Nikon Coolpix S2

Value (4.5)
The Nikon Coolpix S2 goes for a retail price of $449.95, which is a bit much for a compact digital camera that sports only automatic options and takes blurry photographs. The S2 does offer some nice features such as a 2.5-inch LCD screen, a stylish all-weather body, and 5 megapixels, but the picture quality – which is the most important – just isn’t there. There are much cheaper digital cameras that offer portable bodies and large LCD screens that have decent or great image quality.

Comparisons
Nikon Coolpix S1 – The Coolpix S1 is very similar with 5 megapixels and the same 3x optical zoom lens. The body is still sleek and skinny – it is just a hair thinner and a touch lighter - but there is no sliding door on the front to protect the lens and flash. This camera sports a 2.5-inch LCD screen and 12MB of internal memory. These models share the same automatic modes and guts; their only differences are the design and price. The Nikon S1 retails for $379.95. That’s one expensive lens cover on the S2.

Fujifilm FinePix Z1 – This digital camera will be a contender in the pocket-size camera market. This 5 megapixel model is only 0.7 inches thick and quite light at 5.3 ounces fully loaded. The Z1 is built with a monocoque design, meaning that it is formed from a single sheet of metal. This makes the FinePix very sturdy, although not necessarily splash-proof like the S2. The Z1 has a similar sliding lens door that covers the 3x optical zoom lens, which does not extend from the camera body. The Z1 proved to be a fair-weather camera in our testing, as it didn’t do well in low light at all. This Fuji retails for a pricey $450.


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 – The T5 almost doesn’t look like a digital camera. This Sony model has a sleek body that looks almost like a cigarette box with a similar sliding lens door. The 5 megapixel Cyber-shot T5 has a similar feature set with a 3x optical zoom lens, 32MB of internal memory, and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. Always thinking of style, Sony offers this model in several colors, all at a cheaper retail price of $350. These cameras have similar controls too; everything is automated except the ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation selection.

Canon PowerShot A95 – This compact digital camera is one of the most popular models ever put on the market. It has 5 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens like the Nikon S2, but it has a smaller 1.8-inch LCD screen (although it does rotate) and a thicker camera body. For a cheaper retail price of $399, photographers can have 13 scene modes plus even more manual control.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters – Nikon definitely markets the S2 to point-and-shooters who want a stylish digital camera. It is slim and sturdy enough to put in a pocket and includes still and movie modes for on-the-fly shooting.

Budget Consumers – This pocket-sized digital camera is a bit on the pricey end of things at $449.95. Budget consumers may want to look elsewhere for the same features in a more economical body.

Gadget Freaks – Some gadget freaks may get a big kick out of the COOLSTATION and a few interesting features like the time lapse video mode and the time zone date mode, but the lack of control could be too confining for some gadget freaks.

Manual Control Freaks – The Nikon Coolpix S2 is not for you. There is no manual mode and not many manual control options other than white balance.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists – The lack of manual control combined with the S2’s inability to produce high quality photographs will probably prevent any pros or serious hobbyists from ever considering this as even a toy for their child.