ProductCritic: Nikon Coolpix S10 Reviews

DPexpert (91)

The S10 is a good camera with some compromises that look as though they have been forced on the designers by the marketing department who want to promise the customer a camera that does all the thinking, right down to recognising a face just in case you don’t know what one looks like!

Steve's Digicams (90)

While it seems that Nikon has not made many changes to this model when compared to the S4, (same resolution, lens, AF system, etc.), with its better image quality and performance the S10 is a much more capable camera.

Megapixel.net (88)

With its split body design allowing more flexibility and creativity than normal when framing shots, and a compact shape that offers a fully internal stabilized 10X zoom, the most surprising aspect of Coolpix S10 is that it has a very reasonable street price, making it excellent value for the money.

Imaging Resource (88)

Shooting with the Nikon Coolpix S10 was fun. The camera never got in the way, and often deftly avoided obstacles that would cause other camera designs to miss the shot.

PC Plus (86)

Despite its powerful zoom and sophisticated 6-megapixel sensor, this camera is aimed at the point-and-click crowd. Manual controls have been kept to the minimum, with Nikon instead providing a good range of pre-sets, including the self explanatory Face Priority mode. Nikon’s DLighting system rescues underexposed images or shots with too much back-light, too.

Digital Camera Resource Page (85)

If you want a fairly compact ultra zoom camera that can take some creative shots, then the Coolpix S10 is probably worth a look. If you want manual controls and lens accessories then it’s probably not the best choice. While I’m not jumping up and down with enthusiasm about the S10, it’s cool enough (pun intended) to earn my recommendation.

Cameras.co.uk (84)

I was very pleased with the Nikon Coolpix S10. Picture quality was impressive and the camera is easy to use compared to other super zoom digital cameras. It is also smaller and more compact than other similar models. Recommended.

Consumer Guide (80)

Overall, the Coolpix S10 is a nice model that has some cool features. Shooting with the rotating lens will take some practice, but if you’re someone who likes shooting self-portraits and other odd-angle shots, the Coolpix S10 will deliver. The starting price for this model is a little high, but it carries enough above-average features to make it a very good choice.

Digital Camera Review (80)

If it had been introduced two years ago it would have absolutely skunked the competition – today it may not be the best choice for smart digicam buyers. Potential purchasers might want to wait and check out the soon to be released Canon Powershot TX1. The TX1 may look quite different from the S10, but it is in fact a very comparable camera.

Pocket-lint (80)

In my First Look on this model, I wrote: “The Nikon Coolpix S10 follows in the footsteps of some very good and award-winning predecessors (the Coolpix 900 and 950 come immediately to mind) that give a tough act to follow”. And on the showing here, the S10 has not done as well as I’d have expected, which is a shame.

Digital Photography Review (71)

But the faltering telephoto focus, awkward ergonomics and the cumulative effect of all the minor image quality issues and other annoyances make it a difficult camera to recommend over a compact ‘super zoom’ like the Canon S3 IS or Panasonic DMC-FZ7 (the new Panasonic TZ2 looks promising too).

CNET (70)

Nikon’s S10 has some decent features, including a really nice lens, but it doesn’t live up to its potential and can’t compete with similarly priced superzooms.

PhotographyBLOG (60)

I’m usually the first to applaud any camera manufacturer who dares to come out with something different in the face of identikit parades of compacts – and that design is love it or hate it – so I tried hard to find positives that outweighed the negative. But the Nikon Coolpix S10 ultimately proves that you shouldn’t revisit past glories unless you can do it better.

vnunet.com (60)

This twist-and-turn retro beast has a certain charm, but although the S10 certainly stands out, the images it takes are below par given the outlay and Nikon’s usually sterling reputation. To sum up: a brave throwback, but not altogether successful.

ePHOTOzine (60)

The selling points of this camera are the flexibility of the design and the powerful zoom. Neither of these will let prospective purchasers down, but anyone looking for a more general camera will be disappointed by the image quality overall and the problematic flash.

Tech Reviews (60)

The Nikon CoolPix S10 clearly falls into the point-and-shoot category as it offers little for skilled photographers to get their teeth into. If you’re not concerned with tweaking all your settings manually then there are at least a wide range of well organised scene modes to help you along, but the long focus times may prevent you from getting some of the most natural poses you’re trying to snap.

TrustedReviews (50)

The Nikon Coolpix S10 is a well-made and attractively finished camera with some useful capabilities, excellent noise handling and is capable of producing good results under the right circumstances. However, lacklustre performance, terminally slow AF, poor low-light capability and awkward handling limits its appeal. It is also expensive compared to rival cameras with superior performance, so the overall outlook is bleak.