DPInterface Nikon Coolpix S2 Review
Brad Soo - July 9th, 2005 (Updated January 5th, 2006)

The slim Nikon Coolpix S2 is the latest addition to the Nikon Coolpix collection of 2005. It appears that the Nikon Coolpix S2 will not replace the Nikon Coolpix S1 as it packs the same 5 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, large 2.5 inch LCD and the ability to record VGA movies at 15 FPS into an all-weather, but bigger body. Aside from the physical dimensions and all-weather body, the Nikon Coolpix S2 has essentially the same specifications as the smaller Coolpix S1.

Size and Weight

The fairly compact S2 measures 91.9 x 59.0 x 22.0 mm and has a non-protruding lens, which means a faster start up time.

Nikon Coolpix S1 - 89.9 x 57.5 x 19.7 mm (118 g)
Nikon Coolpix S2 - 91.9 x 59.0 x 22.0 mm (140 g)

Open up the Box

The Coolpix S2 comes along with:

  • Rechargeable EN-EL8 lithium-ion battery
  • Battery charger
  • Wrist strap
  • USB and A/V cables
  • Camera dock
  • User's manual
  • CD-ROM (Digital Camera Solution)

Storage and Power

Instead of coming with a Secure Digital card which it uses, the Coolpix S2 has 12 MB of internal memory. With the Coolpix S2 having 5 megapixels, might I suggest getting a 256 MB Secure Digital card. No high-speed card is required to record the Nikon Coolpix S2's VGA 15 FPS movies or use the continuous shooting function.

The Nikon Coolpix S2's battery life is about 200 shots, which is more than most cameras in this class. Still, you're better off carrying an extra battery just in case you need it. There are many camera carrying cases for the S2.

Extras

The Nikon Coolpix S2 is not compatible with any conversion lenses or external flashes.

Camera Tour

Let's continue with the tour of the Nikon Coolpix S2 starting with the flash which has a range of 0.3 - 2.5 m at wide-angle and a shorter 0.3 - 1.4 m at telephoto. Unfortunately, you're unable to attach an external flash to the S2 but there is Nikon's D-Lighting digital flash feature which I'll explain in a minute.

Next, is the non-protruding 3x optical zoom lens which has a focal length of 35 - 105 mm (35 mm equivalent) and aperture value of F3.0 - F5.4. Besides being bigger than the Coolpix S1, the S2 features a sliding cover which can turn on the camera and double as a self-portrait mirror. The AF-assist beam helps the Coolpix S2 focus in low-light. It's also a self-timer light.

The large 2.5 inch LCD dominates about two thirds of the back. Despite having only 110,000 pixels, the LCD is still very sharp and brightens in low-light. There's no optical viewfinder but that's okay with me since (1) the LCD brightens in low-light, (2) is somewhat visible outdoors and (3) there's no way to fit one into such a compact camera. I find that the LCD of the Nikon Coolpix S2 brightens up a little more than the S1, though the difference is not very noticeable.

On the top right, the zoom controller is used for zooming in/out in shooting mode, magnifying/showing thumbnails in playback and showing help (Zoom button) when in any of the menus.

The 4 directional buttons on the 5 way controller have the following functions:

  • Up - Flash setting
  • Down - Macro
  • Left - Self-timer
  • Right - D-Lighting

Speaking of D-Lighting, here's how it works: The Nikon Coolpix S2 brightens under-exposed and dark areas without the physical use of the flash, a digital flash that is. Well-exposed areas are not brightened to avoid over-exposure. This feature is great, especially given the fairly short physical flash range. Photos applied with D-Lighting are a little noisier but are still usable.

The MENU button enters the menu, the bottom left button enters playback and the one opposite it deletes photos.

The mode button at the bottom has 3 options: Shooting mode, scene modes and movie recording. The selected mode lights up with a bright orange light. The scene modes on the Nikon Coolpix S2 include:

  • Scene assist: Portrait (With Nikon's face priority AF option), landscape, sports and night portrait.
  • Party/indoor
  • Beach/snow
  • Sunset
  • Dusk/dawn
  • Night landscape
  • Close-up
  • Museum
  • Fireworks
  • Copy
  • Backlight
  • Panorama
  • Underwater
  • Voice recording (Up to 5 hours)

Nikon Face Priority Auto Focus feature focuses on faces, (based on my testing) with much accuracy.

On the top of the Nikon Coolpix S2, there is a speaker, microphone, power button and shutter button. The Secure Digital card slot is located at the side while the battery compartment is located at the bottom, both compartments are protected by sturdy doors.

Shooting

An interval shooting feature is available on the Coolpix S2 and it takes up to 1,800 images at customizable intervals of 30 seconds to 30 minutes. The Best Shot Selector (BSS) on the S2 takes a few photos and selects the best.

When it comes to continuous shooting, the Nikon Coolpix S2 takes about 33 photos (Highest settings) at about 1.9 shots/second. There is another continuous shooting mode called Multi-shot 16 which takes 16 (small) shots.

Recording

The Nikon Coolpix S2 is capable of taking VGA-sized movies at 15 FPS, which is slightly below the average 30 FPS, and is limited only be the memory card capacity. The S2 is unable to utilize its zoom lens when recording and movies are recorded in QuickTime format. The Nikon Coolpix S2 lets you choose to let it lock focus or continuously focus during movies.

Movies, though quite sharp, were noisy but better than on the S1 while audio quality was above average.

Performance

The Nikon Coolpix S1 turns on and is ready in about 1.1 seconds. The lens goes from wide-angle to telephoto in 1.9 seconds. The Nikon Coolpix S1 focuses in under a second, even in low-light. Overall speed was impressive but not good enough.

Image Quality

The Nikon Coolpix S2 shows very little signs of chromatic aberration (Color fringing) and noise levels are very low. Images are sharp and detailed but the camera's shutter speed range of 2 seconds - 1/350th of a second is quite undesirable. There's lots of red-eye in photos but thankfully, there is Nikon's In-Camera Red-Eye Fix which detects and removes red-eye. Barrel distortion is also quite a problem here.

Playback

In playback, the Nikon Coolpix S2 can playback stills and movies (With sound) as well as perform these functions: Protect image, print marking, direct printing (The S2 is PictBridge enabled), slideshow, resize, trim, rotate and move images. You can also zoom up to 10x into still photos taken and take a look around using the 4 arrow buttons. Choose to see no info or basic info about your photos. When it comes to histograms, the S2 does not show any histogram, whether in shooting or playback.

Conclusion

While the Nikon Coolpix S2 is a great camera when it comes to continuous shooting, still images and scene modes, it lacks "real" manual controls and it's shutter speeds are too slow/fast.

Nikon's D-Lighting, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, Best Shot Selector and Face Priority AF were all helpful in shooting and so did its scene modes. The internal help system proved to be useful. The LCD resolution could be improved and so can the below average movie mode.

What's hot:

  • Stylish and thin camera design
  • All-weather body
  • Battery level indicator
  • Large 2.5 inch LCD
  • The 4 features in the paragraph above
  • Lots of scene modes
  • Camera help
  • Constant focusing reduces shutter lag

What's not:

  • 12 MB internal memory
  • Weak flash
  • Lack of manual controls
  • Very small shutter speed range
  • Barrel distortion

Recommended Accessories

~Extra EN-EL8 battery
~512 GB Secure Digital card

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