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Is the Nikon S02 good for Portrait Photography?

Nikon Coolpix S02
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Nikon S02 Portrait Photography Score

POOR
Nikon S02 has a score of 22 for Portrait Photography which makes it a POOR candidate for this type of photography. If Portrait Photography is important for you, we strongly recommend you to consider the Alternative cameras listed at the bottom of this page.
Read our detailed Nikon S02 Review
Nikon S02 Portrait Photography Detailed Analysis
Image Stabilization

Image stabilization reduces the effects of camera shake at long exposures and long focal lengths thus ensuring sharper portraits

Average Resolution Sensor: 13.0MP

Nikon S02's 13.0MP resolution is not the best in its class but you can still manage relatively large prints of your portrait shots and crop without losing too much detail.

Small 1/3" (4.8 x 3.6 mm) sensor

It is difficult to achieve that shallow depth of field and blurry background for your portrait shots with a small sensor.

No RAW shooting capability

RAW files contains more color information compared to JPEGs, so it is easier to get a natural skin tone and colours during post processing, which is very important for portraits.

No External Flash Shoe

Use of External flash creates many creative lighting opportunities for portrait photography and built-in flashes are almost useless for portrait shots.

No Built-in Viewfinder

In the lack of a a viewfinder, holding the camera away from the body while using live view is not very stable, especial with heavy camera bodies and lenses. Besides, LCD screens are very hard to read under bright sunlight.

No Manual Focus Mode

You have to nail the focus perfectly for a good portrait shot. Compact cameras are not great at focusing at low light and complex lighting conditions, so manual focus mode is very useful at these times.

No Manual Exposure Mode

A correct exposure of portrait model is crucial. Even though modern digital cameras features advanced algorithms to calculate the right exposure, they still may fail some difficult conditions. Lack of manual exposure mode in these conditions means lot of shadow and highlight clipping.

Not so good Ergonomics&Handling

Good handling and existence of well placed physical controls on the camera body is very important during portrait shooting. It is faster and more intuitive to change the camera settings with dedicated buttons and knobs instead delving into the menus on the LCD.

You may also be interested in these reviews:

Nikon S02 for Street Photography
Nikon S02 for Sports Photography
Nikon S02 for Carrying Everywhere
Nikon S02 for Landscape Photography

Nikon S02 Alternatives in Ultracompact cameras for Portrait Photography

Canon ELPH 360 HS

Compare S02 vs 360 HS

20 MP | 1/2.3' BSI-CMOS Sensor
25-300 mm Lens

Rank in All Cameras: #750
Rank in Compact Cameras: #172

Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS
Imaging
Features
Value for Money
Portability 97
Overall Score
Portrait
Street
Sports
Daily
Landscape

Canon ELPH 190 IS

Compare S02 vs 190 IS

20 MP | 1/2.3' CCD Sensor
24-240 mm Lens

Rank in All Cameras: #943
Rank in Compact Cameras: #308

Canon PowerShot ELPH 190 IS
Imaging
Features
Value for Money
Portability 97
Overall Score
Portrait
Street
Sports
Daily
Landscape

Canon ELPH 180

Compare S02 vs ELPH 180

20 MP | 1/2.3" CCD Sensor
28-224 mm Lens

Rank in All Cameras: #1020
Rank in Compact Cameras: #403

Canon PowerShot ELPH 180
Imaging
Features
Value for Money
Portability 98
Overall Score
Portrait
Street
Sports
Daily
Landscape

Olympus TG-870

Compare S02 vs TG-870

16 MP | 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor
21-105 mm Lens

Rank in All Cameras: #564
Rank in Compact Cameras: #75

Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870
Imaging
Features
Value for Money
Portability 95
Overall Score
Portrait
Street
Sports
Daily
Landscape

Nikon A10

Compare S02 vs A10

16 MP | 1/2.3' CCD Sensor
26-130 mm Lens

Rank in All Cameras: #1147
Rank in Compact Cameras: #501

Nikon Coolpix A10
Imaging
Features
Value for Money
Portability 97
Overall Score
Portrait
Street
Sports
Daily
Landscape

Nikon A100

Compare S02 vs A100

20 MP | 1/2.3' CCD Sensor
26-130 mm Lens

Rank in All Cameras: #1123
Rank in Compact Cameras: #472

Nikon Coolpix A100
Imaging
Features
Value for Money
Portability 98
Overall Score
Portrait
Street
Sports
Daily
Landscape
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