Nikon Coolpix S510 Digital Camera Review

by Karen M. Cheung
Published on December 21, 2007

Related ArticlesReviews: Nikon Coolpix S700 · Olympus FE-300 · Fuji FinePix F50fd · Nikon Coolpix S500

Navigation
Intro	Testing/Performance
Components	Design / Layout
Modes	Control Options
Image Parameters	Connectivity / Extras
Overall Impressions	Conclusion
Sample Photos	Photo Gallery
Specs / Ratings

Model Design / Appearance (7.0)
The Nikon S510 is uniformly proportional and generally attractive. With a shiny, flat body, the Coolpix has an aesthetically pleasing layout. Overall, the Nikon Coolpix S510 is a looker.

Size / Portability (7.75)
Measuring 3.5 x 2.0 x 0.9 inches, the Nikon Coolpix S510 is small enough to fit into a pocket. The Nikon S510 blends elements from smaller, metal Nikon S-series cameras with the thickness of the Coolpix L-series cameras, but without the right hand grip. At 4.4 ounces without battery or memory card, the camera could easily be strapped to a user’s wrist for extended periods of shooting.

Handling Ability (6.25)
The Nikon Coolpix S510 doesn't handle well. While the 0.9-inch thickness adds some girth to hold onto, but it lacks a textured surface or right hand grip. There are small raised dots located where the thumb rests, but its small stature makes thumb support null. The rotary dial has raised lines that are actually fairly effective for navigation.

Lefties will have additional room to rest their thumbs next to the LCD screen and the front of the camera without covering the flash, avoiding a common problem with point-and-shoot designs. Overall, though, the camera sufficiently allows a user to shoot a few frames with comfort, but for extended shooting, users should consider a chunkier compact.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.75)
The control panel puts looks ahead of practicality. While the button design is aesthetically pleasing, it’s not intuitive. The buttons are extremely small, suited for dainty hands, and don’t utilized the extra space on the back of the camera. The buttons are located where they should be, but their itty bitty size hinders ease-of-use. The buttons are also not that deep, which means users will have a harder time pressing them. 

The one thing Nikon got right regarding the control panel is the rotary selector, carried over from the earlier Coolpix S500. In lieu of a four-way controller, the selector serves as both a menu navigator and four-way controller for Flash, Self-Timer, Focus, and EV compensation. The rotary dial is a successful integration into the Nikon system, but the rest of the mini buttons make it a bit too difficult to use.

Menu (7.5)
The Coolpix S510 carries over from the S500 a simple, easy-to-use menu system centered on the rotary multi-selector.

Instead of a traditional mode dial, Shooting mode access is moved inside the menu. Shooting mode, High ISO, Scene, Audio, Video, and Setup Tools are laid out in a circle,  highlighted in yellow when selected. Each tool opens another menu with gray backgrounds and black or white text. The fonts are easy to read and navigate. Users can  switch from a text-based layout to an icon-based layout, much like cell phone menus.

The Shooting menu has settings including pixel resolution, named Image mode, and White Balance with a live preview overlay. Most settings are spelled out with text and icons, except for “BSS,” which stands for Best Shot Selector.

Recording menu
Image mode	8 M High (3264*), 8 M Normal (3264), 5 M Normal (2592), 3 M Normal (2048), PC Screen (1024), TV Screen (640), 16:9
White Balance	Auto, Preset manual, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash
Continuous	Single, Continuous, BSS, Multi-shot 16, Intvl timer shooting
ISO sensitivity	Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 2000
Color Options	Standard color, Vivid color, Black-and-white, Sepia, Cyanotype
AF area mode	Face priority, Auto, Manual, Center

The Setup menu is standard:

Setup Menu
Format card	No, Format
Language	Czech, Danish, German, English, Spanish, Greek, French, Indonesian, Italian, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai
Video mode	NTSC, PAL
Reset all	No, Reset
Firmware	COOLPIX S510 Ver.1.1
Menus	Text, Icon
Welcome Screen	Disable welcome, Coolpix, Select an image
Date	Date, Time zone
Monitor settings	Photo info (Show info, Auto info, Hide info, Framing grid), Brightness
Date imprint	Off, Date, Date and time, Date counter
Vibration reduction	On, Response priority, Off
AF assist	Auto, Off
Digital zoom	On, Off
Sound settings	Button sound (On, Off), Shutter sound (On, Off)
Auto off	30s, 1m, 5m, 30m

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