Nikon Coolpix S70 Review

Ultra Compact

Picture
Nikon Coolpix S70 Ease of Use 8
Features 8
Movie Mode 8
Build Quality8
Colours 8
Photo Quality 7
Style 8
Lowlight 8
Macro 8
Value for Money 8
12 Megapixels
5x Zoom
3.5 inch LCD Screen
60.5 x 96.5 x 20mm
140g

Overview

The Nikon Coolpix S70 is a touch controlled digital camera. Apart from turning the Coolpix S70 on and off every control can be set through the touch screen, even zoom and taking a photo. The screen is 3.5 inches in size and I found it easy to see and use.

Other features include 12 megapixels and a 5x wide angle lens, image stabilisation and High Definition Movies. Other more fun based features include a setting to make the camera automatically take a picture if it detects someone is smiling, skin softening for portraits and the ability to add hand written notes to photos.

It is also worth pointing out that the Coolpix S70 can be set up to charge by connecting it to a computer instead of through a wall socket.

Why Buy The Nikon Coolpix S70

The big attraction is the touch screen.

Main Features

Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:

12
5x
3.5 inches
60.5 x 96.5 x 20mm
140g

Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:

3cm
Yes
No
Lithium-ion Rechargeable
SD/SDHC

Image Quality - See Sample Images Below

Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light

With my first test photo we get off to a bit of an indifferent start. Although I like the colours the sharpness of the photo drifts as you move out towards the edge of the shot.

This is an average effort. There is a fair amount of slippage in terms of sharpness as you move out towards the edges of the shot. I can also see darkness creeping into the corners of the shot.

On the whole this is a better effort than with the lens zoomed out. Even so there is still a fall off in sharpness as you move out away from the centre of the photo.

All four of my outdoor scenic shots suffer from a loss of sharpness as you move out towards the edges of the shot. I have checked back to my review of the previous camera in this part of the series the Nikon Coolpix S60 and I was much happier with the results I achieved with that camera. The difference between the two cameras is that Nikon has used a wide angle lens with the Coolpix S70. As I have noticed with other cameras with a wide angle lens this has lead to a fall in the sharpness of photos.

Portraits

My outdoor portrait test shot works well. I like the colours, brightness and sharpness.

Looking at this picture the light from the flash is quite strong. The downside of this is it washes out some of the colour leaving a pale photo. The upside of this is that the photo has plenty of brightness.

This is a good effort by the Coolpix S70 compared to other cameras I tested at the same time, in the same lighting conditions. If you are indoors it is likely that flash will be required unless you have access to good quality window light.

Macro and Colours

As with other Nikon digital cameras the Coolpix is capable of producing surprisingly good macro shots for a small pocket camera.

The colours produced by the Coolpix S70 have quite a light touch. They are not as deep and vivid as some cameras produce. This is not necessarily a good or bad point. It all depends on how strong you like the colours to be in your photographs.

Summary

My test shots are a bit of a mixed bag. Snapshot sized shots should be fine, but if you increase print sizes you are likely to start to see a loss of crispness about your photos.

See sample images link arrow

Style

This is a slimline pocket camera. The lens cover slides down to turn the camera on. A section on the front of the camera has what feels like a rubber section. This helps to give the Coolpix S70 a different look and feel. There are four colour versions available. These are red, champagne and beige, black, or champagne and light brown.

Shutter Lag Times

Shutter Lag Rating Par

Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time

0.35 seconds
31.08 seconds
0.51 seconds
32.19 seconds
2.49 seconds


Shutter Lag Table link arrow

Ease of Use

Ease of Use - Par On the whole the touch control screen works well. The way Nikon has designed the interface it is very easy to select a feature and change the setting. Selections are icon based rather than text based, so you will need to be comfortable with using icons.

Points I Like

Ease of use - touch control screen

Where it Could Improve

Zoom controlled by touch - loss of sharpness with more distant scenes

Verdict

The Nikon Coolpix S70 is likely to appeal to the gadget conscious with its touch screen control. In the main picture quality is good enough for snapshot quality, but I did find a tendency for sharpness to fall away when shooting subjects from distance.

Product Shots

Front View

Front View

Back View

Back View

Top View

Top View

Sample Menus

 menu home

setup megapixels

Top Rated Cameras in this Category

Canon IXUS 310 HS Rating 86/100

The Canon IXUS 310 HS is one of the best touch controlled digital cameras. It has 12 megapixels and a 4.4x wide angle lens. The screen is very responsive to touch. This is due partly to the larger screen size than many touch controlled digital cameras offer. Picture quality is excellent and the build quality is top quality. If you are looking for a touch controlled digital camera the IXUS 310 HS is worth a very close look.

Read Review: Canon IXUS 310 HS Review

Canon IXUS 220 HS Rating 86/100

The Canon IXUS 220 HS is a pocket sized digital camera. It looks good, is well made and can take an impressive snapshot in most situations. It may not have every in vogue feature, but it has an extra touch of all round quality about it

Read Review: Canon IXUS 220 HS Review

Canon IXUS 115 HS Rating 86/100

The Canon IXUS 115 HS is a classy looking, pocket digital camera. It can shoot Full HD movies and has a high quality 3 inch LCD screen. When it comes to picture quality the IXUS 115 HS outclasses many of its direct competitors.

Read Review: Canon IXUS 115 HS Review

Related Pages

Nikon Coolpix S70 Review Nikon Coolpix S70 Specification Nikon Coolpix S70 Sample Images Nikon Coolpix S70 Features Nikon Coolpix S70 vs Sony Cybershot DSC TX1

Review Date

December 2009

Best Deals



Photography Courses

UK WIDE COURSES
learn how to use your DSLR
1 Day Digital Photography Intro
2 Day Digital Photography Intro
London Photography Tour
Portrait and Studio - 1 Day
Half Day DSLR Camera Training
Landscape Photography - 1 Day
Photo Holidays & Weekends
One-to-One Training
Photography Tutorials

Red Cloud Website

Search By Price

Digital Cameras Under £50
Digital Cameras £50 - £100
Digital Cameras £100 - £150
Digital Cameras £150 - £200
Digital Cameras £200 - £300
Digital Cameras £300 - £500
Digital Cameras £500 - £1000
Digital Cameras Over £1000

Search By Camera Type

Simple and Easy Digital Cameras
Pocket Sized Digital Cameras
Extra Zoom Digital Cameras
Super Zoom Digital Cameras
Advanced Digital Cameras
Waterproof Digital Cameras
Compact System Cameras
Digital SLRs

Search By Camera Brand

Canon Digital Cameras
Casio Digital Cameras
Fuji Digital Cameras
Kodak Digital Cameras
Nikon Digital Cameras
Olympus Digital Cameras
Panasonic Digital Cameras
Pentax Digital Cameras
Samsung Digital Cameras
Sony Digital Cameras

Camera Reviews

Simple and Easy
Canon Powershot A1200
Canon Powershot A3200 IS
Canon Powershot A3300 IS
Canon Powershot A495
Canon Powershot A800
Fuji Finepix AV200
Fuji Finepix AV250
Fuji Finepix JV200
Fuji Finepix Z70
Kodak Easyshare C143
Nikon Coolpix L23
Panasonic DMC FS16
Panasonic DMC FS18
Panasonic DMC S3
Sony DSC W510
Sony DSC W520
Sony DSC W530

Pocket Compacts
Canon IXUS 115 HS
Canon IXUS 130
Canon IXUS 220 HS
Canon IXUS 300 HS
Canon IXUS 310 HS
Fuji Finepix Z300
Fuji Finepix Z700EXR
Nikon Coolpix S3000
Nikon Coolpix S3100
Nikon Coolpix S80
Panasonic DMC FP3
Panasonic DMC FS10
Panasonic DMC FS11
Panasonic DMC FX70
Panasonic DMC FX700
Sony DSC J10
Sony DSC T110
Sony DSC T99
Sony DSC TX1
Sony DSC TX7
Sony DSC W310
Sony DSC W350
Sony DSC W380
Sony DSC W570
Sony DSC WX5

Extra Zoom
Canon IXUS 1000 HS
Canon Powershot SX130 IS
Canon Powershot SX210 IS
Canon Powershot SX220 HS
Casio Exilim EX-H5
Fuji Finepix F300EXR
Fuji Finepix F550EXR
Fuji Finepix F80EXR
Panasonic DMC FS33
Panasonic DMC FS35
Panasonic DMC TZ10
Panasonic DMC TZ20
Panasonic DMC TZ8
Panasonic DMC ZX3
Sony DSC H55
Sony DSC H70
Sony DSC HX5

Super Zooms
Canon Powershot SX30 IS
Fuji Finepix HS10
Fuji Finepix HS20EXR
Fuji Finepix S2500HD
Kodak Easyshare Z981
Olympus SP-800UZ
Olympus VR-310
Panasonic DMC FZ100
Panasonic DMC FZ45
Pentax X90
Sony DSC HX1

Advanced
Canon Powershot G12
Canon Powershot S95
Nikon Coolpix P300
Nikon Coolpix P7000
Panasonic DMC LX5
Samsung EX1

Stylish Compact
Panasonic DMC FS30
Pentax Optio i-10

Waterproof / Tough
Canon Powershot D10
Fuji Finepix XP10
Olympus Tough TG-310
Olympus Tough TG-610
Panasonic DMC FT10
Pentax Optio W90
Sony DSC TX10

Compact System Cameras
Sony Nex-3
Sony Nex-5

Digital SLRs
Nikon D3000

Buyers Guides

Digital Cameras
Memory Cards
Digital SLRs
Major Features
Shutter Times
Batteries
Where to Buy
Digital Cameras Under £100

More Guides

Local Guides

All Local Guides
England
English Counties
London Locations
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

News Feeds

XML RSS My MSN My Yahoo