It can focus as close as 4 inches from a subject, but the 16-megapixel resolution will let you enlarge for a closer look.

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel High JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Nikon S6200 has a Night Landscape mode that increases the ISO to produce sharper results, although at the expense of greater noise.

At ISO 800 it's beginning to creep into the darker portions of the image, more noticeable across the whole shot at ISO 1600, so that by ISO 3200 detail is noticeably softened overall, albeit with an effect that is marginally les painterly than usual.

The super-slim S6200 gets a longer, more versatile 10x lens for 2011, which captures everything from wide-angle landscapes to close-up and personal candid shots, all without making the overall camera too much bigger or heavier.

The wide-angle 28mm equivalent lens is also a useful tool, in extending framing possibilities for landscapes in particular.

The lens has a fairly fast maximum aperture of f/3.2 at the wide-angle end but a rather slow f/5.8 at full telephoto.

The top plate continues the S5100's elegant appearance, on/off button inset into the body and like the larger shutter release button, which is encircled by a lever for operating the zoom, set into a thin 'go faster' chrome strip.

The optical zoom on the Nikon is very good (much better than the my Canon), and I like to use a lot of optical zoom (avoiding digital zoom).

It offers a 5x optical zoom with a range equivalent to 28-140mm in 35mm terms.

Recommend to anyone needing a small pocket camera.

Luckily the weight and diminutive proportions ensure it's very easy to shoot one-handed with the S5100, in spite the lack of any handgrip, otherwise the camera edge location of the flash would fall prey to stray fingertips if holding steady with both.