» Nikon Coolpix S52 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Red)

Nikon Coolpix S52 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Red) Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Photos, Abysmal Audio
Comment: I was so excited to receive my brand new CoolPix S52 (Eco-Green), and the photos were really quite excellent. I was also pleased that it was very easy to learn how to use the various camera features. HOWEVER, when I used the movie or voice recording modes there was a very high level of awful static sound recorded EVERY TIME. I upgraded to the best memory card I could find, and that did not make a bit of difference.

Naturally, I returned the camera under Warranty (with sample video/audio) to Nikon TWICE for repair or replacement. To my dismay, they returned it to me both times stating "Your unit was thoroughly checked and was found completely within the factory standards". They also said not to expect the sound quality to be excellent because it didn't have a "sophisticated microphone". Maybe so, but it shouldn't be so poor that you cringe when you listen to the playback.

I was so disappointed that I sold the camera used and replaced it with a Canon PowerShot SD850 IS (Digital Elph) Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom that I am extremely happy with (both photos and sound are fantastic).

Bottom line - if recording movies is important to you, don't buy this camera. It will be a big disappointment and a waste of money. If you decide to buy it, be sure to test the movie and sound recording modes soon after you receive it to be sure you are satisfied.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: great camera
Comment: It's a great camera! I love the color!

The camera is so small that I can put in my poket.

The open of the battery is not so tight.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Choice for Picky Snapshooter
Comment: Are you looking for a quality digital camera that takes great high-resolution snapshots? One that easily slides into your pocket? One that is reasonably priced? Well, there are lots to choose from, these days. Give the Nikon Coolpix S51 or S52 consideration.

I am a bit picky and I was looking for something more than simple point and shoot for a recent sightseeing trip to Italy. My days of film cameras are over, but the versatility of an interchangeable-lens 35-mm SLR was on my mind. I loved the Nikon FS2S I used for over 30 years. Yet, the bulk of camera and several lenses—and the cost—was of major concern. What if I dropped an $800 camera or worst, it was stolen? I decided to forego the advantages of a new digital SLR and try getting by with the much cheaper and smaller Coolpix S51C. The model with the "C" has Wi-Fi capability. I'm not a professional photographer, so really good "snapshots" with a bit of creativity better categorized my style this trip.

Here are the things I really like:

First, the picture quality is wonderful for such a camera. The high-resolution setting yields sharp pictures suitable for prints 8"x10" and beyond. Regrettably, there is no RAW format, but the dynamic range has pleased so far. Second, the size and weight. I can't say enough about how great it was to slip the camera into my shirt pocket—a bit heavy there—or pants pocket. Here are some more things I like about this camera:
- The settings are easy to make with the thumbwheel control and built-in settings software.
- There are a variety of pre-set modes: landscapes, sunsets, museums, etc.
- Vibration reduction works surprisingly well.
- Almost always, exposures are right on. I did find that manually increasing or decreasing exposure helped in a few unusual lighting situations. This is quick and easy to set.
- The pre-set mode I really like, one you won't find in most other cameras, is panorama assist. This is really neat. Set it and take the first picture. Then one-third edge of that picture appears in the LCD screen, transparent so that you can line up and overlap the next picture. By taking a series of pictures this way you can later create an ultra-wide panorama photo, or if you go all the way around, a 360-degree panorama. Software is provided for stitching pictures together to create the panorama from the individual shots. Traditionally, such pics require a better camera, tripod, and patience. I made several panoramas, even handheld. Works great!
- Battery life is pretty good. I bought two extras so I would never run out. Since I shot mostly without flash, one fresh battery charge would last much of the day, maybe 100 or more pictures. I'd recommend carrying at least one extra battery and recharging at night. I got a cheap, compact recharger and extra batteries before my trip.

Some so-so features:

- The lens is of fairly typical zoom range. It works well for most shots. There were a few times I wished the telephoto was longer. The digital zoom that goes beyond optical zoom adds lots of pixel noise and is unsatisfactory. I won't use it again unless I see Big Foot or a UFO. As for the wide end, it is just okay; not wide enough for great interiors. I just love really a true wide-angle lens, something comparable to a 21mm on a 35mm film camera, but that is unavailable in this type of camera. Again, the zoom range is average, but the quality is very good—it's a Nikon lens.
- Memory card. The memory card that comes with the camera is just too small unless you want to shoot just a few pictures at a time or only shoot medium- or low-resolution. I bought a 4 GB high-speed card and am glad I did. It stored almost a thousand hi-res pictures. I did swap out to a second 2 GB card after two weeks and came home with over 1400 photos, never having to offload images to a computer.

And here are a few dislikes:

- The polished metal case is slippery. Use the hand strap or risk dropping it.
- The lens is in the corner. If you are not careful, you can get your finger in the field when shooting. You will learn how to hold the camera after a number of fumbles.
- Even when selecting one of the pre-set modes like landscape, the auto-focus takes a moment to adjust itself. The lag between pressing the shutter and taking the picture might be a fraction of a second, but a fraction too late for that great shot. I wish I could turn off auto-focus and have several presets from which to choose.
- Wireless Wi-Fi. I thought I would be able to transfer pics through my home wireless network to my desktop computer. Not so, or at least I haven't gotten that to work and can't find anything in any manual. I was able to send several pics to the Nikon server called Picturetown. But, that transfer choked because the wireless is just too slow to handle hi-res pictures. Don't count on sending anything but a few low-resolution pictures to grandma via the direct wireless feature. If you don't absolutely need the Wi-Fi feature, save the money and get the cheaper S51 or S52 model that has everything else and is a tad smaller and lighter.

Now, one day, perhaps soon, I'm going to buy a digital SLR—a Nikon, of course. I like looking through a viewfinder and setting focus myself. Most of all I want a great wide-angle lens. But I am very happy with my Coolpix S51C and will continue to use it on many occasions.

Seeing Italy? I know you will be happy. I think you will be happy carrying along a Nikon Coolpix S51 or S52 too.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great pocket Nikon, but requires some patience
Comment:
I needed a VIP gift for a person so important that other people carry their camera and shoot their pictures for them.
Price was no object. And I began testing little cameras.
I ended up keeping this one for myself.
Why? Well, after shooting 1500 pictures with this camera, I believe I can tell you.
First, small and sleek, beautifully designed, the optics are internal with no lens to protrude. It carries in a pocket like a hundred dollar bill.
Second, a 3 inch LCD that makes it so easy to check focus, or review pictures. A huge and useful viewing screen. There is no optical viewfinder nor any need for one.
Image quality is very good, and Nikon handles noise and high ISO speeds so very well.
The vibration reduction (VR) really works: and I can shoot from a fast moving car at high ISO speeds - up to 3200! *WOW* - with no noticeable blur and high sharpness. The higher speeds are predictably grainy, but the grain is pleasingly mild.
Battery life is good, 150 shots or so. When I feel serious, I carry a spare charged battery.
If you like, turn off the flash, and turn off the the synthetic camera sounds from "settings", and you have a discreet and silent camera.
Keep the camera below or above eye level, covert shots can be easily taken.
Since the focus assist lamp is bright, I turned it off from the settings menu. I found that the secret to getting a focus lock in low light without the assist lamp is simply holding the camera still.
The macro mode continuously focuses. It draws a little more from the battery, but can be useful for faster shooting.
The color saturation is very good, the auto white balance works well, surprisingly so, since so many expensive DSLR cameras cannot do this.
Picture quality? Color?
What you see is what you will get.
Nikon means good images. Hear that Nikon? You have a new slogan.
I am Happy. Well, almost..
Downsides...
There is this thing called "shutter lag"...

The time to focus an image can run to 2 seconds or so.
The time to write an image to the SD card can be 3 seconds or more, even with high speed cards. In fact, there does not seem to be any difference in write speed between high speed and regular cards. I know as I tried both types side by side.

Expect to have to concentrate while shooting, which may not be a bad thing. You will get better pictures.
Its not quite a "point and shoot" process, but "frame the shot, then hold down the shutter release half way to focus, and then shoot".
It suits me, but I am from the old school of the manual camera.

Another annoyance is that the lens stays open while reviewing pictures, and can easily get smudged by a wandering fingertip.
The only way to clean the lens is to have the camera on, so the lens is actively suspended while you clean it. Not a great idea, but the only way.

The USB cable is not standard and is a pain to use. After plugging it into the delicate looking port on the Nikon (That thing is going to break someday) the cable has only half of its length going to the camera, and the other half dangles.
The person who designed this was probably dropped on his head as a baby.

The power switch is not well defined by touch, and is easily turned on while the camera is being replaced or removed from the pocket, or when replaced or removed from the camera case (which you will purchase; it is not included).
I learned to set the display timeout to go to standby mode in 30 seconds to save battery life in case of accidental turn on.

So, if you are patient and can live with a few annoyances, you will have a sleek little camera that goes anywhere and gets the most use.
And I really love it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Standards PLEASE!
Comment: I haven't had this camera for long, but I've just run across the first thing that makes me regret buying it... It uses a NON-STANDARD USB CABLE!

I avoided Sony because of their proprietary memory types, but this isn't any better. I know that once I get my memory card it won't be an issue, but why not just use an industry standard USB cable. I suggest the general public should vote with their money and avoid non-industry standards. These companies will get the hint.

Other than that, this camera does a good job. You can't touch the abilities and quality in this size or at this price point. I could recommend some improvements (like a manual mode and/or aperture priority-shutter priority modes). For my own needs, I'd like to be able to set some longer exposure times (from 1 to 30 seconds would be great), but I don't know how many people would benefit from that.

The tiny internal lens does a pretty nice job and is much safer than a camera that's lens shoots out the front when it turns on.

The jog-dial is nice but it's easy to bump past what you wanted. Easy enough to turn back, but they should build some lag into the software so that doesn't happen.

My BIG peeve is that non-standard USB cable, c'mon Nikon, you know better than that!

Would be a 4 to 4.5 star rating if it weren't for that cable.

EDIT: After farther review...

I've been using this camera quite a bit now. The size is a HUGE positive--no pun intended. I can carry this camera everywhere I go. The lens door does protect the camera from dirt very well, but with this thing in my pocket all the time, I do occasionally have to hit it with a can of air.

There are two drawbacks between this and my DLSR (maybe an unfair comparison, but here it goes anyway), 1) The photos get noisy with high speed shots or dim situations. I don't mean a little noise, I'm talking VERY noisy. If you can avoid those situations with this camera, this won't be a problem. I often like to shoot without flash and this has been an issue for me. I think this is because the lens in this camera is pretty darn small and a dim situation has to be over compensated by the chip.

2) LAG! This camera takes photos about one second after you wish you would have taken the shot. I've missed a lot of shots because of this. It also takes it's sweet time getting ready for the shot. I'm so used to saying something to get people into a natural smile and snapping the photo. Many times with this camera I've done that and had a great opportunity for a natural shot... and the camera gives me the white reticule (as if I hadn't pushed the button) and then I release and hit it again and it's red, then it's green--all the while the person is now in permafrost smile. Finally I get green and take the shot and the natural shot is gone. I'll have to get used to the camera's lag and compensate.

Another positive, the camera takes great little movies. If you like shooting a bit of video, this thing does the job.

As a side note, the manual says it only takes up to a 2GB card. I bought an 8GB Kingston SDHC (I recommend SDHC compliant cards as does the manual) and it works just great. However, the battery will die long before you can fill this card. I think I'll be in the market for another battery very soon.

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