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Nikon COOLPIX B600 Camera Review

Tested using Methodology v0.12
Reviewed Jun 04, 2021 at 09:51 am
Latest change: Retest Sep 07, 2023 at 10:41 am
Nikon COOLPIX B600 Picture
6.7
Travel Photography
6.5
Landscape Photography
7.0
Sport & Wildlife Photography
2.7
Vlogging
3.3
Studio Video
2.6
Action Video

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 is a bridge camera with a built-in zoom lens that allows for a very long maximum focal length. It's decently comfortable to use and fairly lightweight. Depending on your usage habits and choice of settings, battery life is also good enough to last you throughout most of a day's use. However, experienced photographers are likely to be put off since you can't change aperture and shutter speed manually. Its fixed screen and lack of a viewfinder can sometimes make it difficult to take shots from unconventional angles or frame your shots at very long zoom lengths.

Our Verdict

6.7 Travel Photography

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 is inadequate for travel photography. It can't shoot RAW images, and shutter speed and aperture can't be changed manually, resulting in a significant lack of control in the photographic process. Its autofocus performance also terrible. That said, its wide focal range should allow you to frame your shot without having to move too much. Its optical stabilization feature helps keep camera shake to an acceptable level, which is useful when snapping photos at an extended zoom length. It's also decently comfortable to operate, though its lack of a viewfinder can make framing some shots difficult.

Pros
  • Fairly comfortable to use.
  • Wide focal length range.
  • Beginner-friendly design.
Cons
  • Bulky design.
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be adjusted manually.
  • Lacks a viewfinder.
  • Can't shoot RAW images.
6.5 Landscape Photography

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 is passable for landscape photography. Its focal range should give you enough flexibility to capture both wide-angle and close-up shots, though the inability to adjust aperture or shutter speed and the inability to shoot RAW images are big limitations for the camera in this particular use case. It's comfortable to operate for the most part, though its fixed screen and lack of a viewfinder can make it a challenge to shoot from unconventional angles.

Pros
  • Decent image stabilization performance.
  • Fairly comfortable to use.
  • Wide focal length range.
  • Beginner-friendly design.
Cons
  • Bulky design.
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be adjusted manually.
  • Not water or impact resistant.
  • Lacks a viewfinder.
  • Can't shoot RAW images.
7.0 Sport & Wildlife Photography

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 is acceptable for sports and wildlife photography. Its maximum burst shooting speed isn't particularly fast, but it does clear its buffer very quickly, so you don't have to wait too long before firing off another burst. Its long maximum focal length also helps in capturing clear photos of far-away subjects. Its optical stabilization feature also helps reduce camera shake when shooting at longer zoom lengths. There are also photo modes that you can use to help capture shots of fast-moving subjects. Unfortunately, you can't adjust shutter speed or aperture manually, which is quite limiting. Its autofocus system also struggles to maintain focus on moving subjects.

Pros
  • Decent image stabilization performance.
  • Fairly comfortable to use.
  • Wide focal length range.
  • Short buffer clearing time.
  • Beginner-friendly design.
Cons
  • Bulky design.
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be adjusted manually.
  • Slow continuous shooting speed.
  • Lacks a viewfinder.
  • Can't shoot RAW images.
2.7 Vlogging

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 isn't for vlogging. Its fixed screen doesn't allow you to monitor yourself as you record, and its bulky design can make it a little impractical to carry handheld for long periods. It's also incapable of shooting 4k video. On the plus side, its optical stabilization feature helps it do a great job of smoothing out camera shake in FHD video.

Pros
  • Great video stabilization performance.
Cons
  • Bulky design.
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be adjusted manually.
  • Bad video quality in FHD.
  • Can only record FHD video at 30 fps.
  • Fixed screen.
3.3 Studio Video

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 is terrible for studio video, but it isn't for this use case. It's incapable of recording 4k video, and video quality in FHD is somewhat soft and grainy, especially in less well-lit environments. Its HDMI port can also only be used for image playback and doesn't provide a live feed. There aren't any headphone or microphone ports either. You also can't swap out an SD card when the camera is mounted on a tripod. On the plus side, its menu system is fairly intuitive.

Pros
  • Simple menu system.
Cons
  • Limited selection of inputs and outputs.
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be adjusted manually.
  • Bad video quality in FHD.
  • Can only record FHD video at 30 fps.
2.6 Action Video

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 isn't for action video. It's too big to mount on a chest or a helmet rig and isn't rated as either water or impact-resistant. It's incapable of recording 4k video and can't record FHD video at any other frame rate aside from 30 fps, so you can't record smooth action footage or generate slow-motion clips. That said, it smooths out camera shake to an impressive degree.

Pros
  • Great video stabilization performance.
Cons
  • Bulky design.
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be adjusted manually.
  • Bad video quality in FHD.
  • Can only record FHD video at 30 fps.
  • Not water or impact resistant.
  • 6.7 Travel Photography
  • 6.5 Landscape Photography
  • 7.0 Sport & Wildlife Photography
  • 2.7 Vlogging
  • 3.3 Studio Video
  • 2.6 Action Video
  1. Updated Sep 07, 2023: We've updated the 'Sensor Type' from 'CMOS' to 'BSI CMOS'.
  2. Updated Apr 24, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.
  3. Updated Apr 12, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.11.
  4. Updated Oct 03, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
  5. Updated Jul 29, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
  6. Updated Apr 22, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
  7. Updated Sep 13, 2021: Updated 'Clean HDMI Output' and 'Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI' fields to show 'Playback only'.
  8. Updated Jun 04, 2021: Review published.
  9. Updated Jun 02, 2021: Early access published.
  10. Updated Apr 23, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
  11. Updated Apr 22, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

The Nikon COOLPIX B600 is only available in one color variant: 'Black', and you can see its label here.

Let us know in the discussions if you come across another variant, and we'll update our review.

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
5.2
Design
Portability
Height
3.2" (8.1 cm)
Width
4.7" (12.0 cm)
Depth
3.9" (9.9 cm)
Volume
58.7 in³ (962.0 cm³)
Weight
1.12 lbs (0.51 kg)
6.5
Design
Build Quality

  • Body is made of plastic
  • Buttons are clicky and provide good physical feedback, but feel cheap
  • No command dials to make adjustments to exposure parameters
  • Zoom toggle feels good
  • Flash mechanism feels okay
  • Input/output compartment covered by a rubber flap
  • Battery and SD card slot covered by a locking hinged door

Design
Body
Body Type
Bridge
Water Resistance
No
Mirrorless
Yes
Rugged
No
Hot Shoe
No
Customizable Button
No
Command Dial
0
Tripod Mount
Yes
Lens Mount
No Lens Mount
Built-In Flash
Yes
Fastest Shutter Speed
1/4,000 s
Design
In The Box

  • Nikon COOLPIX B600 camera
  • Shoulder strap
  • Lens cap
  • Lens cap string
  • USB-A to UBS-B cable
  • AC adapter
  • 1x Nikon EN-EL12 battery
  • Quick Start guide

7.0
Design
Ergonomics & Comfort
Hand Grip: Small Hand
Yes
Hand Grip: Medium Hand
Yes
Hand Grip: Large Hand
Yes
Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand
Yes

  • Well-textured grip is large and allows your fingers to move between it and the lens
  • Aperture and shutter speed can't be manually adjusted while changing ISO requires you to navigate into the camera's menu system
  • If you're using the camera with two hands, the secondary zoom helps keep the camera steady while zooming in
  • Framing assist button reduces zoom slightly while leaving a border around the frame defined by your previous focal length, making it easier to gauge where you're pointing the camera when tightly zoomed in
  • Lack of a viewfinder can make it difficult to frame your shots accurately at extended focal lengths
  • You need to navigate the menu to change most picture settings, though there aren't many picture settings to choose from, to begin with
  • Fixed screen makes it tricky to shoot from below the hip or above your head
  • You can't change the SD card while the camera is mounted on a tripod

Design
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type
No Viewfinder
Advertised Coverage
N/A
Advertised Resolution
N/A
Advertised Magnification
N/A
3.2
Design
Screen
Screen Articulation Type
No Articulation (Fixed Screen)
Screen Max Brightness
480 cd/m²
Advertised Resolution
0.92 million dots
Size
3.0" (7.6 cm)
Touchscreen
No
7.5
Design
Menu System
Guide Mode
Yes
App Name
Nikon SnapBridge

  • Basic design of the camera makes it easy to navigate
  • Location of some functions can be somewhat confusing. For instance, the vibration reduction feature is enabled through the set up menu rather than the shooting sub menu
  • Transitions between shooting modes can be quite slow
  • Simple guide mode can explain the fundamentals of features and functions to novice users

6.8
Design
Built-In Lens
Maximum Aperture
3.3 - 6.5
Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent)
f/18.5
Minimum Focal Length
4.3 mm
Maximum Focal Length
256 mm
Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent)
1,440 mm
Optical Image Stabilization
Yes
Luminance
83.8%
Light Falloff
70.3%

Note: For this test, ISO was set to ISO 125, focal length set to 30mm, and exposure bias set to +1.0. This camera only shoots images with an aspect ratio of 4:3, rather than the standard test setting of 16:9. The test results may not be fully comparable with other cameras that we've tested.

Design
Sensor
Sensor Type
BSI CMOS
Advertised Effective Pixels
16 MP
Sensor Size
1/2.3-inch
Processor
Unspecified
Extended ISO Minimum
N/A
Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)
125
Native ISO Maximum
6,400
Tested Firmware
Ver.1.1
7.5
Design
Battery
Battery Type
Nikon EN-EL12
USB Charging
Yes
Use When Charging
Yes
Advertised Battery Life In Photo
280 photos
Tested Battery Life In Video
109 min

Note: This camera's battery life in video was tested by recording FHD video, as it's incapable of recording 4k video, which is the normal test procedure.

Photo General
6.7
Photo General
Photo Shooting Speed
Low Speed Continuous
2 fps
High Speed Continuous
7 fps
Silent Shooting Continuous
7 fps
Raw Buffer Size
N/A
JPEG Buffer Size
7 Photos
Buffer Empty Time
4 s

Note: Since you can't change shutter speed manually, the results obtained may not be directly comparable with other cameras that we've tested. Also, you can only achieve its max continuous shooting speed as a burst rather than true continuous shooting.

not tested
Photo General
Photo AF-C Tracking
Autofocus Tracking Shots N/A
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
N/A
Usable Focus Hit Rate
N/A
not tested
Photo General
Photo AF-C Center Point
Autofocus Center Point Shots N/A
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
N/A
Usable Focus Hit Rate
N/A
7.3
Photo General
Photo Image Stabilization
Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved
1/20 s
In-Body Image Stabilization
No

Note: Since you can't change shutter speed and aperture, the results obtained may not be directly comparable with other cameras that we've tested. The results obtained are from when the camera is set to 'Auto' mode.

Photo Image Quality
not tested
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Dynamic Range
Dynamic Range At Base ISO
N/A
Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time
N/A
Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time
N/A
Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time
N/A
not tested
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Sharpness
Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
N/A
Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
N/A
not tested
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Noise
SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms)
N/A
SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms)
N/A
SNR 18% At 1/1000 Exposure Time (1 ms)
N/A
SNR 18% At 1/4000 Exposure Time (0.25 ms)
N/A
Pictures Sample Gallery
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Skate Park Picture
JPEG Skate Park Picture Download
RAW Skate Park Picture N/A
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Polish Church Picture
JPEG Polish Church Picture Download
RAW Polish Church Picture N/A
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Studio Picture
JPEG Studio Picture Download
RAW Studio Picture N/A
Pictures Sample Gallery
The Stairway Picture
JPEG Stairway Picture Download
RAW Stairway Picture N/A
Video General
Video General
Video Features
Full HD Video
Yes
4k Video
No
6k Video
No
Clean HDMI Output
Playback Only
Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI
Playback Only
Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI
N/A
Log Picture Profile
No
Recording Light
No

Note: This camera's HDMI output doesn't provide a live feed to an external monitor or recorder, and can only be used to view photos from the camera when in playback mode.

Video General
Audio
Audio Test Sample
Audio Recording
Stereo
Microphone Level Display
No
Video General
Video File Format And Compression
MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
Yes
MP4 H.265 / HEVC
No
MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
MOV H.265 / HEVC
No
AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
All-I Compression
No
4k Video
0
4k Video
4k Video Frame Rate
240 fps In 4k
No
120 fps In 4k
No
60 fps In 4k
No
30 fps In 4k
No
24 fps In 4k
No
4k Crop At Max Available fps
N/A
0
4k Video
4k Video Internal Recording
Bitrate Maximum In 4k
N/A
Bitrate Minimum In 4k
N/A
Chroma Sampling In 4k
No
Bit Depth In 4k
N/A
Record Time Limit In 4k
0 min
Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k
N/A
0
4k Video
4k Video Autofocus Performance
Object Tracking In 4k
N/A
Face Tracking In 4k
0
Face Detection In 4k
N/A
Eye Detection In 4k
N/A
not tested
4k Video
4k Video Quality
Low Light Capability In 4k N/A
Test Scene Extract In 4k N/A
not tested
4k Video
4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
4k Rolling Shutter
N/A
Full HD Video
3.0
Full HD Video
FHD Video Frame Rate
240 fps In FHD
No
120 fps In FHD
No
60 fps In FHD
No
30 fps In FHD
Yes
24 fps In FHD
No
FHD Crop At Max Available fps
1 x
7.2
Full HD Video
FHD Video Internal Recording
Bitrate Maximum In FHD
16 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In FHD
16 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In FHD
4:2:0
Bit Depth In FHD
8 Bit
Record Time Limit in FHD
29 min
0.8
Full HD Video
FHD Video Autofocus Performance
Object Tracking In FHD
0
Face Tracking In FHD
0
Face Detection In FHD
Yes
Eye Detection In FHD
No

Note: Since you can't change shutter speed and aperture manually, autofocus tracking was not measured since there was no way of achieving the depth of field used in our standard test methodology. The results obtained may not be directly comparable with other cameras that we've tested.

4.5
Full HD Video
FHD Video Quality
Low Light Capability In FHD
4.0
Test Scene Extract In FHD
5.0
6.9
Full HD Video
FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
FHD Rolling Shutter
4.3°
Storage And Connectivity
Storage And Connectivity
Storage
Card 1 Slot
SD Card UHS-I
Card 2 Slot
No 2nd Card Slot
4.5
Storage And Connectivity
Inputs / Outputs
USB
Mini USB
HDMI
Micro (Type D) [Playback Only]
Headphones
No
Microphone
No Microphone input
Wi-Fi
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes

Note: This camera's HDMI output doesn't provide a live feed to an external monitor or recorder and can only be used to view photos from the camera when in playback mode.