Nikon Coolpix S51c review: Nikon Coolpix S51c

The sleek 8-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S51c includes wireless LAN connectivity for around £170. Wireless has been the future for a while now, and although we love the idea of being able to share images from our cameras to the Web so far the idea hasn't really caught on.

5.5

Nikon Coolpix S51c

The Good

Sleek looks; giant screen; zippy scroll wheel; some well-thought-out Wi-Fi features.

The Bad

Unspectacular lens; public Wi-Fi connection issues.

The Bottom Line

We're primed to get excited about the camera that cracks Wi-Fi, but the Nikon Coolpix S51c sadly isn't it. An average point-and-shoot with some lens issues, the S51c has some well-implemented wireless features but is let down by the fact that it can't connect very often

The question is whether it's the Wi-Fi or the cameras that have been the weak link in the wireless chain, and whether the S51c will be a wireless wonder.

Design
The curved aluminium form feels slinky, although unusually, the chunky part is on the left rather than forming a grip for the right hand. We're not sold on lenses placed in the top left corner, as fingers can creep into shot. The S51c boasts a non-protruding right-angle optical 3x Zoom-Nikkor lens, with a slightly underwhelming 35mm equivalent of 38-114mm.

Functions are controlled with a rotary multi-selector -- or scroll wheel -- that is far and away our favourite thing about the Nikon compact line. We also like the enormous 76mm (3-inch) LCD monitor.

Features
Compact cameras with one unusual feature occasionally neglect other features. The S51c packs optical image stabilisation into its slim frame, along with face detection and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 1,600. You have the option to shoot in 16:9 widescreen, at 1,920x1,080-pixel and 3,200x1,800-pixel resolutions. We also like the fun stop-motion video option.

The S51c's Wi-Fi capacity is activated with one push of this picture button. The picture queue is a handy feature for when Wi-Fi isn't so accessible

The S51c's big draw is its wireless ability. A one-touch picture mail button sends your photos off by email. The idea is that you will upload your pictures to the Nikon My Picturetown photo-sharing site, but because the S51c is email-based you can send images to any site that features email upload, or to your own or your friends' email accounts.

Setting up your wireless preferences is slightly fiddly as you have to use the scroll wheel to enter letters, similar to high-score screens on videogames. You only have to do it once, however. Once the Wi-Fi feature is set up, it's a simple matter of pressing the dedicated picture mail button atop the camera to send the image. When Wi-Fi is not available, the camera queues the images for when it does find a hotspot. This is a clever feature that rescues the S51c from being hamstrung by the availability -- or want -- of Wi-Fi.

Performance
The S51c's one-touch picture-mail button, straightforward setup and the fact that plugging the S51c in to recharge automatically uploads images to your MyPicturetown account are all sound ideas. But although the Wi-Fi functions within the camera itself are well-implemented, it's let down by other elements.

We focused on public rather than personal wireless networks, as the point of such features is, for us, the ability to transfer pictures while out and about. Public Wi-Fi often includes some kind of terms and conditions screen that requires users to agree for access, which requires a browser and therefore foxes the S51c. The My Picturetown site just isn't as well put together as other image-sharing sites such as Flickr, so the email feature was more important to us.

The overlaid grid on this image shows the S51c's substantial barrel distortion at the wide end

Wireless aside, the S51c is a reasonable point-and-shoot. Portraits are pleasingly warm and soft. Automatic white balance is slightly off, but automatic exposure is capable.

Image quality
The S51c's non-protruding lens is its biggest problem in the image quality department. There's a hefty amount of barrel distortion at the wide end, with lines curving in at the corners.

Noise is under control at ISO 100 (left), gets worse at at ISO 800 (middle) and renders images unusable at ISO 1,600 (right), the high ISO setting

Noise is always an issue on compact cameras. At ISO 100 there is little trace of noise. From ISO 200 upwards there is noise in the shadows and darker areas of images and at ISO 800 prints are really out of the question. As on so many compacts, the high ISO low-light setting is something of a mixed blessing, as the noise levels render images unusable.

Conclusion
Although some aspects of the Nikon Coolpix S1c's wireless features are well-executed, we hesitate to recommend it on this function alone as Wi-Fi in general doesn't seem ready yet. As a camera, the S51c is unremarkable and lens problems make it hard to recommend over it similarly-specced snappers like the Canon Digital IXUS 75.

For a similar price you could pick up the Ricoh Caplio R7, a camera packed with features that actually work. We think the combination of cameras and Wi-Fi will be worth the wait, but the wait isn't over yet.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday