Nikon Coolpix S230, any good?

[Polarbert]

There are loads of adverts on for this in the States at the moment. They are selling for around $200 which makes it quite tempting.

I'm currently using my mums Casio Exilm Z1050 while I'm out here and I rate that to be a fantastic little point and shoot camera, it takes some really good photos very easily.

I have a Canon EOS350D at home which is marvelous, but was too big to take with me, hence the mothers camera.

My point and shoot effort is a very old, circa 2002 Casio Exilm 3.2 megapixel camera that just doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

So thats basically my logic behind wanting one of these. Not drastically needing a camera or anything, just would be nice to have my own.

So what does everyone think about these? Any similar priced cameras available?

Ta

[Polarbert]

Anyone have any opinion on these things? I've read some reviews and there doesn't seem to be anything particularly bad about them.

[SamHH]

I don't know anything about the camera you asked about but seeing as nobody else has replied:

The digital camera market is very saturated with dozens of models from dozens of manufacturers that all have similar strengths and weaknesses. I suspect that there isn't anything particularly bad about that camera and it probably holds up fine to its rivals. Have a look at these reviews for an idea of what similar cameras are like:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408slimgroup/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408budgetgroup/

If you're not bothered about great image quality or having lots of manual control then most compact cameras will probably do the job just fine. The one thing that might be worth looking out for is a wide-angle lens; 35mm equivalent of 28mm or wider.

Also, in what way does your current camera not cut the mustard? I've got a 2 megapixel Canon camera from about 2002 and in every way except for the ability to make large prints, it's as good as modern compacts I've used.

[Polarbert]

I think that there is dirt or something inside the lens, as when you take photos they always come out slightly grainy. Just look a bit pants. I haven't used it for a while so might reinvestigate it.