Nikon Coolpix S510 Digital Camera Review

Nikon Coolpix S510

Digital Camera Review

1.9 The Nikon Coolpix S510 competes with many similar digital cameras currently on the market. It has standard features, including 8.1 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens, but, according to Nikon, is faster and produces less noise than competing cameras. Introduced in August 2007, the Nikon camera has face detection and optical vibration reduction image stabilization. The S510 has a $279.95 MSRP.
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Nikon Coolpix S510

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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