Nikon Coolpix S6500 Preview

For digicams, CES 2013 is all about Wi-Fi connectivity. The funny part, of course, is that you still need a computer or a smart phone to do your sharing, but it's nice to know you no longer have to take your memory card out of the camera, or plug the whole thing in, simply to share a few pictures online.

Nikon's newest Coolpix series camera is the S6500 and presents itself as an affordable value with lots of key performance features, including built-in Wi-Fi. Should the review models line up with on-paper specifications, this is the type of camera that makes year-end gift lists.

The S6500 begins with a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS image sensor -- faster, better in low light -- with a long-reaching 12x optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalency of 25-300mm. Add in lens-shift vibration reduction, and Full HD 1080p movie recording (WITH a dedicated movie record button to make sure you're not fumbling around trying to hit record).

Like many previous Coolpix cameras, the S6500 includes all your favorite Glamour Retouch effects (for portraits) and now adds five more: Brighten Face (lightens skin tones), Reduce Dark Circles (under people's eyes), Whiten Eyes, Whiten Teeth, and Redden Cheeks (which actually applies a blush-like effect to cheeks in one of several colors depending on a person's complexion. Finally, as mentioned, this camera has built-in Wi-Fi, for use with Nikon's Wireless Mobile Utility1 app (available for Android and iOS), which will allow you to back up and share all the new pics captured on the S6500.

Available in silver, black, red, and orange, the Nikon Coolpix S6500 will hit stores in late January (2013) with a MSRP of $219.95.