Nikon Coolpix S10 Digital Camera First Thoughts

The very first Coolpix (the CP 900) was an innovative split bodied digicam that permitted the zoom to rotate up and down independently of the camera’s LCD screen. The new Coolpix S10 is the latest version of Nikon’s iconic swivel-zoom camera design.  The S10 is a metal bodied 6 megapixel digital camera with a 10X (38mm -380mm in 35mm equivalence) stabilized zoom, a hi-res (230,000 pixel) 2.5 inch LCD screen, 15 Scene Modes, Face Priority AF, a top sensitivity of ISO 800, and In-Camera red-eye fix.

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The stylish and compact little S10 is aimed squarely at casual shooters, family photographers, space conscious travelers, and gadget lovers.

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The auto-exposure only S10 is user friendly, but a bit too menu driven for intuitive use.  The image stabilization system (which Nikon calls Vibration Reduction) works nicely, but AF is a bit slow in VR mode.  The S10’s namesake 10X zoom produces images that are dependably well exposed with hue accurate and slightly over-saturated colors, but the internal focus lens design results in images that are consistently soft in the corners.

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Want to read more about the Nikon Coolpix S10?  Check back in a couple of days for our full review.