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Nikon Coolpix S51 Digital Camera

Nikon Coolpix S51Digital Camera Resource Page

(2 out of 5)


A mediocre compact camera with sluggish performance, tiny controls, and movie mode problems.

Review date: Feb 28, 2008

The Nikon Coolpix S51 is a fairly average ultra-compact camera that doesn't particularly stand out in any one area. The biggest thing going for it is probably in the value department. For under $200, you get an 8 Megapixel camera, 3X zoom, image stabilization, and a huge LCD. Photo quality is decent, though there's certainly room for improvement. My biggest issues with the S51 relate to performance: it's sluggish in almost every area, and battery life is the worst in its class. I'm not a huge fan of its ergonomics, either. The Coolpix S51 is worth a look, but I'd recommend spending a little more on a better performing camera instead.

ProsCons
  • Good photo quality
  • better-than-average at ISO 400 and 800
  • Good value for the money
  • Compact metal body
  • Optical image stabilization
  • Huge, fairly sharp 3-inch LCD display
  • Plenty of scene modes to choose from
  • Handy D-Lighting and Best Shot Selector features
  • In-camera help for most functions
  • Fancy slideshow feature
  • Photos tend to be soft, with too much noise reduction
  • Redeye a problem
  • Poor battery life
  • Very slow focusing speeds at telephoto end of lens, or in low light
  • Sluggish in many other areas
  • Tiny buttons on back of camera
  • Audio/video sync problem in movie mode
  • No manual controls
  • Exposure info not available in playback mode
  • Low light LCD viewing could be better
  • No optical viewfinder
  • Can't swap memory cards while camera is on tripod
  • Plastic tripod mount
  • Very little built-in memory

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