Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The Nikon Coolpix S52 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Red) is as close to perfect as you can get in a point and shoot camera. Canon seems to get all the attention in this space, but I like the Coolpix family of cameras best out of point and shoot models in this price range. For $200, you get a great camera with quality pictures and an awesome interface.
The screen on this camera is GREAT. This camera has the nicest screen out of a point and shoot out there. I mean it is BIG. If you're anal like me, you'll 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.
The control wheel lets you scroll through your photos when displaying them on the screen for review. Only one button to delete a picture and easy access to all the menu functions.
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.
The zoom on this camera, as with all S5x models, is internal. That means no waiting for the lense to zoom in and out, ad no worries about the mechanical issues with those external lense extension cameras. This is a huge plus for this camera, and helps to maintain the slim profile.
There are thinner cameras, but none of them are as affordable and as packed with features as this one.
For those that want increased digital zoom, I would caution you that that feature is usually a gimmick. The 3X optical zoom is more than enough for point and shoot use and yields clear pictures even at full zoom. Digital zoom just uses software to zoom in to the already captured image, but technically it doesn't zoom at all. So with that in mind, I can live with 3X optical zoom.
This unit also comes in other colors such as the Nikon Coolpix S52 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Midnight Black). If you must have the newer wireless features, you are going to want to wait for the Nikon Coolpix S52c 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom with Wi-Fi (Vibrant Black), which has a wireless network card inside it and can upload pictures without hooking up to your computer. For now Amazon is still only selling the red model, but the others should be more available here soon.
This is an update to the S50 and S51 versions and adds more megapixels (9M!) so that you can produce prints up to 16X20. Just keep in mind, almost nobody buying this camera is trying to produce prints that large! But more megapixels never hurt anybody. :)
The only real cons 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. Probably good advice for any camera. The other con is that you have to buy a little case for this camera, which seems like something that should be included.
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.
Enjoy!
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Update: Testing of video quality and ease of use
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It truly has taken me quite a while to upload a video sample. While I have been travelling without access to all my computer stuff, I can say honestly I know why I never used this feature much with them before. The files are saved as Quicktime (mov) files. I still have to see if there is any way to change that. With my Mac at home, I didn't have the native software on my Vista computer and I had to load it. Long story short: video is better and easier with either my Canon or Sony point and shoot cameras. Obviously this wasn't a deal breaker for me, I still bought this camera (and have even given one of them as a gift to somebody too). But needless to say, if video is a key desire for you, this really isn't it. On the bright side, this video was shot late at night under very difficult circumstances from 40 feet away. Also, in order to meet Amazon's size requirements I had to convert it to WMV, so there might have been quality loss there (not sure). I will repost a better video now that I've set up all the software I need in order to access it.
Hope this helps those who asked for this. Sorry for the delay.
Enjoy
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PS2) NIKON COOLPIX S52 RED DIGITAL
