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More…Shirt-pocket thin, covered in black and chrome, and sporting a huge 3-inch LCD on the back, the $250 (at time of review) Nikon Coolpix S51 exudes chic. This point-and-shoot model has nearly all the ingredients you're likely to look for in a quality snapshot digital camera: 8-megapixel imaging, optical image stabilization, a precise and very quiet zoom lens, and 16 scene modes for quickly configuring the unit for challenging shots.
Nikon S51
Pricing
$109.95 - $165.00 From 3 Vendors Get Best Prices »
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- Image Processor
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 8.1 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 3264 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 2448 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format | JPEG |
| White balance | 0 |
Lens
| Accessory Lens | 0 |
| Lens Model | 3x Zoom Nikkor |
| Telephoto Aperture Maximum | 4.2 mm |
| Wide-Angle Aperture Maximum | 3.3 mm |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 2000 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 4 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 10 |
PCWorld Rating, June 9, 2009
6 User Reviews Add your own »
$109.95 - $165.00
From 3 Vendors
Get Best Prices »
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Cameras »
Pros
Very thin
Large LCD
Cons
Tiny buttons for zoom and other controls
Slow to lock focus in low light
Bottom Line
Above-average image sharpness, but overall image quality was a bit below average. Battery life was poor in our tests.
Nikon Coolpix S51 Compact Digital Camera
S51 Review, by Tracey Capen November 26, 2007
Usability, however, is not one of this camera's better qualities. Putting a 3-inch screen on the back of a small camera always means compromises. In the case of the S51, it means a very small zoom rocker switch and tiny control buttons. I can live with the tiny buttons, but the zoom rocker is so small that it's a real pain. That's too bad, because the eight-step zoom range is more exact than what you typically find on inexpensive digital cameras. The one high point for the controls is the slick four-way thumb button/jog dial. The inner ring of the thumb button spins, making it quick to scroll through menu selections.
Changing settings was confusing, at first. Instead of the typical mode dial, the S51 has a tiny Mode button. Pressing it pops up a virtual mode dial on the LCD screen. Options include Setup, Shooting, Hi ISO, Scene, Voice recording, and Movie. You set specific camera controls by pressing the equally tiny Menu button. It's in using this combination where things can get somewhat complicated. For example, to select a Scene mode, you press the Mode button and spin the jog dial to Scene; then you must press the OK button. Next, press the Menus button to pop up the list of scenes to choose from; finally, spin the jog dial to the type of scene you're shooting, and press the OK button again.
Other controls are equally odd. Turning the LCD's framing (grid) lines on or off requires going into the Mode screen, selecting Setup, and entering the Monitor settings screen. Once set, you cannot bail out by simply half-pressing the shutter button, as is typical in most of today's cameras. You have to press the Mode button again and spin the dial to your desired shooting mode. Another small irritation: In low light, the camera seems unusually slow to obtain focus lock.
Compared with competing 8-megapixel cameras evaluated in the PC World Test Center for a roundup of compact cameras, the S51's photos had average sharpness. Color and exposure accuracy, however, were a bit below average. Scenic shots taken in bright sunlight looked nicely exposed with well-saturated colors. Telephoto shots, as is common with cameras of this size, were a little low in their contrast. Overall, the shots were a bit on the cool side.
The software package bundled with this Coolpix is also odd. You get ArcSoft's Panorama Maker, a fine stitching application, to go along with the Coolpix's superior panorama mode; a somewhat spare file transfer application; and Kodak's EasyShare photo management and editing package. It all works well enough, but the packages we've seen with Nikon's earlier cameras were better integrated and seemed more tuned for the Coolpix line.
At first glance, the Coolpix S51 looks like an appealing package--especially at $280. But based mostly on its overall usability, I'd give it a pass.
For other, similar models, see our chart of Top 10 Compact Cameras.
--Tracey Capen
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
70
-
74
-
78
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Cameras
70
77
75
81
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 103 |
| Battery Life Score | Fair |
| Image Quality Score | Good |
| Image Quality, Color | 48.3 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 63.1 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 54.3 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 57.9 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 52.7 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 48.7 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 44.9 |
| Number of Batteries | 1 |
| Number of Shots | 190 |
User Reviews
Average User Reviews for Nikon S51
1 Review Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
-
Reviewed by: hecalder
Duration of ownership: 1 Month
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: 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..
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: kivi
Strengths: it does what it promised
Weaknesses: the video-films are not sharp at all
Overall: i bought it a year ago really cheap in Florida and took it with me to Belgium (costs here 274 euro and in Florida 147 euro). The only bad thing is the fact that the video-movies never are as sharp as the foto's are. It looks as if you look through the spectacles of somebody else. Maybe the software doesn't use the autofocus in the video-mode ?Or do i need another software-version ? Can anybody help me ? : kivi@euphonynet.be
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Reviewed by: jmjmjohnston
Strengths: Compact and easy to use
Weaknesses: seems a little "loose" some of the pieces holding the chip and battery in rattle
Overall: 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.
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Reviewed by: pacificeye
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: 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.
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Reviewed by: vballgirl79
Strengths: great videos, big screen
Weaknesses: battery runs out fast if using flash a lot. Takes awful pictures! always makes them blurry.
Overall: 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.
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Reviewed by: melraff
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: 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 to find the right touch, and I am sure it's only a matter of time before it breaks.
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