regular electric outlet. This is good as you do not need to leave your computer on to charge the camera.

I found the Nikon Coolpix S4300 to be slow. It takes several seconds to reload after a shot. It may be because I have a regular memory card and not one of the faster ones though.

Overall, the Nikon Coolpix S4300 is a camera for those who just want an easy to use camerafor utilitarian purpose. For a 16 megapixels camera at under $200, it is decent, but don't expect great photos.

Recommended: No

This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use