Nikon Coolpix S700

Auto Mode (6.0)
There is no true Auto mode on this digital camera. There is a set of Scene modes that truncate menus and are mostly automated. The other mode is more of a Program mode because it allows control over white balance, ISO, exposure compensation, and other parameters and remembers those settings.

Movie Mode (6.75)
The Nikon Coolpix S700 isn’t a camcorder. It isn’t a hybrid digital camera either. It has a Movie mode but it isn’t very impressive. It records videos at 640 x 480 and 320 x 240-pixel resolution. The top resolution only shoots 30 fps, while the QVGA has 30 and 15 fps choices. There is also a 160 x 120-pixel movie mode that records choppy footage.

There are two interesting options in the Movie mode: time-lapse and stop-motion movies. The time-lapse movies allow users to snap a still image every 30 seconds or 1, 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes and then string them together to make a movie. The stop-motion mode allows users to snap still images at their own pace and even provides a translucent overlay so the clay or whatever subject can be perfectly adjusted. This is a cool feature and very fun to play with.

There aren’t many other options in the Movie mode menu. The autofocus can be changed from single to full-time and the electronic vibration reduction can be turned on and off. The image stabilization is disabled as is the camera’s 3x optical zoom lens. 2x digital zoom is available – just enough to make subjects a little fuzzy.

The S700 has an odd quirk in its Movie mode: it takes a moment for the video to begin, and the audio ends about a half-second before the video ends. That is annoying. There are also a few performance issues, like its inability to shoot decent video in low light, outlined in the Testing/Performance section.

Movies can be reviewed in the Playback mode but they cannot be edited and even the volume cannot be adjusted. Once again, the Nikon S700’s Movie mode isn’t anything special.

Drive / Burst Mode (6.5)
The Nikon Coolpix S700’s Burst mode is tucked into the Recording menu. It has a decent amount of options: single, continuous, BSS (best shot selector), multi-shot 16, and interval timer shooting. The single drive is the default, of course. It takes about 3 seconds in between shots. The continuous drive is the real Burst mode: it can take three pictures in 3.9 seconds. This isn’t that fast – especially when compared to similar digital cameras that can snap 2 fps – but is speedier than most functions on the S700. The BSS mode takes 10 pictures but saves only one; the camera automatically selects the sharpest image. The Multi-shot mode takes a small picture every second and stitches the 16 shots into a 5-megapixel quilt. The interval timer takes a picture every 30 seconds or every 1, 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes.

The self-timer shoots out an orange beam to indicate the 3 or 10-second delay before snapping a picture. This function can be set by pushing the left side of the multi-selector.

Playback Mode (7.5)
The Playback mode is accessed by pressing the button to the upper right of the rotary dial. Once in, there are several playback options that appear on a virtual dial when the mode button is pushed. From here, pictures can be viewed on a calendar or listed by date. The Setup menu is accessible and audio can be played back from a position on the virtual dial.

In the standard Playback mode, individual pictures can be viewed and magnified up to 10x. Voice memos up to 20 seconds can be added if the OK button is held down consistently. These cannot be rerecorded or erased on the camera, so users have one shot to get it right.

Many of the Nikon S700’s playback options are presented in the menu.



The D-Lighting option is an automatic fix for underexposed images. It works well in brightening darkened images, but can’t do anything for blown out, overexposed pictures. In the menu, there is a before-and-after-type preview that is handy and shows just how effective this feature is.

Pictures can be deleted one at a time with the designated button on the camera body, or they can be deleted all at once or in batches through the deletion feature in the Playback menu. This streamlines the process.

The 2.7-inch LCD screen has wide views and great resolution so it is good for gathering groups of friends around and viewing slide shows and videos. Movies can be played back but the volume cannot be adjusted and the clips cannot be edited.

Overall, the Playback mode has basic options, which can be viewed on a very nice LCD monitor.

Custom Image Presets (8.0)
The Nikon Coolpix S700 has 16 scene modes, 15 of which are located in the preset menu. The other mode, Hi ISO, is located directly on the virtual mode dial. The Hi ISO mode is designed for indoor or other shooting in darkened places. It allows users to turn off the flash and still capture subjects. Noise may get involved though; the noise jumps when the ISO is above 400. The ISO is automatically set by the camera to a maximum of 1600.

The camera’s other 15 modes include Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close-up, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, Backlight, and Panorama Assist. There isn’t a recording menu for these modes; the only option that can be changed in a menu is the image size. The options on the multi-selector are available in almost every mode, so exposure compensation is still on tap.

The Panorama Assist mode does not make panoramas in the camera. It merely provides a semi-translucent overlay of the previously taken image on one edge so users can accurately line up the next shot.

The Scene mode selection is good. It doesn’t have anything too bizarre but provides more than just the basics. The help guide (telephoto end of the zoom control) is also handy in choosing a Scene mode from the menu.