The Nikon Coolpix S10 offers something a bit different to many digital cameras on the market. It is a super zoom camera with a 10x zoom lens. The difference between this and other models is that it is much more compact than most super zoom models. The Coolpix S10 also has a lens that you can twist through 270 degrees. This can help you out when you find yourself in an awkward shooting position. Image stabilisation is available too.

Unlike most other super zoom models in terms of features this is a point and shoot digital camera without any really tricky features to confuse you. This makes it a good choice for someone who may be interested in sports or wildlife photography, but would still like the ease of use that a more straightforward digital camera offers. It has six megapixels.

There are two points that strike me about the images produced by the Coolpix S10. The first is the levels of sharpness. The second are the depth of the colours. In both areas the camera excels.

Walking through the outdoor scenic test photos I really like the overall impression each photo gives. They look just like each scene did when the photo was taken. In the first shot the brickwork on the building stands out well. Glare is handled well with no problem with level of detail on the boats. Darker areas are fine as well.

The second photo also shows a high level of sharpness. The only complaint I have is that there are very small darker areas appearing in the corners of the shot.

My next test is for how the camera works with the zoom lens fully extended. Apart from a small amount of purple fringing the photo is an outstanding effort. Focusing is really sharp and the lighting levels in the shot are spot on. The Coolpix S10 sets a high standard in this area.

One photograph that gave me a bit of a surprise was the outdoor portrait. This has come out quite pink. I am not sure why the Coolpix S10 produces such a pink shot and although I like a good level of colour in a portrait this is too strong for me.

Aside from the overpowering pink in the outdoor portrait I think the Coolpix S10 gets its colours more or less spot on. There is a strength to the colours that helps to bring the photos to life. This helps to give plenty of vitality to blue skies. This will be an important factor with just about any outdoor scenic type photo.

Both of my indoor tests in poorer light produce impressive results. The first one is the indoor portrait. The shot is pleasingly bright and well focused considering the available lighting. In fact the camera manages to bring out a surprising level of detail. There is no evidence of red eye in the shot either.

Even when lighting is turned to an absolute minimum the Coolpix S10 copes admirably in my beer bottle test. Again the shot is in sharp focus when you consider the lighting levels and the photo is also bright.

The macro shot is top drawer. The levels of sharpness, brightness and clarity put it someway ahead of the quality I am used to seeing.

As with many other digital cameras once you start to increase the ISO setting the quality starts to fall away. At ISO 400 the picture quality is acceptable, although I would suggest only using this setting in lowlight when you are out of range of the flash unit. At ISO 800 there is a clear drop in quality.

Shutter lag times are about standard. I took a single photo in 0.41 seconds and five in 8.82 seconds. With the flash turned on the times increase to 0.56 for a single shot and 10.17 seconds for five photos.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The 10x zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 - 380mm in 35mm format. The maximum aperture of the lens is f3.5. 4x digital zoom is also available. For close up work the Coolpix S10 can focus from 4cm away from the subject.

Composing photos is carried out through the 2.5 inch LCD screen. This is made up of around 230,000 pixels.

There are a number of pre programmed scene modes available, This allow the camera to recognise the type of photo you are about to take. It then adjusts the settings accordingly. The scene modes available are: Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait , Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close Up, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy Back Light and Panorama Assist.

The range of the built in flash unit is 5.4m. The flash modes are Auto, Auto with Red-Eye Reduction (In-Camera Red-Eye Fix), Anytime Flash, Flash Cancel, and Slow sync.

Other useful features include being able to use the camera as a voice recorder, a self timer (two or ten second delay), colour options (vivid, black and white, sepia and cyanotype), white balance (preset, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy and flash), exposure compensation (+/-2 in 0.3 steps), ISO (50, 100, 200, 400 and 800), a best shot selector and continuous shooting. There is also a special face detection mode for portraits.

All the necessary cables and software are provided to connect the camera to a printer, television set and a computer.

You can shoot movies at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The top recording speed is 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded, but zoom can only be applied before you start recording. Movies are only limited in time by the capacity of the memory card.

As I mentioned above that when it comes to features this is a relatively straightforward digital camera. The controls for zoom, macro, self timer and flash are a bit small and fiddly, especially for someone with larger hands. The menu system is easy to use though and it should not take long to master the Coolpix S10.

You can pick up the Nikon Coolpix S10 for around £200. This compares to the Fuji Finepix S650fd (£195), Kodak Easyshare Z612 (£155) and the Panasonic DMC TZ2 (£225).

I guess this camera has a style of its own with the twisting lens. The camera tapers away from the lens unit. This helps to give it a unique design. Although smaller than a typical super zoom camera it is still too large to slip into a pocket unnoticed. It has dimensions of 112.5 x 74.5 x 40.5mm and weighs 220g.

The Coolpix S10 uses a lithium ion battery (EN-EL5). Both a battery and charger are supplied with the camera as standard. Nikon estimates you should be able to take in the region of 300 shots in between charges.

16mb of storage have been built into the camera. I was able to taken 16 shots before the memory was full. When you need to buy a memory card the camera is compatible with SD cards.

Click here to save money on Memory Stick Duo.

Sharpness
Indoors
Colours
Macro shot

Small controls

If you are looking for a straightforward digital camera that will give you plenty of zoom then I would recommend the Nikon Coolpix S10. I found great levels of sharpness and strong colours too. The twisting lens design gives the camera something different too.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus

Description:	6 megapixels and a 10x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	8
Colour:	9
Macro:	9
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	8
Image Quality:	9
Build Quality:	8
Total:	84
Verdict:	I was very pleased with the Nikon Coolpix S10. Picture quality was impressive and the camera is easy to use compared to other super zoom digital cameras. It is also smaller and more compact than other similar models. Recommended.
Review Date:	April 2007
Click for:	Sample Images

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FZ28	86
Canon Powershot SX110 IS	85
Canon Powershot SX10 IS	85
Olympus SP-570 UZ	84
Panasonic DMC TZ5	83
Panasonic DMC TZ4	83
Fuji Finepix S8000fd	82
Sony DSC H50	82

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Nikon Coolpix S10