Nikon Coolpix S5 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Reviews

• Excellent camera. But beware the design flaw.

  
  By A2DJ2QLN1V2F0Q on 2006-03-25
  I recently purchased the Nikon Coolpix S5 to replace my ailing Sony Cybershot P-8. The P-8 was my 3rd Cybershot and I'd never had a Nikon before.
  
  While browsing for new cameras, I'd settled on the Canon IXY 700 as a replacement. However, my friend motioned me over to look at the S5. I'd looked at some of the other Coolpix models and didn't like the menu setup. I figure the menu is something that is going to be used a lot, so I wasn't going to consider any cameras with hard-to-use menus. I'd disqualified a Kodak EasyShare model earlier for that very reason; wanted to buy American, but alas, the menu was horrible. First impressions make or break a sale. And my first impression upon seeing the S5's menu was that it was very easy to use. And it has been.
  
  The camera takes fairly decent pictures. However, not much of a difference vs. my previous Sony P-8 (3.2mp). I was hoping for a bit of an improvement, but didn't really see anything that impressed me overall that was "different."
  
  The root of my review, though, is the design flaw that I believe this camera has. I'd taken several pictures at a going-away party recently and noticed that it looked like there were water splotches on the lens as there were white stars in the pictures. I took the camera to a photo lab and they blew the lens off in the case of any dust being on it. No water marks were visible on the lens (and the white splotches/stars in the pictures were never in the same place twice). When that didn't fix the problem, a photographer friend suggested that there might be dust on the sensor; although that doesn't explain the spots being in different places in each picture. I should note that not every picture has these spots. The common element seems to be that they are all evening, low-light situations using the red-eye flash function.
  
  I took the S5 back to the place of purchase and exchanged for an identical unit. However, the problem has not gone away. A fellow from work noticed that the majority of the spots appear on the right side of the photos. Rarely are any (or any significant number) on the left side. Also, we were speaking of distance to object regarding the different photos, but near (~3 ft.) and far (~15-20 ft.) both resulted in similar splotchy problems. At this point, I suggested that perhaps the flash was too close to the lens and the rapid multiple flashing of the red-eye flashes was causing the bursts/splotches. My co-worker also suggested the lens being small may have played a factor in that, too.
  
  That's where I'm at now. I believe my theory about the flash being too close to the lens is pretty close to the mark. I've never had this problem with any of my previous Sony Cybershots (and their lens to flash proximity was greater than the Nikon S5's).
  
  As a result, I believe I'm going to request a refund and go with my original choice- the Canon IXY 700.
  
  I did have one more nitpick regarding the menu- it takes a little menu jogging to turn off the photo info details on the viewer (something that was a one-button deal on the P-8). But other than that, the S5 has been very pleasant to use. I'm disappointed to have found this flaw as the Canon's a little heaver and little thicker than the S5.
  
  So overall, it's a very nice camera. If the red-eye flash + low-light problem was fixed, I'd have no problems recommending this to anyone. As it is, I'd suggest finding a different model in the meantime as this is definitely a deal-breaker to have splotches/bursts/spots in one's photos. Simply not enough time in the day to digitally airbrush every single picture with these problems.
  
  

• Hands-On is a Must

  
  By AX77KI8J8CQ0E on 2006-03-31
  I was looking to replace a Canon S400 with something thinner and lighter as a "carry-around" camera, so I ordered an S5 sight unseen. I've used the S5 for a couple of days now and I'm probably going to be returning it. (I'm a Nikon SLR user for 30 years, so I'm not trying to trash Nikon here.)
  
  I wear men's medium gloves, so I don't have huge hands but I have significant usability issues with this camera that have not improved with use. The camera body finish is beautiful to look at, but very slippery. The zoom and shutter release are tiny and located to the extreme right side of the top edge of the camera body. This, combined with the large LCD, makes the natural grip area at the edge of the camera. Using one hand, the camera either tips or slips. I have to be sure to use the wrist lanyard to avoid dropping the camera and use 2 hands to hold the camera.
  
  I realize that there are tradeoffs with a camera as small as this, but these are killer issues for me. I've recently been playing with a Canon SD600 and it has none of the usability issues. A matte finish body and larger zoom and shutter release controls moved toward the center of the body would make the S5 a great little camera. Picture quality, responsiveness, and user interface are great. My advice would be to either spend a lot of time with this in store to be sure its comfortable to use or buy it from a retailer with a reasonable return policy.
  
  

• Bad camera, extremely bad customer service

  
  By A12OS2Y5HKVTY6 on 2006-07-07
  I've had the Nikon S5 for about three months now. I bought it because I'd been looking for a slim digital camera that had a decent resolution, good battery life and was easy to use and carry around. I also thought Nikon, being a camera and optics company would offer me a product superior to the many other digital cameras offered elsewhere. I'd be the first to admit that I'm not super-savvy when it comes to photography but I've had my fair share of cameras, both digital and film.
  
  I would NOT recommend this camera.
  
  1. The picture quality is substandard to say the least. My Sony DSC-P10 from 4 years ago with a 2.1 mega-pixel resolution takes better pictures. Pictures are very grainy.
  2. This camera is loaded with features. However it's extremely difficult to coerce the camera to capture a decent picture. I took it on a ski trip, set the camera to the "Snow" mode and resulted in a bunch of underexposed pictures (at different times of day, with varying levels of sunlight)
  3. The camera takes an excessively long time to auto-focus resulting in one missing even the simplest of opportunities.
  4. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS LESS THAN ADEQUATE
  
  My camera hung at some point during the second month. By hung I mean it wouldn't move beyond an error screen (in Nikon Customer Service rep's words... something he had never seen before). I had to mail it in to get it fixed. Nikon Service refused to pay shipping because that's their policy (even for a two month old camera that suddenly refuses to work). It took numerous phone calls to locate my camera and the status of service. They mail (snail-mail) you your service order number that is used to locate the status of your service request.
  
  I received the camera back two weeks after I had sent it in to their NY facility. The error was gone but now each time the lens moves back and forth to focus (either auto or manual) there's a loud ticking sound. One that can be heard at an arm's length away, one that would put a grandfather clock to shame. Another call to Nikon Digital Tech Support center resulted in me being informed that since there were moving parts in the camera, noise is to be expected (even though the noise did not exist prior to sending it in for service). The clicking noise is so loud that the Nikon rep could hear it through the phone. He insisted that since he had the same camera with him and it too made the clicking sound that this was normal for a digital camera. I pointed out that this might be a design problem or a flaw with the camera which was something the rep was not willing to entertain. An argument and call transfer to a supervisor later, I was told that I would have to call Nikon Service directly and arrange for the camera to be shipped back to them (presumably, again at my cost).
  
  Also, the many times I've tried to contact Nikon Service, their phone lines are incessantly busy. I was advised by Nikon Digital Technical Support that I could either keep trying for 20 to 30 minutes or if I could wait I could try back in a couple of hours.
  
  Bad camera, EXTREMELY BAD customer service. I WOULD NOT recommend this camera.
  
  
  

• S5 Rates High

  
  By APDNVKUNVUWM8 on 2006-07-25
  I just bought a Nikon S5 and it hasn't been out of my pocket since it arrived in the mail. This is my 3rd Nikon but first digital camera. I am struggling with the limitations of digital over film but I think this camera is great. It produces beautiful images and I find it easy to manipulate. The camera is small and the photographer has to be careful not to get fingers in the photo as it has limited space to keep hold of it while taking the picture. A person with big hands might not be comfortable with this camera. The LCD is huge which is fantastic, but the biggest drawback is that the LCD is difficult to see in bright sunlight. All of the features are easily accessible, and the menu is reasonably intuitive. Like most digital cameras there is a maddening delay between pressing the button to take the picture and the camera actually capturing the subject. After the 2-3 flashes for red eye reduction, many of the people in my photos have moved onto a different expression or react to the intensity of the flash. The body design and the metal case make it tough, I have smacked it around kayaking and rock climbing and it is holding up under the abuse. I gave it 4 stars because it's not perfect but it's a nice little camera.
  
  

• Nikon Coolpix S5 Spots in the photos

  
  By A2IYMS3RCGA7CG on 2006-11-07
  I purchased the Nikon Coolpix S5 it is a very nice small camera, I loved it , I took about 50 photos with it , then I uploaded it to my computer and noticed there were white spots on the photos , I wrote to Nikon and asked if there was a fix for the problem because I liked the camera so much I wanted to keep it. I did get a very quick email from Nikon telling me that the white spots are normal for small cameras. I have tried 4 other cameras including Cannon and Olympus and even a Nikon model S3 that had no spots. Nikon told me to not use the flash and I shouldn't have the problem. What the real problem is, the Flash is in front of the lens and it is causing some undesired effects with the lens. 6 out of 30 photos taken with the flash had some sort of spots on them you had to look to find them but they are there , I took the camera back, I like to know or hope my photo will be semi ok when I take it.
  
  
• Small Package
  By ASVSEIVR2CW2 on 2006-04-13
  This is exactly what I was looking for. If you want a big camera this isn't for you. If you are looking for an excellent small camera that easily fits in a pocket and goes anywhere, this is it. It comes with everything you need to share and view your pictures and videos. With memory cards the capacity is unlimited. I take it places I normally wouldn't because of its size. I have no problem with the flash but good manual dexterity is a must.
  
  
• better than ever
  By A1BQFKHNW6E6D2 on 2006-09-25
  I've had the S5 about two weeks now and payed about $150 less than the S1 I bought a year and a half ago...that one went swimming with me by accident. So far, I've notice a few substantial improvemements. 1) faster time from button pushing to picture. So much so that I've been waiting for it to take the picture long after it already has and I'd missed it. 2) Considerable improvement in the movie mode (15fps before to 30fps now) and the playback no longer requires a microscope. 3) the definition has improved even more so than the 5.1mp to 6.0 megapixel bump would suggest. Lastly, the controls are far better positioned and thought out for ease of use.
  OVERALL: When the D200 is too big, this S5 is pretty durn close to perfect
  
  
• Do Not Buy - White Spots Blobs & Circles Ruin Photos
  By A1AHSLKOKA3MC3 on 2006-12-11
  Yes, I was seduced by the "Nikon" moniker. A very nice little camera with a fatal flaw. In flash mode (which it uses a lot, given the slow lens and slow ISO ratings), approximately 1/4 of all images are ruined by white blobs, white halos, white circles, white comets, or other white artifacts that cover portions of the image. They show up randomly, with little rhyme or reason. Appears to be some sort of camera design flaw that allows flash light to bounce around inside the lens system. The artifacts move around in location from photo to photo, and are not the sort of thing you can fix easily in a photo editing program, so it's a deadly flaw, particularly when they pock-mark your subject's face. I received mine new from Cameta via Amazon, and the problem was visible within the first few photos. A test of the camera over a few hours' shooting had me tossing out dozens of photos. I'm kicking myself that I believed the "professional reviewers" of the camera, who seem to have remained blissfully unaware of this basic and glaring flaw. I noticed, but wishfully ignored, other users posting to Amazon who warned of this problem--what a sap! Next time I'll put more weight on the Amazon reviewers' opinions. PS: Since writing this review, I've had a reader contact me to tell me, in all seriousness, that what are appearing in my photos are likely the souls of dead people and ghosts, who show up as white orbs, splotches, and artifacts! (Who ya gonna call? GHOST-BUS-TERS!) This has left me puzzling over why dead people only show up when the flash is turned on? And why can't my Canon Digital Rebel SLR see souls of the departed--do only Nikons have the ability to photograph ghosts? Well, who am I to say, I don't know much about the hereafter or the ultramundane--but if you want a camera for ghost hunting, the S5 is your huckleberry. You'll have more "ghosts" than you'll know what to do with!
  
  
• Good Product
  By A2XPXAFZ5FWPD3 on 2006-07-19
  Amazing !!! At this price this product is worth buying. It takes lovely pictures. Also I got cool discount thru AMAZON. WIll be buying products thru amazon only.
  
  
• No White Spots; Ever
  By A332D6Y9GH706O on 2007-01-17
  Compact and pretty "go anywhere" camera.
  Its so small with such a large LCD that it is hard to hold onto.
  Use the Wrist strap anytime you use it.
  Trust me on this one.
  It saves the scary drops.
  Nice picture quality too!
  
  
• Spots on pictures
  By A3820RCG4F8H8K on 2006-12-15
  Just like mentioned from other reviews, I too had spots or bubbles on my pictures. Also, most pictures I took where very blurry and seemed out of focus. It also has horrible red-eye. I plan on returning the camera and purchasing another brand.
  
  
• WHITE DOTS, CIRCLES ,HALOS.....................
  By A398GJIXVMNXHK on 2006-12-20
  I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO THE OTHER USER REVIEWS ABOUT THE WHITE DOTS THAT SHOW UP IN PHOTOS TAKEN INSIDE..............WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY...........I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER NIKON AGAIN............
  
  
• Trendy and Sleek....An attention grabber
  By A19LECRA6P91SB on 2007-02-07
  Nikon S5 is an all rounder, great photos (best I have ever taken, I have had 5 digital camera in past). It is tiny and sleek - a perfect pocket camera. It is durable built and has a solid construction, I am sure it is gonna last for years. I would recommend this camera to anyone who is in market for a small sized camera. I am not even sure what the other reviewers mean by the "Whitespots".
  
  
• Short life, cumbersome features, slow transefer rate
  By AR9J01LEI43U2 on 2007-03-15
  I'm a professional residential appraiser and probably take 50-100 digital photos a week. I've used this camera for 11 months and today got a black screen. Google it- It appears to be an unfixable problem which inhibits you from using the camera or taking further pictures. Nikon's planned obsolescence was not mentioned as a feature, but sadly the cost to repair it is more than to replace it.
  
  In addition, I find the features to be cumbersome & difficult to use.
  
  The photos load extremely slow to the computer and do not ineract well with non-Nikon photo programs. The Nikon photo program is useless, so don't count on using it for most applications.
  
  I upgraded the photo card to 2 GB and although it increased the capacity to about 1000 photos, it loads too slow (10 minutes) to use.
  
  As a professional photographer of sorts, I say buy anything but this camera.
  
  Worthless!!!
  
  
• I love it!!
  By AL4Q917MH2W2C on 2007-02-10
  This is great camera....I am not sure what other reviewers are complaning about. Looks good, and takes great photos....I am highly satisfied with this camera....highly recommended.
  
  
• cool camera......but those darn white spots
  By AES1S4N4HRNKP on 2007-01-03
  I really liked this camera.........cool looking, easy to use, and it takes great photos with natural light.......... But when you turn out the lights and need to use the flash......well just like many people here will tell you.........
  
  RANDOM. WHITE. SPOTS.
  
  Sometimes 15 other times 1 or 2. For me it occured on about 90% of alll photos that require use of the flash. Now I bought this at best buy and I took it back and got another coolpix s9 ( I really like the camera) and the same thing happened. Of coarse the Best Buy "Digital experts" told me it was user error. I'm glad to see its not just me.
  
  
• Better than Canon SD600 & SD450!
  By A3IYH3VFUY175F on 2007-03-01
  Tried both Canon SD600 and SD450. They are not as good as Nikon Coolpix S5. S5 gives much better color, especially in strong lighting. It is also very easy to operate. Highly recommend this camera!
  
  
• One star is being nice
  By A1NF571Q9YKMKA on 2007-06-18
  I had this for under a month and went out to take photos. I took two pictures and then the screen went black. I took a few more photos after trying to figure out the problem and came home to download black photos and videos.
  
  I did some searching online (which I should have done beforehand) and this is not uncommon. Nikon is not backing up the problem either and charging up to $200 for the fix.
  
  Save your money for a camera that works. This one ain't it!
  
  
• Lens Error: Can't use the camera anymore.
  By A23CTZKAV2900X on 2007-08-17
  I purchase this camera a year ago because it looks sleek and I like the option to take pictures at a very close range such as for products that I can display on the web. After a month of usage, I was starting to experience this Lens Error a few times but I didn't pay attention to it because I thought it wasn't big of a problem.
  
  However, lately, the Lens Error became permanent and I can't use it anymore. I can't send it to Nikon for repair because I just missed the warranty. I can't do anything with it and just got to write it off as a bad investment. However, I will never buy any camera from Nikon anymore. I can no longer trust them with their flimsy cameras.
  
  
• Nice pictures, but it did leave spots occasionally
  By A2P2X42YNV81AC on 2008-01-04
  I received the camera as a gift. I checked the reviews on the camera and heard about the dots on the pictures (I also read that's why Nikon discontinued this model). Sure enough, after only a few days of use, I had dots in about 5% of the pictures. I didn't want to risk it getting worse, so I returned the camera while it was still under the 30 day warranty. It took amazing pictures, and I hated to part with it, but it's not worth the risk of having to deal with a manufacturer later.
  
  

• Transcend 512Mb Sd Card 80X
• Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator -- 5in x 7in (10 pages)
• Apple Aperture 1.5 [Old Version]
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (Mac)

• SanDisk SDSDB-1024-A10/11 1 GB Secure Digital Card (Retail Package)
• Nikon Leather Case for Coolpix S5 and S6
• Nikon FJ-CP1 Underwater All-Weather Compact Field Jacket Case for Nikon Coolpix S5 Digital Camera + Microfiber Cleaning Cloth
• Transcend 512Mb Sd Card 80X
• Nikon Coolpix S9 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom