Nikon Coolpix S210 Review

The Coolpix S210 is equipped with a 3x Zoom-Nikkor optical zoom lens with a 38 - 114mm (in 35mm equivalent) focal length coverage. The maximum aperture is f/3.1 - 5.9. When powered down the lens retracts into the body and is protected by a built-in shutter, no lens cap needed.

Auto focus is handled by a contrast detect TTL system, the focus range is from 2.0 ft. (60cm) to infinity. Macro close-up mode gets you even closer at 3.9 in. (10cm) to infinity.

The built-in speedlight has a shooting range of approx. (W) 2.0ft. to 13.1 ft. (0.6 to 4.0m), (T) 2.0 ft. to 6.9 ft. (0.6 to 2.1m) at ISO Auto. Available mode are: Auto Flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill Flash, or Disabled.

The large 2.5-inch color LCD with 230,000 pixels of resolution and features an anti- reflection coating to help make it more usable in harsh outdoor lighting. It serves as the only viewfinder for framing as well as for reviewing your images/movies and accessing the menu screens. In lower light conditions the LCD will "gain up" for better framing and provides 100% coverage. There's also 5-levels of brightness adjustment.

Controls on top include the Power On/Off button and the Shutter release.

Controls on the back: The Zoom controls, which also serve as the index and magnify controls during playback.

The Mode button calls up the onscreen mode dial to select from: Auto, High ISO, Scene, Voice recording, Movie and Setup options.

The Playback button enters review mode

The 4-way selector is for navigating menus and selecting pictures. In record mode pressing it "Up" selects the desired flash mode, "Left" activates the self-timer, "Down" enables the macro focus mode, and pressing "Right" adjusts exposure compensation. The center OK button accepts menu selections.

The MENU button calls up the menu system, and the "trash can" button is for deleting images.

Located on the bottom is the combination I/O port that handles USB (2.0, full speed) connection to you PC or Pictbridge compatible printer as well as Audio/Video (NTSC or PAL) output to your TV set.

The Coolpix S210 is equipped with ~52MB of internal memory and a SD/SDHC memory card slot, no card is supplied with the camera. Images and movies can be copied from internal memory to SD card or vice-versa. We recommend the purchase of at least a 1GB (or larger) SD/SDHC card or your picture taking will be quite limited.

The camera is powered by a proprietary EN-EL10 rechargeable Li-Ion battery that is charged in the included MH-63 battery charger. Nikon claims this pack provides approx. 220 shots (CIPA standard) per charge. An optional power adapter EH-62D allows the camera to be powered from an A/C wall outlet.