Review Of Nikon Coolpix S570 -Black- An Entry Level Ultra Compact Camera
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Inexpensive, doesn’t have those high end features which might confuse a new user.
Thumbs Down:
Low in features and performance.
Inside the Trunk:
A/V cable USB cable.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
S570 is a 12 mega pixels ultra compact digital camera. Light sensitivity options include ISO auto (80-1600), ISO auto (80-800), ISO auto (80-400), ISO 3200, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 100, ISO 80
It has 4x Digital Zoom. White Balance Presets are Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash. Still Image Format is JPEG and the resolution options are JPEG 640 x 480, JPEG 1024 x 768, JPEG 2048 x 1536, JPEG 3968 x 2232, JPEG 2592 x 1944, JPEG 3264 x 2448, JPEG 4000 x 3000
Flash Modes include Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, Auto mode. Lens is Zoom lens – 5 mm – 25 mm – F/2.7-6.6 which has a focal length 5 mm – 25 mm and 5 x Optical Zoom
Additional Features Face detection, Date/time stamp, Exif Print support, D-Lighting technology, USB 2.0 compatibility, Blink Detection technology, Scene Detection Technology, Motion Detection Technology, Audio recording, Built-in speaker, PictBridge support, In-camera red-eye fix, Face-priority AF function, Display brightness control, Smile Detection technology
The camera has a 2.7 inch TFT LCD color display. Connection ports are composite video/audio output, USB. The camera comes included with drivers & utilities
The device is powered by Li-ion rechargeable battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
S570 is available in black, blue, pink and red color options. It has all metal exteriors which give it a stylish look. This ultra compact camera is quite sleek and can be easily put in your pocket without much struggle.
Inside Dope:
S570 is another compact camera from the stables of Nikon for people who don’t like much advanced features and want a point and shoot camera for light photography. The camera is stylish and simple, has a 5x zoom with wide angle lens and the photo quality is good provided you stay under ISO 400. The camera is best for still pictures, landscape and portrait mode but won’t give you good results when the subject is moving.
Even if you are a newbie to the camera world, it won’t take too long to adjust to this camera because it doesn’t have those confusing features and is extremely simple to use. Above the camera there are buttons of shutter release and power key. Rest all the buttons are housed on the right side of the LCD display behind the camera. There are buttons for editing and playing images, changing shooting modes, accessing video, photo and menu for system settings. There is also the four way navigational pad with settings like macro, timer, flash and exposure.
The S570 has VR Image Stabilization feature but that doesn’t mean the camera has mechanical or optical stabilization which the name might suggest. It is all electronic, relies on shutter speed and high ISO settings which in turn help to reduce motion blur.
The camera is for starters and not for hard core photo enthusiasts. It has Auto control which lets you control white balance, ISO settings, exposure compensation, light metering, color effects and focus area. There are four drive modes to choose from Multi-shot 16, continuous, single shot and Best Shot Selector. The latter shoots 10 frames and saves the best among them. The multi shot will get 16 frames and then present them to you in a grid.
There is a scene mode too but it is nothing that we haven’t seen before in such ultra compact cameras. The Smart Portrait System has features that we have seen previously in Nikon’s products such as D-Lighting, In-Camera Red Eye Fix, Smile Shutter, Blink Warning, etc.
S570 is a bit slow with two seconds to boot up and takes 2.2 seconds between shots. The delay will be further increased to 3.8 seconds if you use flash. In bright lightning the shutter lag is 0.6 seconds and in low light it is 0.8 seconds.
The camera is good when it comes to photo quality as long as you stay below ISO 400. Photo quality is decent at ISO 800. Pictures at ISO 3200 and ISO 1600 have yellow blotching and color shifting issues. Colors on this camera are not accurate however considering this is an ultra compact camera; it is not a big turn off.
Nitty Gritty:
Coolpix S570 is a good choice if you are looking for an ultra compact camera but don’t care about those high end features. The competition is stiff for cameras in this price range and Nikon has worked hard to be above the other players in this game.
