Nikon Coolpix S1

Reviewed July 2005

Ergonomics

Very thin, very smooth, and yet equipped with a 3X optical zoom and a 5.1 megapixel image size, the Nikon Coolpix S1 is yet another camera for the market place segment that attaches great value to the portability of their camera.

The top right of the camera has a raised area that contains the round Power button on the left with a green LED next to it, and the 2-stage shutter release on the right.

Further to the left, two rows of three elongated holes allow sound to come from the speaker, while next to it a single hole allows sound to be picked up by the camera's microphone.

Probably to keep the camera very compact, the Coolpix S1 has no optical viewfinder. Instead it offers a large, 2.5-inch, 110,000 pixel monitor. The monitor occupies most of the camera's back, leaving little space for the all the other external controls which are clustered on its right.

The upper right corner is recessed for the thumb, and contains the Zoom Control.

In addition to controlling the zoom, the buttons also serve when the Coolpix S1 is set to the Playback mode:

The next control is the MENU button which is used to display the menu appropriate to the camera's current mode. Nearby, another LED is used to indicate flash charging (flashing red), flash ready (solid red) and card activity (flashing green).

The 4-direction navigation control of the Coolpix S1 has a button at its centre labeled OK which serves to confirm menu choices. In addition, when the camera is connected to a computer's USB port, the button also serves to start the automatic transfer of images [].

Moreover, as with other recent Nikon cameras, when the camera is in playback mode and a photo is displayed on the monitor, the button calls up the D-Lighting function — represented by the icon — which processes the image so that its darker zones are brightened.

Two other buttons are positioned side-by-side below the 4-direction control:

	Starts the Playback mode. The button can also be used to start the camera directly in Playback mode if held for more than 2 seconds.
	Serves to Delete unwanted images, either one at a time, or more than one by selecting them using the index view, or delete sounds attached to an image.

The last external control of the Coolpix S1 is the Mode Selector which provides a position for each of the capture modes:

Auto is much like the Program mode of many cameras. It gives the user control over all the available settings while the camera handles the selection of aperture and shutter speed.

Portrait Assist: uses a wide aperture to soften background details and produces a better result if the zoom is used. The framing assistance for the Portrait mode is in the form of various outlines for one or two people that can be used to position subjects in the frame. Landscape Assist: forces the sensitivity to 50 ISO, and slightly sharpens outlines, colours and contrasts. Assistance is provided as guidelines to align distant landscapes, or architecture, or groups of people posing in front of a subject on either the right or left. Sports: captures images at a rate of 1.8 frames per second as long as the shutter release is held down. Using the largest image size and highest quality, the camera can capture approximately 30 frames before noticeably slowing down as it transfers images to the memory card. Sport Spectator: sets the focus from 4.5 m (14.7 ft) to infinity when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and from 6 m or 20 ft to infinity at the telephoto end. The continuous mode captures images at the same rate as mentioned above. Sport Composite: captures sixteen 400 x 300-pixel shots in about 2 seconds and stores them in a single 1600 x 1200-pixel frame. Night Portrait: is to capture portraits against dimly lit backgrounds or at night. The flash is set to red-eye reduction, and noise reduction is used. The frame assist functions are similar to those of the Portrait mode. Party/Indoor: is designed to capture background details when shooting indoors under artificial lighting or candlelight. The flash is preset to Auto with red-eye reduction. Beach/Snow: is for use with unusually bright subjects such as snow, beaches, or sunlit water. It enhances colours and sets the flash mode to Auto, but the other modes remain available. Sensitivity is forced to 50 ISO. Sunset: warms colours slightly to enhance sunset colours. The flash is forced to Off. Dusk/Dawn: preserves the way colours appear in weak natural light. The flash is forced to Off. The sensitivity is forced to 50 ISO. Night Landscape: uses a slow shutter speed (2 seconds), and auto ISO (up to 200 ISO) to capture night shots. Focus is set to infinity and noise reduction is used. Close-up: turns on the Macro mode, allowing the camera to focus on subjects as close as 4 cm (1.56 in.) from the lens when the zoom is at the wide-angle setting. Continuous auto focus is used. Museum: turns off the flash and uses the Best Shot Selector (BSS) to ensure the best possible image at low shutter speeds. Sensitivity varies between 50 and 100 ISO. Fireworks Show: uses a slow shutter speed while forcing the flash and setting the focus to infinity. Copy: captures the image in black and white so that text or printed materials are clear. The flash and macro mode remain useable. Back Light: forces the flash to fire to counteract the influence of backlighting. Panorama Assist: serves to capture a series of photos that can be assembled into a panorama. After the first photo, the camera overlays a semi-transparent part of the previous image so that the new image can be overlapped, to ensure clean seams in the final panoramic image. Exposure is determined at the first image. Underwater: for use with underwater images, and with the optional waterproof case (WP-CP5). In addition to the Scene selections, two other icons at the lower right of the screen indicate access to: Image Size and Compression (see the Characteristics section of the review). Voice Recording: allows the camera to be used as a digital voice recorder, with a maximum recording time of 5 hours, or the capacity of the memory card in use, whichever comes first.

The third position of the Mode Selector is to capture videos:

Four movie capture modes are offered: TV Movie 640: captures a 640 x 480 pixel movie at 15 frames per second, with sound. Small Movie 320: captures a 320 x 240 pixel movie at 15 frames per second, with sound. Smaller Movie 160: captures a 160 x 120 pixel movie at 15 frames per second, with sound. Time Lapse Movie: can be used to capture a 640 x 480 pixel frame size at a selected time interval (30 seconds, 1, 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes), which when played back can create an accelerated silent movie of something, such as a flower opening. The length of movie recording depends on the capacity of the memory card in use. Focus can be AF-S, which locks the focus at the first frame, or AF-C which adjusts the focus as the subjects move. However, AF-S is recommended to avoid the noise of the AF motor from being recorded. White balance and zoom position are set at the first frame, but the exposure is adjusted as the recording progresses. A 2X digital zoom can be enabled.

The major advantage of the S1's design is that it allows the camera to be slipped into a pocket, and be carried around effortlessly. Still, even with its extremely compact size, the Coolpix S1 has a generally good ergonomic design, and the external controls which are clustered close together because of the large LCD monitor, turn out to be surprisingly useable.

The large 5.1 megapixel image, plus the flexibility of 3X optical zoom, makes the Coolpix S1 yet another good example of the miniaturization advantage that digital photography technology has brought us.