Nikon Coolpix S51c

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By Edvarcl Heng
Sep 17, 2007

It takes little ingenuity to introduce a Wi-Fi camera in 2007.

It's ingenious if someone can figure out a practical use for a wireless camera.

The Coolpix S51c is Nikon's third attempt at playing the wireless camera card--since the S7c in 2006 to the S50c early this year. And in this third edition, the Japanese firm has ramped it up with a megapixel upgrade and an improved online photo storage solution.

But from a design standpoint, it's still ingenuously stale.

Design

But we are not saying that it's ugly. The S51c is a looker with its metallic finish and curvy profile. Its weighty feel (125g) also made us feel it's well worth the S$549 asking price.

Our claims to its mustiness stems from that the S51c (97.5 x 59 x 21mm) looks no different from the S50c (98 x 59 x 21mm) and it's just slightly unlike the S7c (100.5 x 60 x 21mm).

Yet, that's no crying shame. The ThinkPad series of laptops, too, has seen little design overhaul despite the change in owners (from IBM to Lenovo).

Nikon is obviously sticking to what works.

No love for the zoom rocker; topview.

And there're plenty that still does. The mechanical scroll wheel on the S51c is fluid and above par compared with others in its class. Case in point? Refer to our review on the Fujifilm Z100fd's.

The LCD remains a meaty 3 inches. Good to compose with, though the colors you see onscreen sometimes turn out different in the captured image.

The user interface is the same familiar one used in most Nikon compacts. Press Mode and spin the wheel to switch between different capture types (Scene, Hi ISO, Shooting, Movie) or enter the camera's setup (which is also home to the wireless and vibration reduction settings). Pushing Menu will bring up contextual options related to the current shooting mode.

There're some shortcuts for quickie composition fixes. Right on the wheel brings up exposure compensation; for the flash mode and down to activate macro mode.

As you probably already guessed, the S51c is a very automatic camera, so there are no manual exposure controls (shutter and aperture). Neither are there custom shortcuts you can set for yourself.

However, because of the way the zoom rocker is positioned (small tiny nub on top right), it can be awkward to use with just one hand.

Another thing we like about the S51c is how functions are at most two to three clicks away, which make for easy operation and a lower learning curve.

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