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Nikon Coolpix S7C

First Impressions Review

This review is organized into 10 pages

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September 28, 2006 By Emily Raymond

The Nikon Coolpix S7c was announced August 24 and released this month before being shown off at Photokina in Germany. The new digital camera succeeds the popular ultra-slim S6 model and comes with updated wireless technology. This time, the camera stores up to 30 email addresses so users can send pictures directly from the camera. The 7.1-megapixel digital camera has the same wave design as its previous S-siblings and comes with a 3x optical zoom lens with vibration reduction. The Nikon Coolpix S7c retails for $349.

Performance Expectations

We couldn’t get the S7c into our testing studio from its tethered platform at the Nikon booth at Photokina. However, after shooting some pictures around the booth we’ve got an idea of how this camera will perform. In the setup menu, there is a Quick Start option that allows users to bypass the opening picture or animation to cut straight to the chase and get the first shot. The Nikon Coolpix S7c took about 1.5 seconds to do so in its quickened state. The biggest holdup for the camera was the shutter lag more than the actual startup. The auto focus system took a few seconds to get its act together. There is a burst mode on the camera, but it certainly isn’t very impressive. It shoots 1.4 fps and it doesn’t snap pictures evenly either; that is just an average figure. Some pictures in the burst are closer together and some seem to stutter and take longer. The camera took 10 pictures at this rate, then snapped another two pictures fairly slowly before stopping for about 7 seconds to write to the memory.

Looking at recorded images in the playback mode, which is obviously of limited use, the colors looked a bit dull even though they were shot in the standard color mode. I magnified some pictures taken at different ISO sensitivities too and found that pictures taken with ISO 400, 800, and 1600 settings were speckled with noise and lost detail in things like textured material and hair. The Coolpix S7c has 7.41 total and 7.1 effective megapixels on a 1/2.5-inch CCD. The camera operates an electronic vibration reduction system as well. My first impression of the S7c isn’t very good. Its startup is decent, its burst is below average, and its noise is questionable. Nevertheless, this is not a studio setting and much remains to be discussed. Read on.

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