Nikon will be releasing the Coolpix S60 this September, making it one of the latest Coolpix digital cameras available that aims to being together both form and function without compromising on either. What makes the S60 stand out from many other generic digital cameras is the 3.5″ touch screen LCD display and a new graphical user interface that literally places shooting and playback controls at the user’s fingertips. My guess is you will be requiring plenty of tissues as your mates fiddle around with your latest toy. Alternatively, you can always keep a screen cleaner handy nearby so that those pesky fingerprints can be removed any time you like.

With so many features available on the S60, I’ve gotta start somewhere. We’ll begin with the many innovative shooting modes which have been seamlessly integrated into the camera’s interface, leaving only the power and shutter release buttons as the two physically pressable sections on the camera – everything else is touch driven, and I suspect the phenomenal success of the iPhone has something to do with a touch-based user interface. In addition, the Coolpix S60 also comes with the ability to lock the autofocus and exposure on a subject by simply touching the corresponding location on the LCD screen. Now that’s really smart, ain’t it? I’m already drooling just reading about it, and Nikon’s bag of surprises doesn’t end here.

Images can be viewed by scrolling through using an intuitive sweeping motion of the finger, pretty much like how the iPhone works right now. Don’t think it does multi-touch at this point in time, but that could be remedied in future revisions. Other features include a 10 megapixel sensor, a 5x Zoom-NIKKOR lens, Nikon’s imaging processing concept, EXPEED and Optical VR Image Stabilization technology to prevent blur images. You will be able to pick up the Coolpix S60 for $349.95 when September rolls around.

Press Release