Nikon Coolpix 2500

The Coolpix 2500 has joined the low-end of Nikon's range of high-specification digital cameras. We expected a product that produced good pictures rather than innovative ideas but this good-looking camera boasts some new features.

Housing the lens in the camera's body instead of using a cap to protect it is one. Lens caps are often flimsy and it's important not to touch camera lenses, which suggests that this is a good idea. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to avoid touching the lens when twisting it open.

The four-way selector button which controls the myriad settings is useful but was too small for this photographer's digits. Most of its options are useful although changing the camera's scene settings to get the best shots, whether at a sunny beach or indoors at night, was buried too deep among its menus for our liking.

The colour LCD viewfinder was a little dull in daylight and switches off after a short time; typically, just at the moment when you are about to take a picture. Extending the time before switch-off had an adverse effect on battery life but it still lasted for a week of regular use.

An 8MB Compact Flash card is supplied which the minimum for cameras at this price; it holds only eight photos when set at the highest quality and 1,600 x 1,200 resolution.

The image quality settings produced vast differences and, although at the lowest setting you can fit 29 images on the card, it produces pictures that are only good enough for using on websites.

Setting up the software to transfer and view the images should have been easy, thanks to a clear set-up poster, but we had problems getting it to work. However, once the images were on the PC, the image-viewing software was easy to use.

The photos taken at the standard setting looked sharp and clear in comparison with other digital camera shots. The wide focal range, 3x optical zoom and 15-second movie recording all proved useful.

The mobile phone-sized Coolpix 2500 is a neat camera with some clever touches producing good results, but some niggles mean that it isn't the perfect compact camera.

Price: £300 (inc. VAT)

Contact: Nikon 0800 230220
www.nikon.co.uk/cool2500.htm

Also consider: Toshiba PDR-M25
A good camera, despite its bulk. £187 - Worth it.