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The Nikon Coolpix S52c 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with Wi-Fi (Vibrant Black), has all the good stuff that's included with the S52 plus the added wireless antenna and related features. Certainly it's brother, the Nikon Coolpix S52 9MP Digital Camera (Midnight Black) is a great all-around point and shoot camera. Both offer great performance and value that is best in class. While I originally got the basic model, for only $30 to $50 more this guy gives you a great wireless feature. Even if, like me, you don't use the wireless upload much now, at the discounted Amazon price it's worth having for the future.
Canon's newer models have been steadily adopting some of the features that Nikon has had in it's Coolpix S series for years, such as the 3 inch screen and scroll controls. I still prefer the Coolpix overall out of point and shoot models in this price range, but the Canon's have some advantages and wider popularity. When it comes to the wireless in this version Nikon leads the market with this feature.
The screen on this camera is an AWESOME 3 inches of clear and durable optical lens quality glass. This has the nicest screen out of any point and shoot camera out there, though the opaque controls on the Canon's screen are slicker. You may want to get a screen protector. But careful handling of my S50 has proven to me that the glass is very durable and not easily scratched.
Functions And Features
There are some interesting functions, included red-eye correction and image cropping. Once again, most people will be loading their pics on their computers and then dealing with those edits. Still, it's nice to be able to do them. These types of functions have become almost like minimum requirements for top point and shoot subcompact cameras.
The control wheel lets you scroll through your photos when displaying them on the screen for review. It only takes one button to delete a picture. It's also easy to access all the menu functions. Switching between camera mode and video recorder mode is just as easy, and reviewing your pictures via play mode is accomplished with one button as well.
The zoom on this camera is internal as with all S50 and S51 models. That means no waiting for the lens to zoom in and out, and no worries about the mechanical issues with those external lens extension cameras. That makes it easier to accept the 3x optical zoom. Digital zoom should be ignored when making your purchasing decision. Always compare cameras to each other with the optical zoom in mind.
This is a huge plus for this camera, and helps to maintain the slim profile. Some of those super-slim cameras aren't nearly as thin when they are turned on and the lenses are sticking out. There are thinner cameras, but none of them are as affordable and as packed with features as this one.
This is an update to the S50 and S51 versions and adds more megapixels (9M!) so that you can produce prints up to 16X20. More megapixels never hurt anybody. :)
Picture taking is good, and if you get a faster memory card it will be better. There is definitely a lag though, and using the light-hold then click technique worked best for me. The Auto settings are good enough for most basic uses. But low light and nighttime situations just don't perform as well with auto. So the short answer is, if you have to shoot in low light, set the ISO manually! There's also a "High ISO" option that seems to work ok, but setting it to 1600 seemed to work best overall.
Testing the wireless upload feature has convinced me it can perform well for some people. But there is a lot that goes into connecting to a wireless access point. Getting the pictures up on the website is the easy part. Configuring access to a secured wireless access point took some time. Clearly, unsecured Wi-Fi is a piece of cake. After taking a little over 1 hour to set it up once, I can say it was well worth it. I don't think I'll use this often, but it will do in a pinch. Uploads are too slow to be used for video, but can be used for a few pictures easily. Once again, uploading is slower than I would like but will do in a pinch.
The video recording features are pretty similar to prior models. The video quality is great, but sound quality could be improved. Video quality depends on your memory card quality and speed even more than pictures. And rest assured, this card is SDHC compatible so choose a nice class 6 card till the faster class hits the consumer market later this year. And also keep in mind that your computer probably isn't SDHC compliant (unless it's very new) so get a set with and SDHC reader included or transfer pics from your camera and not from the card.
Comparing The S52 To The Competition
Canon obviously has a few models that rule this space, best among them being the SD1100 IS and the SD790 IS. I actually still prefer the 770 over the 790, but whatever. There are good reasons for choosing any of those, but none of them have the internal lens. If you want that feature, the Nikon stands alone. For regular shooting conditions, Canon's image processing system is faster and more reliable. But the low light performance of the Nikon is better than the lot of them.
The body of the camera is nice and thin. When you consider that the lens is internal and does not protrude, this guy is thinner than almost everything out there, including the Casio Exilim.
When choosing between this camera and other options, you need to be aware of a few points. The Sony Cybershot T300 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black) is a nice camera that also performs well and perhaps has a better responding auto-detection mode for low light situations. But I tested the S52 by setting the ISO manually to 1600. The results were somewhat surprising and produced better quality pictures in low light than Sony's auto setting. Obviously you can also manually set the T300's ISO, but the differences are negligible at that point.
Other things to consider is that you must use Sony's proprietary Memory Pro / Duo, which is more expensive with fewer speed options available. The T300 has a thin body, but the sliding lens cover adds considerable thickness and I personally find it annoying. In addition, the T300 is much more expensive and not even close to the S52 in terms of value. In fact, the Canon's are also more expensive relative to features, and Nikon really is the best bang for the buck here.
The Nikon Coolpix S600 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Zoom (Slate Black) has a widescreen capability that may appeal to some and 1 megapixel more for a total of 10. When you add in the greater zoom magnification, that camera is a great option for many people. Just keep in mind that the S600 does have an externally articulating lens, so it's much less compact than the S52 when actually in use. I am just too hooked on this internal lens to use the S600 full time.
The first real con you should be aware of is that your battery will need to be recharged after a few full days of use. That is pretty normal, but it did annoy me at first that I didn't have a spare battery. So get yourself a spare battery and keep it charged, which is good advice for any camera. Because this uses one of those proprietary batteries, it doesn't offer the ease of use that comes with models that use AAs like the P60. The other con is that you have to buy a little case for this camera, which seems like something that should be included.
Review your options with a mind towards the kind of shooting you need to do. Bottom line, get yourself this camera if you want to have a nice camera for everyday general use. This camera is durable, easy to use and loaded with features. And if you don't mind a few more bucks, the added wireless feature is a nice extra that will no doubt become more common with other entries in this group planned for later this year.
Enjoy.
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