Electronics : Nikon Coolpix S210 Digital Camera - Blue (8.0MP, 3x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

Rating: - great camera, perfect for holiday usage
I have a Nikon SLR D80 camera which is regarded by nearly all reviewers as the no1 SlR mid-range camera to own. We also owned a trendy pink canon Ixus camera for compactness eg holiday nights out etc. the canon was terriable, slow, bad battery, several returns to canon for repairs. This nikon is cheap cheerful and great pics, for the price its fantastic and in 18 months or 2 years if i need a new one well for 100 outlay ive got my moneys worth from this 210 ...great buy and soo compact, a real gem

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Rating: - Very disappointing camera
Having been delighted with a Nikon Coolpix 3100 for the last 4 years my brother and I decided to upgrade to a new Coolpix when the battery compartment cover started to break on the old camera. We thought that we would stick with the trusted Coolpix brand, so went for the S210.

However we could not have been more disappointed. Having taken nearly 200 pictures each, and having tried various settings and scene modes, we both discovered that the wonderful crispness of the pictures on our old Coolpix was sadly lacking on this new model. In the majority of pictures the focusing was only crisp in the centre of the picture. As you moved to the outside of the pics you got increased blur - and that was with the vibration reduction switched ON and even on static objects. There was also a good deal of chromatic aberration (bluish-purple edging) in high contrast areas. This may be down to our lack of photographic know-how...but even if that is the case, this camera is most certainly not a point-and-shoot - not if you want to get any kind of decent results without having to fiddle with manual settings. The camera really struggled with focusing indoors and most of those pics ended up more blurred than the outdoor ones. The pics may well be OK for 6x4 prints, but certainly not any good if you want to blow them up.

On top of that both of us encountered "lens error" problems while on holiday in Cyprus only 3 weeks after purchase, and that was with the cameras in a padded case, so no chance of sand intrusion. In the case of my camera I was able to power off and then back on and that seemed to fix the problem. The same thing worked for my brother the first time it happened, but the next time the lens error was terminal. The camera was toast for the rest of the holiday.

When we took the camera into a photo shop in Larnaca a passing Canon rep pointed out the slimness of the Nikon camera and the resulting vulnerability of the lens mechanism.

We have now returned both cameras to Amazon and are now considering going for the Canon IXUS 80 IS, which seems to have much better reviews.

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Rating: - Nice Looking, OK pics.
I bought this camera from Jessops after my Ricoh R6 broke - It's slightly unfair to compare them but the pictures were worse on the Nikon. Although it does take flattering people shots, better than the 'clinical' R6 on quick snaps.

Overall +

> Well made, nice case, very small, near identical to the casio camera's. Lithium battery.

> Flattering people shots are very easy, Pics are soft focus. Outdoor pics have nice colors. Option to shoot 16 pics on one frame - looks good.

> Nice Menu, well designed, quite intuitive. (usb card compatible with asus eee pc)


Minus -

> Poor picture quality in some settings; Takes very grainy indoor pics, except people shots.

> All photo's are soft focus. despite high no of pixels they do not enlarge well

> Poor at capturing surfaces, Limited settings & Zoom.


This is a great fun camera. But the picture quality lead me to return it in a week. I take a lot of indoor shots and it is not good for this. And it won't capture an image that will make a poster. But people pics are good.

Hope this helps...


Simon

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Rating: - Good easy to use camera
Bought it cheaply from Jessops and have so far found it very good. The 8mp camera with 3x optical zoom means that pictures are good quality short to medium distance and the 3 inch screen means you can get a good feel for whether the picture is flattering. Limited if your a serious photographer but we are not so its great for day to day and going on holiday. Compact so is easy to fit in pocket/bags. Would buy it again knowing what I know and is a great buy if you can get it for under £110.

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Rating: - Nikon S210 compact digital camera
I brought this camera at the airport on my way to Japan and personally feel that it has been very good indeed. It does occasionally get slightly out of it's depth, but that could and is most likely to be user error. The colours seem bright, the image sharp and for the money I would recommend it to anyone.