Nikon S4100 for Portrait Photography

Is the Nikon S4100 good for Portrait Photography?

Nikon S4100 Portrait Photography Score

POOR

Nikon S4100 has a score of 28 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 S4100 Review

Nikon S4100 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: 14.0MP

Nikon S4100's 14.0MP 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 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 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 S4100 for Street Photography
Nikon S4100 for Sports Photography
Nikon S4100 for Carrying Everywhere
Nikon S4100 for Landscape Photography

Nikon S4100 Alternatives in Ultracompact cameras for Portrait Photography

Fujifilm XQ1 Compare S4100 vs XQ1	12 MP \| 2/3-inch CMOS X-TRANS II Sensor 25-100 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #477 Rank in Compact Cameras: #45
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 95 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Fujifilm XQ2 Compare S4100 vs XQ2	12 MP \| 2/3' CMOS X-TRANS II Sensor 25-100 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #478 Rank in Compact Cameras: #40
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 95 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Fujifilm XP130 Compare S4100 vs XP130	16 MP \| 1/2.3" BSI-CMOS Sensor 28-140 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #462 Rank in Waterproof Cameras: #37
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 95 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Sony TX66 Compare S4100 vs TX66	18 MP \| 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor 26-130 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #648 Rank in Compact Cameras: #114
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 99 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Canon ELPH 360 HS Compare S4100 vs 360 HS	20 MP \| 1/2.3' BSI-CMOS Sensor 25-300 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #735 Rank in Compact Cameras: #158
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 97 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Fujifilm XQ1

Fujifilm XQ2

Fujifilm XP130

Sony TX66

Canon ELPH 360 HS