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Nikon shows the good, bad of value cams with Coolpix S5200, L28

The low end of the point-and-shoot market is dying. Here's at least one reason why.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Joshua Goldman

The Nikon Coolpix S5200. Nikon

Nikon's track recorded for budget-friendly point-and-shoots has been a bit mixed the past couple years, and that doesn't look like it'll change for 2013.

Shop for Nikon Coolpix S5200 (Plum)

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On one hand you have the Coolpix S5200, an update to the S4300. Priced at about $180, it sounds like a decent enough camera for the money. In front is a 6x f3.5-6.5 26-156mm lens. In back is a 3-inch LCD, and inside is a 16-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS sensor, as well as Wi-Fi for sending photos and movies to iOS or Android devices for viewing or sharing.

Shooting options are basic automatic fare, but thanks to the CMOS sensor, you do get 1080p movie capture. The sensor should also help out with low-light photos, which is good considering the lens is slow at both ends.

Nikon's Coolpix L28. Nikon

Then there's the Coolpix L28.

Presumably targeted at consumers who just want the most megapixels possible in their point-and-shoot camera, the $119.95 L28 features a 20-megapixel CCD sensor.

For its price (which will no doubt drop below $100 within a few months), you also get a 5x f3.2-6.5 26-130mm lens, and a 3-inch LCD (the same that you'd find on 2012's Coolpix L26).

Powered by AA-size batteries, the L28 is fully automatic, so it's best for people just looking to take the occasional snapshot who don't own a phone with a decent camera in it.

Both the Coolpix L28 and S5200 arrive in February.