Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix S10 6MP Digital Camera with 10x Vibration Reduction Zoom

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm a rabid photographer of scenery, wildlife, friends, families and pets. I take pictures with tripods, while walking, from horseback, from the car, during parties, indoors, outdoors...whenever it strikes me to take a photo. I would estimate that I take at least 300 photos a month. I currently have an olympus 740 so I bought the nikon looking to get a little smaller camera with the same zoom capabilities but with image stabilization. I read the manual to this camera from cover to cover and it has lots of options to tinker with. I took more than 1000 photos in every situation I could think of and eventually ended up returning the camera because of the medium indoor low light issues.

The good:
The camera has a NICE brushed metal feel to it. Looks like it would hold up well and not show scratches easily and feels quite sturdy.
It's really comfortable and easy to hold the camera and either telescope the lens or press the shutter without straining your hand.
The LCD has great resolution and colors. Some people don't like that it doesn't have a viewfinder but I hardly use a viewfinder.
Rechargable battery (although the initial charging time is something like 8 or 10 hours, the later chargings are less).
The lens cap just flips back with an easy touch, no pulling it off and having it dangle and bounce into action shots.
The camera worked great for scenery shots during the day.
I took some great moonlight shots without the use of a tripod with this camera using some of the many, many features. My other camera could never take these shots.
I liked that there wasn't an external telescoping lens and the lens did all its telescoping inside the cylinder.
I was impressed with the shutter speed and zoom capabilities.
Image stabilization was awesome in sunlight.

What I didn't like:
I found that ANY dust on the lens created an orb in the photo and I had to keep cleaning the lens because dust would easily get into the cool snap cover.
Low indoor light made for blurry (or sometimes grainy images), even with image stabilization and I had to tinker with a lot of the settings to get half way decent photos and even then they weren't great.
If I used a flash in low light, it often whited out people's faces. My friends thought that the flash was too blinding but I can't speak for this because I didn't see it. I used tons of settings (much to my friends' frustration) to try to find a good setting and I didn't find one.
Direct sunlight caused lots of sunspots (I think because of the lens angle because the same exact shot with my olympus had no sunspot and it was seconds between shots)but you could use polarizing sunglasses over the lens for a super easy fix.
The light from the flash doesn't always bounce as one would expect. I'm not sure if it's because of the angle of the turned lens cylinder or what but it the light didn't seem to spread naturally and would end up either too focused or weirdly casted shadows would appear. Again I'd take the same photo with my olympus which has a different flash placement and the photos would turn out fine.
I took some shots of my pets indoors and they didn't like the flashing red light the camera uses for measuring/focus in low light.
I had a lot of color issues (mostly a yellowing of the images) under flourescent lights in a lot of low light photos but I could fix them Adobe photoshop.

This could have been a bad camera but just in case you buy this and have the same issues, you'll know it's not just you :)

I bought the S10 mainly because it reminded of my much loved Coolpix 990. The camera body is very light save for the lens which will tip the camera on its side when set facing forward. The body feels kinda hollow and cheap though it is metal (feels like plastic on the back). The LCD is great with nice brightness, actually too bright for my normal viewing pleasure. What annoys me at the moment is the menu system. It takes a few steps to choose between mode and custom scene settings, compared to my Canon Sd700IS which is very simple to switch modes and make selections. With some practice Im sure the menus will become second nature. I simply love the clarity and details I have been getting with this camera.
When set to Auto White Balance, it takes maybe a minute or two to calibrate which is not good when you need to whip out the camera and take some quick snaps indoors. Suggestion is to plan ahead; if you are going to be under any type of artificial lighting change the setting to fit the environment and youll be snapping great pics quickly. Vibration reduction works without a hitch although I havent tried running and taking pictures at the same time yet. The portrait modes are really cool and easy for a novice to use. There is an interesting slideshow mode which will allow you to do some nice Ken Burns effects (pan and zoom) to the music of your choice.
The thing that disappointed me was the lack of a full manual mode which I was really hoping for like my old 990. To compensate you need to study the various scene modes to get the desired results so experiment and read the manual.
A screen protector is a must as your right thumb has a tendancy to touch the LCD. Id go with a fellowes screen protector as you get more than one per pack unlike some of these other lame companies which only give you one per pack and charge the same price.

All in all, despite the body issue (plastic), you get excellent photo quality and 10x optical zoom in a small body. (Man-purse necessary to carry as it doesnt fit in pocket)

Update: Its soo light on the body side that to me it feels like the whole thing is plastic but its actually just the back where the lcd is and VR/Portrait buttons are. Thanks for the comments!

I owned a Nikon Coolpix 950 with swivel design and foolishly sold it for a Sony Cybershot. I really missed the 950. My wife bought me a Nikon S10 for Christmas and it is a wonderful little camera. I read somewhere a complaint about no view finder, but when I read this it was about 2:00 pm and clear and sunny here, so I took it out in a Best Buy parking lot and was shocked at how well I could see the LCD screen - no problem whatsoever. Plus teh LCD was set only on 3 of 5. Don't let the no-view finder turn you off this camera. Pictures are great. It's a great little camera and the swivel is the reason I returned to it after having owned teh Nikon 950. After having the flexibility of the swivel body, it's hard to go back. Plus this camera takes better pictures than the Sony 6.0 megapixel Cybershot with Carl Zeiss lens. A camera that is too small is very difficult to hold steady. This Nikon s10 has a confortable feel and is easy to hold steady. 5 stars

This camera is just what I was looking for, a camera to always have along when an unexpected photo op arises, that offers better quality images than a true pocket sized camera. I have had NO issues with image quality in low light, NO issues with dust on the lens, and I hate using a flash anyway so no issues there either. The VR makes using the flash generally unnecessary. It fits easily in a jacket pocket, and in my glove compartment. In summer I guess I'll need a pouch, but that can't be any worse than having it in a shirt pocket.
Lugging around a camera bag full of slr and lenses, and a tripod... sure, I'll still do that. But not every day, like I can with this little gem. I don't think some of the extras are worth much, pictmotion and voice recording, after a couple of times playing with them, I'll probably never use again. And the video quality, while okay, isn't going to win any awards. But the pictures are excellent and the camera is fun to use... what else do you need?

No question about it, the Nikon S10 is a gem. But then, every gem has at least one flaw.

The design -- the articulated body that lets you shoot from a variety of positions -- copies the old Coolpix 950 (which I still have). The theory is great, and you can take super pictures without your public realizing they are being photographed. You can put the camera on the floor, over your head, shoot backwards, sidewards -- and still see that nice, large bright screen. Great idea.

And the 10x zoom gives you the equivalent of a 300mm telephoto. Nice and sharp, and the vibration control is nice at that level.

The buttons are rather small, but still operable once you get used to them. The operating menu is quirky, but all digital systems seem quirky to me -- complicated, not logical, overwrought. But still manageable, if you study the instructions. Really study hard -- after a year with my D200, I still refer to the manual, regularly. The pocket-sized S10 isn't quite as elaborate as its big brothers, but it takes some study if you do more than point-and-shoot.

The bug is that Nikon chose to go without a viewfinder. Which is okay if you're shooting in shade, or indoors. But if you're outdoors and in the sun, forget the digital viewer -- you just can't see it. It is a major fault, in my opinion, although I can still operate in sunlight by guestimating. That is not very practical, however.

In essence, I love the S10. It is inobtrusive and I get fine portraits at the weekly company meetings. Candids in the subway, or shopping, or sitting in the shade in the park -- are great. As long as you don't have to get critical in the sunlight.

I bet somebody comes up with some sort of shade device for the S10, sooner or later. He who does will likely be a Nikon afficionado.

Don (owner of a Coolpix 950, 885, 5700, D70, D200 and a bunch of dusty film Nikons).

I have taken about 150 pix so far and am very pleased....I have tried some of the menu choices and will continue experimenting....For me the 'Coolpix' body makes the difference in taking a pix and not taking one..I have a tremor and the body of the camera can be held close to my body and eliminates movement.....I like the big monitor and have had others ask what kind of camera is that because I could see the monitor so well. My photos seem clear. This is my first digital as I reluctantly said goodbye to my old slr. I have been using the optical zoom and so far so good......I like this camera

I'm extremely impressed with this camera! My favorite features are the rotating lens to body versatility, the 10-power zoom, the hand-held vibration reduction, the Best Shot Selector, the very good macro, the one-button portrait/flash,red-eye reduction feature -- and I could go on. This is my third rotating-lens Coolp1x (995, S4 and now S10), and each one keeps getting better and more versatile!

After reviewing the specifications on alot of pocket sized cameras, the following specs were considered necessary:
1. Zoom
2. Megapixels
3. Size
The Nikon Coolpix S10 won out. I am a little biased when it comes to Nikon products. I have had Nikon cameras for a long time.

Only one Con:

The are no filters available because Nikon did not thread the lens ring.

It takes a little getting used to but is very similar to any of the movie cameras out now (focusing and tilting). Takes awesome pictures. I wanted a camera that was small but had at least 10x optical for those basball, recital, play pictures of the kids. I could never get close enough and would get a picture of the entire class on stage. Very happy now! Close ups of items are wonderful too. My daughter needed close up pictures of flowers that showed detail for her science project and I was so impressed with what we got! My 10 year old can take pictures without a problem so that shows you how easy it is to use. Oh, and yes, you CAN see the screen in the sunlight AND it is a very sharp image.

I've had the CoolPix 10 long enough now to offer an evaluation. Taken as a whole, in the right circumstances it is a marvelous little camera. It offers a technical zoom range superior to my film camera, a Canon EOS with 28-300 mm. lens. However, the CooplPix has four rather serious deficiencies that I have so far identified: (1) Outdoors (and indoors in especially bright setting such as a botanical garden atrium) it is difficult-to-impossible to see what you want to photograph in the display/monitor. (2) The inadequacy of the display/monitor can render the camera all but useless because the camera does not also have a viewfinder. (3) Although advertised as a 10x optical zoom, it is in fact only a 3x optical zoom. From 3x to 10x it is a digital zoom and the quality of the image deteriorates very rapidly as magnification increases. At the same time it becomes much more difficult to focus on an object. (4) There is something wrong with the optics. If you photograph a beach and ocean scene, for example, and the horizon is in the upper third of the image, you will find that the horizon is markedly curved, rather than flat, even though you are taking in a very small part of the horizon. In addition, I've found that close-up photography is very difficult because it is sometimes very difficult to attain a sharp focus on the object of photography.