Nikon Coolpix S5100 Review

November 3, 2010 | Gavin Stoker | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Nikon Coolpix S5100 is a stylish new 12.2-megapixel digital compact camera with a 5x optical zoom and 2.7 inch LCD screen. Other highlights of the S5100 include optical Vibration Reduction, 720p HD video recording, 18 scene modes, Scene Auto Selector, Subject Tracking and Nikon’s Smart Portrait System, a new flash control system plus motion and tripod detection. Available in black, pink, purple, blue, red and silver, the Nikon Coolpix S5100 is priced at £179.99 / $179.95 / €159.00.

Ease of Use

It seems that the humble snapshot camera is not so humble any more. That said, pocket or 'travel' zooms with broader than average focal ranges, HD video shooting and a host of clever image-enhancing features are two a penny above the £200 mark. So what does this latest Nikon, falling just shy of that price point, offer to help it stand apart from the pixel-packing scrum?

Well the 12.2 effective megapixel, 12.39MP 1/2.3-inch CCD incorporating Coolpix S5100 is a slender yet solid feel addition to the 'S' (for Style) series of pocket cameras, being the usual mix of metal and plastic construction. Under the banner 'I am fun' its target audience is undoubtedly teenagers, families and dare we suggest women, who will appreciate its cute, purse-sized proportions.

Available in serious looking black or a quite striking metallic blue bodywork, it appears attractive in that dormant state, lens fully retracted within its metal and plastic body, but at the same time rather modest and unassuming when held within the palm. With a width just slightly longer than your credit card, and barely 21mm in depth, it weighs 132g when SD/SDHC card and battery are loaded. This is backed up with a 32MB internal capacity.

It offers a 5x optical zoom with a range equivalent to 28-140mm in 35mm terms. This comes supported by lens shift Vibration Reduction (VR), a manually selectable light sensitivity range topping out at ISO 3200, auto ISO being capped at ISO 1600.

Nikon Coolpix S5100 Nikon Coolpix S5100
Front Rear

There's no 16:9 widescreen LCD here - just a regular 4:3 aspect ratio 2.7-inch, 230k-dot resolution variety in the absence of an optical viewfinder. The device's basic yet functional control layout at the rear - six buttons and a four-way control pad - is free from hints that there's more to come once you start playing and drilling into its menu options, though a dedicated one-touch thumb-operated video record button for 720p High Def footage does at least indicate Nikon's moving with the times.

A firm press of the top mounted on/off button and the S5100 powers up remarkably fast, internally stacked lens barrel taking a scant second to extend from storage flush with the body to maximum wideangle setting.

From the front the camera presents a very clean look, AF assist/self timer lamp window and narrow lozenge shaped flashgun both situated top right of the lens, made to look larger than it is courtesy of a surrounding chrome ring set half a centimetre out. Luckily the weight and diminutive proportions ensure it's very easy to shoot one-handed with the S5100, in spite the lack of any handgrip, otherwise the camera edge location of the flash would fall prey to stray fingertips if holding steady with both.

The top plate continues the S5100's elegant appearance, on/off button inset into the body and like the larger shutter release button, which is encircled by a lever for operating the zoom, set into a thin 'go faster' chrome strip. Nudge said lever and the zoom races through its range in two seconds, which is fast, but unfortunately this is accompanied by the sound of a low mechanical buzz. The result is that the optical zoom can't be used when recording video - a digital alternative kicks in. Not unusual in the world of digital compacts to find this feature disabled when shooting 'movies', but disappointing nonetheless.

On a positive note, a half press of the shutter release button and focus/exposure is determined in a near instant, AF point/s highlighted in green accompanied by a beep of affirmation. Normal focus range is within 45cm of your subject to infinity, or by selecting close up mode via the S5100's rear control pad this can be shortened down to 2cm. Go on to take the shot, with a full harder press and a top resolution JPEG is written to memory in around two seconds, so the S5100 is as responsive as we'd hope. There's nothing worse when shooting from the hip with a camera such as this than to find it merely sluggish in response. For those snapping portraits in the main the camera's face priority AF function can detect up to 12 faces in the frame, not class leading but respectable nonetheless if you have that many friends or family.

Nikon Coolpix S5100 Nikon Coolpix S5100
Top Side

The back of the Coolpix meanwhile is dominated by its 2.7-inch 4:3 ratio LCD screen, a standard size for competing point and shoots it seems, being shared with Pentax's recent Optio M900 and Olympus' FE-5050 releases. Though the resolution is nothing special, so it's hard to check focus and exposure on the back of the camera with pinpoint accuracy, it's nevertheless adequate as a compositional tool.

Furthering ease of use by providing a time saving shortcut, a press of the video record button and the camera switches to movie capture mode whichever alternative mode might have been selected at the time. With the video record button top right of the back plate as previously indicated, shooting modes on the Nikon are not selected via the standard penny-sized dial, but instead courtesy of a button marked 'scene'. Even though 'scene' is indeed one of the shooting mode options, the naming here seems a little esoteric as it's only one of several options. Also featured are regular auto mode, 18 subject specified/pre-optimised options via scene mode, plus Nikon's smart portrait and separate subject tracking option.

In scene mode, its default setting denoted with a cutesy heart, the camera auto selects the most appropriate of the settings on offer for the subject at the time, in that respect being a 'smart' auto mode. Or users can individually select one of the other options, running the usual gamut of portrait and landscape settings. Covering most conceivable bases here we get Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party, Beach, Snow, Sunset and Dusk/Dawn modes, joined by Night Landscape, Close Up, Food, Museum, Fireworks, Copy, Backlighting and Panorama assist mode.

Alongside the scene mode button is an identically sized one for image playback, with the useful ability to jump back to capture mode with a half press of the shutter release if a photo opportunity presents itself whilst shots are being reviewed. Below this we find the regulation issue four-way control pad, with OK button at its centre for implementing any mode or menu selections that are made. At points north, south, east and west are a means of, variously, adjusting flash settings, switching manually to macro mode, adjusting exposure and selecting self-timer options (two seconds, ten seconds or off) - all pretty standard stuff. Exposure compensation is +/- 2EV and, more unusually at this price point there's a live histogram presented on screen to check exposure in real time while this option is selected.

Bottom left of this control pad we get the 'menu' button and to the right of this a very useful dedicated control for deleting duff images. A press of the menu button and we're presented with three different folders for stills shooting, video shooting plus a standard set up mode. Since this is all pretty standard stuff, navigation of the Nikon Coolpix S5100's functions is fluid and intuitive, the esoterically named 'scene' button being the only initial stumbling block as you attempt to get at the features required.

Nikon Coolpix S5100 Nikon Coolpix S5100
Battery Compartment Memory Card Slot

The shooting menu allows the adjustment of resolution, white balance and metering, drive mode, sensitivity (ISO100-3200), along with the Nikon's colour options. We always find the standard default setting of Nikon's to produce rather dull, flat images unless there is plenty of light available, so having the option to provide some visual punch and added warmth via a vivid setting is a boon. The other options here are black and white, sepia, and more unusually, cyanotype, the later bathing everything in a silvery blue finish. It's here that the AF area mode can be prioritized to faces, manually adjusted, centre-d or left on auto.

The movie options unearthed via the menu button are the basics of selecting top 1280x720 pixels setting, or further VGA 640x480 or QVGA 320x480 settings.

The set up menu offers the ability to turn vibration reduction and motion detection on or off, format the card, charge the camera via your computer's USB, turn a blink warning on or off, reset all settings and swap video mode between PAL and NTSC. USB charging aside, this is all standard stuff.

Whilst the right hand flank of the camera includes an eyelet for attaching a wrist strap and the left features the built-in speaker, the base of the camera is where we find the screw thread located for attaching a tripod, though it's over at one edge rather than dead centre of the body or lens. This is also where we find a protected port for AV output next to another protected by a sliding catch for the rechargeable lithium ion battery and vacant memory card slot. Cutting down on peripherals the S5100's battery is charged in camera, meaning there's no separate mains charger provided, merely a chunky plug into which the relevant USB cabling slots should you wish to re-charge via mains rather than your PC's USB port. This also appears to be a growing trend among budget priced models, and at least offers photographers who travel with their laptop another power source option.

So while the S5100's operation and response times are impressive and its feature set pretty much as expected for the modest asking price, do the images it produces transcend its budget status or show that the old adage that you get what you pay for rings true? Let's find out…

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel High JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

We were using the S5100 during a period in which we were also looking at direct rivals in the Pentax Optio M900 and Olympus FE-5050, and, although the Nikon may not be perfect in every output respect, its images in general terms bettered both, being sharper and also we felt more representative of the scene or subject at the time. Lacking a handgrip as such we had some instances of visible camera shake and resulting blur with the Nikon, despite its low light shooting capabilities (high-ish ISO/vibration reduction) as we did with the competitors. Like the Olympus we also found white balance to occasionally be a tad off - daylight images taking on a bluish tinge - and had to watch out for burnt out highlights and obvious pixel fringing when conditions were sunnier.

In general terms the Nikon's images can look rather muddy at times, particularly when shooting at maximum telephoto and in lower light, benefiting from auto adjustment in Photoshop or simply opting for the vivid mode on the camera itself to boost colour saturation and add visual punch to formerly flat shots. These are minor gripes however and when conditions are ideal the Nikon can deliver some impressively sharp results that belie its budget status. Admittedly at the end of the day you're left with snaps rather than high art, but the S5100 suggests itself as an able tool for the back pocket for reference shots and the like.

Above ISO 400 image noise predictably makes its presence more intrusively felt. At ISO 800 it's beginning to creep into the darker portions of the image, more noticeable across the whole shot at ISO 1600, so that by ISO 3200 detail is noticeably softened overall, albeit with an effect that is marginally les painterly than usual. Not a bad performance from a point and shoot camera by any means, so the S5100 is one of the best examples out there if you have less than £200 to sped on a pocket snapper.

Noise

The base sensitivity of the Nikon Coolpix S5100 is ISO 100, while the highest setting is ISO 3200. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting. You can't change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

Chromatic Aberrations

The Nikon Coolpix S5100 handled chromatic aberrations fairly well during the review.  The examples below show what you can expect in the worst case.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Nikon Coolpix S5100 has a very good macro mode, offering a minimum focus distance of 2cms. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro

100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix S5100 are Auto, Flash On, Red-eye Reduction, Slow Synchro and Off. These shots of a white wall were taken at a subject distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (35mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (35mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (175mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (175mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are some portrait shots. The flash has a red-eye reduction setting, though in this test there was not much of a redeye effect to begin with.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The slowest shutter speed of the Nikon Coolpix S5100 is four seconds in the Fireworks show scene mode, and even less in the other shooting modes, which is disappointing news if you are seriously interested in night photography. The following example was taken at a shutter speed of 1 second at IOS 720. We have included a 100% crop to show what the quality is like.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix S5100 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel High JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1280x720 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 30 second movie is 82.3Mb in size.

Product Images

Nikon Coolpix S5100

Front of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Front of the Camera / Turned On

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Isometric View

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Rear of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Top of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Bottom of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100

Side of the Camera

 

Nikon Coolpix S5100

Side of the Camera

 
Nikon Coolpix S5100
Battery Compartment
 
Nikon Coolpix S5100
Memory Card Slot

Conclusion

While its feature set may be no more impressive on paper than slightly cheaper rivals, the Nikon Coolpix S5100 is one of the best compact snappers in its broad price range for image sharpness and quality, so worth paying a modest extra for in our opinion. The wide-angle 28mm equivalent lens is also a useful tool, in extending framing possibilities for landscapes in particular.

Build quality further suggests that here is a camera that will last the course and brush off the odd accidental fumble, whilst its dinky pocket size means that you'll find yourself readily slipping it into a trouser or coat pocket when you head out the door, whether your intention is to take photographs or not. If, like us, you find yourself thinking 'that would make an interesting photograph' when you haven't got your more 'serious' camera with you, the S5100 comes into its own.

Since women and girls will love this camera's size, shape and usability, our only question is why didn't Nikon UK also opt to go with the pink body option? Since this is available in other territories, a quick internet search should track one down.

The Nikon Coolpix S5100 comes across as worth the money, if that is you only have a modest amount to spend in the first place and are happy with an inevitably limited feature set in return.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4
Features 3
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 4
Value for money 4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Nikon Coolpix S5100 from around the web.

pcpro.co.uk »

At less than £150 at launch, the 12.2-megapixel Coolpix S5100 is a very tempting bit of kit. With little more than a fully automatic point-and-shoot mode, though, it has a long way to go to convince us that it deserves a place on the A List.
Read the full review »

neocamera.com »

The Nikon Coolpix S5100 is an ultra-compact digital camera with a 12 megapixels sensor, a 5X stabilized wide-angle optical zoom lens and a 2.7" LCD. It packs all this in a 0.9" slim body. The optical zoom lens has a versatile range equivalent too 28-140mm. The Nikon S5100 has a wide range of ISO sensitivities, from 100 to 3200.
Read the full review »

Specifications

 
Effective pixels 12.2 megapixels
Image sensor 1/2.3-in. RGB CCD, 12.39 total megapixels
Lens Optical 5x zoom, NIKKOR lens
Focal length 5.0 to 25.0mm (35mm format equivalent to 28-140mm)
Aperture f/2.7-6.6
Lens construction 7 elements in 6 groups
Digital zoom Maximum 2x (35mm format equivalent to approx. 280mm)
Focus range (from lens) Approx. 45 cm (1 ft. 6 in.) to infinity (at wide-angle setting), approx. 70 cm (2 ft. 4 in.) to infinity (at telephoto?setting), Macro mode: approx. 2 cm (0.8 in.) to infinity (at wide-angle setting)
Vibration Reduction (VR) Lens-shift type
Other blur-reduction functions Enhanced Motion Detection, BSS (Best Shot Selector)
ISO sensitivity (Standard output sensitivity) ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (4,000 x 3,000), Auto (ISO 100 to 1600), Fixed range auto (ISO 100 to 400/ISO 100 to 800)
LCD monitor 6.7 cm (2.7-in.), approx. 230k-dot, TFT LCD monitor (QVGA), with anti-reflection coating and brightness adjustment
Storage media Internal memory (approx. 32 MB), SD/SDHC memory card* * Not compatible with Multi Media Card (MMC) or SDXC
Face-priority AF/ max. number of faces to be detected 12, Face priority, Face-priority AE, Face Zoom-in
Skin Softening During shooting/playback
Smile Timer Up to three smiling faces can be detected, can be switched on/off
Blink Proof Takes two sequential shots, can be switched on/off
Blink Warning Can be switched on/off
In-Camera Red-Eye Fix Automatically corrects red eye digitally, pre-flashes
Subject Tracking* Auto lock-on/AF activation/Tracking Restart available *Tracks a designated subject automatically
Scene modes 18 scene modes (Scene Auto Selector, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party/indoor, Beach, Snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Night landscape, Close-up, Food, Museum, Fireworks show, Copy, Backlight, Panorama assist)
Scene Auto Selector 6 scene modes + Auto mode (Portrait, Landscape, Night portrait, Night landscape, Close-up, Backlight)
Movie HD 720p: 1,280 x 720/30 fps, VGA: 640 x 480/30 fps, QVGA: 320 x 240/30 fps
D-Lighting Yes
Color Options 5 Color Options (Standard color, Vivid color, Black-and-white, Sepia, Cyanotype)
Quick Retouch Yes
File-sorting functions Auto Sort mode, List by date mode
Battery charging with USB With supplied charging AC Adapter: approx. 3-hour charging time When camera is connected with powered on PC* via supplied USB cable: approx. 3-hour charging time *Depends on power supply from PC
Interface/Direct print compatibility Hi-Speed USB/PictBridge
Supported languages 24 languages (products for Japan feature Japanese/English only)
Power sources Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL10 (740 mAh), AC Adapter EH-62D (option)
Number of shots per charge (battery life)* Approx. 200 frames with EN-EL10 *Based on CIPA Standards for measuring life of batteries
Dimensions (width x height x depth) Approx. 97.1 x 56.9 x 21.6 mm/3.9 x 2.3 x 0.9 in. (excluding projections)
Weight* Approx. 132 g/4.7 oz. (including battery and SD memory card), approx. 115 g/ 4.1 oz. (camera body only) *Based on CIPA Guidelines, DCG-005-2009

Your Comments

Loading comments…