Model Design / Appearance
As mentioned previously, the design of these two new models is about as good as the slim, rectangular style is going to get. Kudos to the Nikon engineers who were able to squeeze that nice 3x zoom lens into such a thin body. Not only is it a plus image-wise, it gives these models their pleasing wave-like flow, with the thinner right side of the camera serving as a decent hand grip. (You don’t know how many times a flat, slim rectangular style camera will slip out of our hands.) Additionally, someone had the wherewithal to include the wedged-shaped thumb rest on the back of the camera. A small addition, but a nice touch nonetheless for both ergonomics and aesthetics.
Points also go to the designer who decided to do away with right angles on these models. Having all the metal plates on the camera slightly curved further enhances the overall flow of the design. The slightly thicker left side of the S6 for the WiFi antenna is barely noticeable.
The choice of metals in the construction is also good. The exterior combines a range of metals and textures to give it some pizzazz. Included in the exterior, according to Nikon, is glossy aluminum on the main body with elements of acrylic, stainless steel, silicone paneling and chrome.
Size / Portability
The S5/S6 is small but not nearly the smallest or lightest of the slim stylish cameras on the market. Dimensions are approximately 3.7 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches (w x h x d) on the S5 and 3.9 x 2.4 x 0.8 on the S6, which has the WiFi antenna.
The beauty of slim cameras is, of course, that they fit perfectly in the pocket. Nikon loaned us an S6 for a couple of hours during PMA and after placing it in my pocket to walk back to the press room, I almost forgot it was there. It probably wouldn’t feel so comfortable in a tight pair of jeans, but that’s asking a lot. The weight of the camera is slightly above average for slim models at 4.8 ounces for the S5 without a battery and 4.9 ounces for the S6 without a battery. Some might argue differently, but the extra weight in the S5 and S6 gives it better balance than some of their flimsy rivals.
Handling Ability
We’ve never really liked holding these slim models, mostly because we could never figure out the best place to put our fingers. With so little surface area we’ve even accidentally gotten our fingers in the shot. The S5 and S6 have partially solved that problem through the wave-like design and the wedge thumb grip. We’ve still not gotten totally used to this design, but these new models from Nikon are a definite improvement.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
Like the Coolpix P3/P4, which we looked at in another PMA First Impression review, button layout is kept simple on the S5 and S6. Where we griped about it on the P3/P4 as being too simple for such a high performance model, the basic layout of controls on the S5 and S6 seems to fit the target audience of young, trendy party kids who don’t necessarily want a lot of manual control.
The new Rotary Multi Selector is a smart addition. It helps you blaze through a ton of images in playback mode very quickly. The multi-selector is also great for wheeling through menus or just spinning around absently for a good fidgeting toy. But we’ve seen the iPod dial, we’ve played with the iPod dial and this is no iPod dial, though the comparison has been made.
The zoom switch, obviously placed inconspicuously for style reasons, could be an unfortunate choice. Having to squeeze your fingers into the little hole to adjust the zoom seems to cause the camera to shake slightly, which can increase blur. We’ll look at this design issue more in-depth in a follow-up full review.
Menus
A new GUI on the S5 and S6 makes moving around menus on these new cameras easier than before. Unfortunately though, because so many features are packed into a camera with so few buttons, you’ll be spending a lot of time using the menus on the S5/S6 if you want to change anything. For instance, through trial and error we realized that accessing some of the scene modes requires pressing the menu button twice. In the playback menu, a circular icon with symbols for different settings does improve things but it’s still too easy to get lost in the menus.
The new GUI though is pleasing to look at, with black and gray selections highlighted in yellow as you scroll through using the jog dial. An onscreen icon with a cursor tracks where you are when scrolling through with the dial. Fonts on the menus are clear to read though sometimes it’s difficult to discern what all the icons mean. Fortunately, functions can be selected either by name or icon, depending on the user’s preference.
Ease of Use
Aside from the slight difficulty of navigating through various sets of menus, the jog dial and the new GUI make the camera relatively easy to use. Some choices, such as having to press the menu or mode button twice in certain instances are not intuitive, but that’s the price you pay by eliminating exterior buttons. Having the zoom on an indented switch also seems to be a choice of form over function. Small buttons on the camera are also hard for man-sized fingers – like ours – to use. It’s nice to have them small, but do they really need to be that small?
