By Leonard Goh
04/08/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39005881,43186441p,00.htm

There are but a handful of point-and-shoots with onboard Wi-Fi on the market, and most of them are discontinued models. But Nikon seems to be very confident about its wireless-enabled unit, the Coolpix S51c, announcing the successor, the S52c, in April. Improvements include a resolution bump from 8 to 9 megapixels. But other than that, there are no visible modifications made to the new shooter. However, the image quality isn't fantastic and much can be done to improve it. Other than its funky Wi-Fi feature (for those who really need to stay connected), the shooter is pretty average. If you don't require the wireless feature, consider its twin, the S52.

Design

Featuring the Wave Surface design that made its debut in the single-digit S-series of shooters, the S52c has curvy accents that accentuate its profile. The area where the lens is housed is slightly thicker than the rest of the body, with the chassis rising smoothly to give the impression of a wave.

Although the point-and-shoot's body may look slippery, the grip is pretty decent for small hands. On the rear where the thumb rest is usually placed are three rolls of holes. Mind you, that is not an alternative to rest your digit. Rather, it is the speaker for video or sound clip playback.

Besides the Power and shutter button, the top also has dedicated hardware for activating face detection and calling up the email function to send your pictures. Flash is located a wee bit to the left of the optics, and we wonder if it is too close for comfort and will affect the image quality. We'll find out more later.

What we really like about the S52c is the scroll wheel that was seen on its predecessor. It has ample resistance so we know how much we're turning, and navigating the menu with it is quick and zippy.

Most point-and-shoot's battery/memory media cover has to be pushed outwards to the side, but for the Nikon, you have to push it backward (or forward, depending on the orientation) to open the slot. It is not an issue with us, and not exactly a design breakthrough as well.

Features

For the S52c, the major selling point is the onboard Wi-Fi that lets you upload images to Nikon's mypicturetown online gallery (registration required, but it's free) or email it to friends or relatives. Setting it up can be a bit of a hassle and complicated if you are not tech-savvy. It required us to create a network profile for the camera before we could use this feature. We booted up mypicturetown Utility, a software included in the CD with the camera, and created a new setting for the unit. We advise using the provided manual as it gives a simple walkthrough to link up your camera to your home network.

The Wi-Fi feature may be funky to use at home, but that's pretty much its usefulness. Wireless connections at coffee joints often require you to agree to terms and conditions and the Nikon doesn't have a full-fledged browser to handle that procedure.

The 3x optical zoom lens doesn't protrude out when you power on the snapper as the optics work pretty much like a periscope in a submarine, and that has kept the profile slim. However, the focal length starts from 38mm (to 114mm), and we find the lack of a wide-angle lens disappointing.

Like its predecessor, the S52c sports a 3-inch LCD on the rear, which provided very good viewing angle--we had no trouble holding the shooter over our heads and framing shots with it.

What we find encouraging also is the Nikon's maximum ISO sensitivity of 3,200. We were able to shoot at the full 9 megapixels with it. Conventional point-and-shoots often boast high ISO capture, but normally at a lower resolution. This is nifty when you need to capture fast-moving subjects (which require fast shutter speed) such as sprinters at the upcoming Olympic Games or in low-light conditions.

The S52c has optical image stabilization which Nikon calls Vibration Reduction (VR). This worked well when we tested it and shots that we snapped at 1/10 second were relatively sharp.

As with the Coolpix S600 we've reviewed earlier, one gripe we have with the shooter is that when in playback or menu, we were not able to return to shooting mode with a half press of the shutter button. Instead, we had to press the Menu or Mode button to get out of it.

The snapper has an onboard voice-recording feature that allows you to record sound clips to attach to images. While not particularly useful, it can come in handy for holiday makers to remember where they took that picture.

To compete with other shooters in the market, the S52c has the usual face detection (up to 12 profiles) and 14 selectable scene modes. The camera is powered by a Lithium-ion cell and uses SD/SDHC memory media to store images.

Performance

In our Lab tests, the S52c wasn't the fastest camera we've reviewed. The shutter lag was acceptable at 0.15 second, but the startup time of 2.7 seconds left much to be desired. Time to first shot clocked 3.3 seconds, which meant that you might miss capturing special moments while waiting for the shooter to ready itself.

In burst mode, the Nikon chugged along at 0.9 frame per second for about 10 shots before the buffer filled up. Not fantastic, but we can't expect too much from a point-and-shoot.

We sat beside the wireless router and the shooter took an average of 52 seconds to transfer one picture over the air. We increased the distance (and added a wall between) to see if that would affect the transfer rate, but the snapper took approximately the same amount of time to complete the job. Do note that we were in close proximity to the wireless router when we did this test, and though actual results might vary depending on your location.

The Lithium-ion battery is rated at 200 shots on a full charge, but its performance may vary depending on how much you use the wireless feature. We shot about 130 pictures and used the Wi-Fi function to send about five images and the shooter was still operational. However, there was no indicator on the LCD to show how much power was left in the cell.

Image Quality

Nikon claims that its EXPEED image-processing engine will "realize optimum image quality", and it did so in our tests, but only in low ISO settings. At ISO 100 and 200, the shots were relatively clean of noise, though we detected very slight hints of digital artifacts in the shadow regions. At ISO 400, the noise suppression kicked in and started smearing away details at an acceptable level. But beyond that at ISO 800 to 3,200, the images appeared to be intensely speckled. That up to individual preferences whether or not they can live with it. For us, we found that shots snapped at ISO 1,600 were just too blotchy to be used.

We captured some night shots with the S52c's Night Landscape mode and didn't find it too impressive. While the exposure was accurate, the shooter didn't use the lowest ISO settings but instead stuck to ISO 400. This gave pretty gritty images which didn't go down well with us.

We mentioned the flash being quite close to the lens, but that wasn't an issue when we tested it. The flash output was well-balanced with subjects and background properly exposed. It wasn't too harsh as to bleach out skin tones, either.

White balance was accurate and the point-and-shoot adjusted the settings with ease when we put it under different lighting situations.

Conclusion

The S52c's redeeming factor would be its wireless connectivity options, for without these, it is an average shooter. It'll probably appeal to the tech-savvy (or lazy people) who want to upload their images online without the hassle of wires. While it may be cool to use initially, the novelty wore off quickly for us. But this is the one of the few Wi-Fi-enabled point-and-shoots on the market currently, so Nikon has found its niche. The price tag of S$499 is pretty reasonable, too. The only thing we wish to see in future models is an improvement in image quality.