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Cameras

Head to Head: Nikon Coolpix S3300 vs. Canon PowerShot A2400 IS

Nikon's S3300 seems like a steal, but a few dollars more could go a long way.

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The Coolpix S3300 is a new model replacing the S3100 in Nikon's low-end lineup. It's aggressively priced at only $140, but for only a few dollars more you could walk home with the rival camera from Canon, their PowerShot A2400 IS. Both offer optical image stabilization, but Nikon has the edge in optical zoom. Yet despite the similar price tags, image quality is very different.

To read our in-depth, hands-on review of the Nikon Coolpix S3300, click here.
To read our in-depth, hands-on review of the Canon PowerShot A2400 IS, click here.

Image Quality

While the S3300 posted an impressive color accuracy score, and an incredible white balance score, those can't do anything about the destructive noise reduction. Smoothing software is able to keep the S3300's noise artifacting in check, but at the cost of sharpness. Edge details are lost as early as ISO 200, and while the A2400 has similar noise rates, the sharpness drawback doesn't occur until ISO 400 or 800. The S3300 also has very low overall sharpness, regardless of noise, and although neither camera is a strong low light performer, we're giving the edge to Canon.

Winner: Canon PowerShot A2400 IS

Design & User Experience

The A2400 has terrible shot to shot speed, and is therefore even less suited to action photography than the S3300, but we prefer Canon's menu system for general use. Beginner features are also notably absent from the S3300, so once again, we're giving Canon this category.

Winner: Canon PowerShot A2400 IS

Conclusion

For only $20 more, the PowerShot A2400 IS will serve most people much better than Nikon's S3300. While not without faults, the Canon offers better image quality, especially in medium light, and a menu that's easier to use. The A2400's shooting speed is worse, and so is optical zoom, be neither of these matter enough to sway our opinion.

Overall Winner: Canon PowerShot A2400 IS

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