The Nikon Coolpix S550 Digital Camera comes with a 10.0 Megapixel sensor, electronic VR, 16 different scene modes, a 5x Zoom-Nikkor lens, and smile mode.
I recently got to try 3 cameras in the same price range - $250-$300 - A Nikon, a Canon and a Sony. I'll have a review of all three soon as well as a comparison.
The Nikon CoolPix S550 retails for about $250. It's the new line of Nikon slim Point and shoot cameras. It offers:
- a 10 megapixel sensor
- Nikon EXPEED image processor
- a 2.5" LCD
- a Zoom-Nikkor 5x optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent of 36mm - 180mm
- high ISO2000
- electronic VR (vibration reduction) image stabilization - not optical
- Comes in Purple, Black and Blue
- Smile Mode and Blink Warning
In the box it comes with:
- The camera
- A corded charger
- Manual and software
- Battery - EN-EL11
- USB/AV Cable
- 2 year Canadian Warranty
- Wrist Strap
The Camera
The camera itself is very small. A bit wide - but very short, and also light weight. The screen is a respectable 2.5". And it comes in a metallic Black, Blue and Purple. The buttons are easy to press, the zoom button's are different than what I'm used to (Canon). The lens, being 5x optical, comes out quite a fair bit. There's a bit of a problem with the battery/memory door. It's very hard to get it perfectly closed on the first try. Just something about the hinge that makes it close crookedly. The USB/AV cable that comes with the camera is one piece. I find this slightly annoying because I wouldn't connect my camera to my TV. I'd rather have these cables separated. Another odd thing is that the tripod mount is on the left side of the camera - not centered. It ruins the balance when on a tripod.
Functionality
The CoolPix S550 has a bunch of new features:
Smile Mode
This mode automatically takes a picture when the people in the viewfinder are smiling. This thing is really very basic and can get tricked. First of all, all the heads have to be completely vertical, or at least horizontal. If it's angled then it will not recognize the person's face. Second, when two or more people are in the picture it often got confused as to when to take a picture. I tested this out on my parents and told them to smile together or frown or whatever, and sometimes it wouldn't take a picture when they both smiled, and sometimes it would take a picture when only one smiled. I hope to see this feature improve in the future.
electronic Vibration Reduction - eVR
Another sad let down. Electronic vibration is different from optical stabilization which actually has a motor that stabilizes either the sensor or the lens. How eVR works isn't really easy to figure out, but it is something done to the picture after the picture is taken - most likely during compression by some sort of algorithm. eVR on the S550 has two modes - off or auto. I coudlnt' figure out how to always use the eVR. I know it can't be used when the flash is ON. It also isn't always used when the flash is off - even at slow shutter speeds. Sometimes it will work one time when a picture is taken - and the next time, on the exact same scene it won't. It's really confusing. When previewing a picture, it will say eVR on the LCD if it has been applied. Furthermore, you can even apply the eVR after you've taken the picture if you choose to. It's up to you.
Other Functions
The Nikon S550 has a bunch of other features that I haven't seen on the other cameras. For one it has a Blink Warning where after it takes a picture it will put a square around the persons head who blinked during the picture. You can then retake the picture. It also has a smile meter - where it actually rates how big your subject is smiling. It's a fun little mode which isn't really worth much but is fun to use.
The Panoramic / Photo-stitch function on the Nikon S550 is the best I've seen. You can stitch left and right like many cameras, but you can also go up and down which is great. Even better is that when you take the next picture, it leaves a semi-transparent reference point for you to line up your next picture. The Canon PowerShot cameras leave a completely solid reference point, which is harder to line up.
The other great feature is the interval shots. This will take a picture every 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes up to 30 minutes. What's this good for? You know those weather videos throughout the day which shows how the clouds move, you can do that with this feature.
Aside from that, there are also many scene modes - I think 16, which will allow you to have the right settings for most of the pictures you take.
Another thing I dislike is the macro function on the Nikon CoolPix S550. It focuses continuously. If you move - it will try to refocus. 1/2 pressing the shutter button is non-existant. It just continuously focuses and makes a grinding noise that doesn't sound very good. The minimum focusing distance is also pretty far at about 4 inches.
Having a small camera sensor, taking pictures with an ISO of more than 400 is very grainy. What exactly is the point of ISO2000 if the picture is completely covered with dots and artificats everywhere? Try to keep your ISO at 200 or lower. Also try not to use Auto-ISO as it usually bumps up the ISO over 400.
Pros
- Small and light weight
- Lots of features - Smile Mode, Blink Warning, Best Panoramic/Photo Stitch, Interval Shots
- Large Zoom range
- Very good quality LCD - less grainy than other P&S cameras
- 16 scene modes
Cons
- electronic VR sucks
- Tricky battery door
- Needs more dedicated buttons
- Grainy whenever ISO400 or more
- Writing onto memory card is pretty slow - even on a Sandisk Ultra 2 SDHC Card
- Continuous macro that doesn't work from that close
Final Thoughts
Though it has some pretty cool features. I cannot recommend the Nikon CoolPix S550. At the $250 price range there are many other cameras that perform better. The eVR is a very sad let down. There are lots of cool features, but not enough to allow me to recommend the camera. And I AM a Nikon fan boy. I was let down.
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