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.
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
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
Ease of Use
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
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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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
