Nikon Coolpix S51

Reviewed by: hecalder

12-24-07

Duration of ownership: 1 Months

Strengths: Large screen, great quality pictures.. good price at around 200.00 easy to use.. perfect camera for price range..

Weaknesses: screen smudges easy.. and should come with at least a protective case of some sort..

Overall Evaluation: I own a Sony Cybershot.. and a Olympus.. the first digital and the second a SLR.. both great cameras but my Sony was aging. I am very impressed for the features and the quality of the pictures and the overall ease of use.. I would recommend that for first time users to for sure read the manual you can get a lot more out of the camera.. for the price you get excellent value.. I would have ranked it actually a 78 but I am also only a amatuer photographer.. being this my first Nikon.. I always considered them only for SLR's so very impressed. for a digital..

Reviewed by: jmjmjohnston

Updated: 19-Feb-08

Strengths: Compact and easy to use

Weaknesses: seems a little "loose" some of the pieces holding the chip and battery in rattle

Overall Evaluation: This camera is a great little unit for the money. I actually had to return my first one, though, because there was a rattling sound coming from inside the camera. The sound was diminished (but did not disappear) when the battery and SD card were in place, but it was still there. I returned the camera for a new one not wanted to take a chance that something was broken or waiting to break, and the new one was better.... but there is just something about the moving parts that don't seem solid. Time will tell. The photos and movies from the S51 are beautiful.

Reviewed by: pacificeye

Updated: 30-Jan-08

Strengths: Compact Size--It's small, yet has a good heft and feels solidly built.Huge LCD screen--makes taking and reviewing pictures very easy and pleasant.

Weaknesses: All surfaces are very smooth, making it hard to hold without fear of dropping it.

Overall Evaluation: Picture quality is extremely good.Controls are easy to use.Picture modes are sufficient to cover most shooting conditions for a point-and-shoot.Manual settings are very limited.The cover for the media card slot is rather hard to open.

Reviewed by: vballgirl79

Updated: 29-Jan-08

Strengths: great videos, big screen

Weaknesses: battery runs out fast if using flash a lot. Takes awful pictures! always makes them blurry.

Overall Evaluation: I would not recommend this camera. The pictures are always blurry if you dont use the flash. And the flash doesn't always make it better either. It does take good videos though.

Reviewed by: melraff

Updated: 21-Jan-08

Strengths: The pictures generally look pretty good.The camera is slim and attractive.

Weaknesses: Long shutter lag.Slow to reset between shots.Battery/SD slot door is cheap plastic and extremely difficult to open.

Overall Evaluation: I highly recommend that you look elsewhere--try the Panasoninc Lumix FX line, for instance, which has none of these flaws (I bought this to replace a Lumix FX 9S which I gave to my son).The biggest problem with this camera is, in my opinion, the deal-killer. The shutter lag is enormous, guaranteeing that, unless you're shooting posed portraits or still life shots, your picture will not end up with what you were trying to capture. This is incredibly frustrating and unlike any digital camera I have ever owned (this is my 5th over about 10 years).The camera also takes an inordinate amount of time between shots, too. Another real problem that I have not seen since my first digital camera many years ago.Finally, the crappy little plastic door that covers the battery and SD chip needs to be "sort of" pressed down while sliding it open. You cannot slide it open if you don't press down, and you cannot slide it open if you press down too hard. I struggle every time t...

Reviewed by: Anonymous

Updated: 09-Jan-08

Strengths: sleek,large viewing screen,image stabilization

Weaknesses: none

Overall Evaluation: I purchased this camera despite reviews with complaints about the shutter lag. I read the directions and shutter lag is definitly not an issue. READ THE DIRECTIONS! I love this camera. The large viewing screen is great. I would purchase it again.