Why You Can Trust CNET Nikon Coolpix S5100 review: Nikon Coolpix S5100
The S5100 is a pocket-sized camera that will suit photographers on a budget just fine. Anyone else expecting stellar image quality and tons of features should look elsewhere.
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Design and features
Though the S5100 weighs little more than a pack of cigarettes, and slips into a pocket just as smoothly, it doesn't feel like a slight camera thanks to its well-constructed front panel. At just 132g it will hardly create a dent in any silhouette.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
As for other external features though, the S5100 is quite scarce on anything particularly exciting. There's a 5x optical zoom lens with an f/2.7-6.6 maximum aperture and sitting behind it, a 12.2-megapixel sensor. Around the back is a standard configuration of buttons for shooting options, like a four-way directional pad, playback button and a dedicated record button.
The screen is pretty small at 2.7 inches, and 230,000 dots. This low resolution really comes in to play when reviewing shots as it's difficult to see photos with any amount of detail thanks to the graininess of the screen.
Nikon claims that this camera is quick, with fast start-up, shutter lag and autofocus. How does it perform? Continue on to our performance section below for the verdict. On-board shooting modes also include a feature to help alleviate blur when shooting evening and night photos without a tripod.
This camera is clearly targeted towards point-and-shooters, with a range of scene modes and automatic settings to choose from. HD video is on board at 720p, 30fps. Connectivity is provided via a single AV-out flap at the bottom, alongside the card and battery slots (SD/SDHC).
Performance
General shooting metrics (in seconds)
- Time to first shot
- JPEG shot-to-shot time
- Shutter lag
Continuous shooting speed (longer bars indicate better performance)
Image quality
Photo quality is consistent with a camera that costs AU$300 — good, but not stellar. Colour rendition is mostly accurate and the S5100 tends to underexpose rather than overexpose tricky lighting situations (generally a good thing). Chromatic aberrations are noticeable on images when viewed at 100 per cent magnification.
Fringing and chromatic aberrations show up quite noticeably on images, 100 per cent crop inset. (Credit: CBSi)
At the wide end, the lens shows significant distortions, causing straight lines to converge. The flash illuminates subjects well within 1 metre of the camera, but light tends to drop off rather quickly from the right side of the frame — due in part to the positioning of the flash. Like any compact camera of this class, noise becomes visible from ISO 200, and becomes an issue with ISO 400 and above if you will be producing large prints. But for web display and use at reduced resolutions, the S5100 produces acceptable images for its class.
Video quality is less impressive, with images displaying a fair amount of fringing and the audio picking up lots of ambient noise.
Image samples
Click each image for full-sized samples from the S5100. No post-processing has been done to alter these photos.
 Exposure: 1/30, f/2.7, ISO 400 |  Exposure: 1/400, f/7.6, ISO 100 |
 Exposure: 1/60, f/6.6, ISO 800, flash fired |  Exposure: 1/500, f/2.7, ISO 100 |
Conclusion
The S5100 is a pocket-sized camera that will suit photographers on a budget just fine. Anyone else expecting stellar image quality and tons of features should look elsewhere.