Jason Dunn
01-29-2008, 04:00 PM
<img alt="" src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-pressphoto.jpg" /> <strong><br /><br />Product Category:</strong> Point and Shoot Digital Camera <strong><br />Manufacturer:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nikon.ca/en/Product.aspx?m=16662&disp=Overview">Nikon</a> <strong><br />Where to Buy:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/digitalmediathoughts-20/detail/B000VRR9B0/102-9971738-2192961">Amazon.com</a> <strong><br />Price:</strong> $259 USD<strong><br />Specifications:</strong> Available on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nikon.ca/en/Product.aspx?m=16662&disp=Specs">Nikon's Web site</a>. <br /><br /><strong>Pros:</strong><br /><ul> <li>12.1 megapixels in a small, sturdy package; </li> <li>Manual controls for ISO and exposure; </li> <li>Plenty of flexible photo and video options. </li></ul><strong>Cons:</strong><br /><ul> <li>Images can be a bit noisy, even at ISO 400; </li> <li>JPEG rendering in playback mode is slow; </li> <li>Image sensor shift for vibration reduction rather than optical lens shift. </li></ul><strong>Summary:</strong><!----> Nikon's S700 is their 12 megapixel flagship slim point and shoot model, and it packs a lot of value for under $275 USD. How does it measure up in day to day use? Read on for the full review!<div style="page-break-after: always;"><span style="display: none;"> </span></div><br /><div style="page-break-after: always;"><strong><font size="4">My Point and Shoot Background</font></strong><br />Nikon Canada sent me a Nikon Coolpix S700 to take a look at, and it was just in time for my Microsoft Mobius 2007 trip to Amsterdam - so I took it along for the journey. This is a fast look at what the S700 offers, and what it was like using it for a week in Amsterdam. A bit of background: I was a Canon digital camera owner for years, and rarely used anything else. After I outgrew my first-generation digital Rebel, I naturally looked to Canon for my next DSLR...but when I laid my hands on the Nikon D200 with a 18-200mm lens, it was love at first sight. I haven't looked back since, and am an unabashed Nikon DSLR fan. When it comes to smaller, point and shoot (P&S) cameras, I still tend to buy Canon: I've owned an SD110, SD400, SD800, and now an SD870. I've been an all Canon P&S guy, with the exception of a brief and regrettable fling with two Casio Exilims. I'd never seriously looked at Nikon's P&S cameras, so I figured it was time I check out one of their high-end models: the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nikon.ca/en/Product.aspx?m=16662&disp=Overview">Coolpix S700</a>. <br /><br /><font size="4"><span><strong>Getting to Know the Coolpix S700</strong></span></font><br />Let me quickly go through the list of notable features on the S700: 12.1 megapixel resolution from a 1/1.72-in. CCD sensor, a metallic body with great fit and finish, the new EXPEED™ image processing engine reduces noise, 3x Optical Zoom-Nikkor f/2.8-5.4 lens (equivalent to 37-111mm in the 35mm world), 2.7-inch 230K pixel LCD monitor with wide-angle and vertical viewing, Image Sensor Shift Vibration Reduction (VR), high-Sensitivity mode (auto), and manual up to ISO 3200, face-priority AF with 12-face detection, in-Camera Red-Eye Fix, and "D-Lighting" which is Nikon's name for shadow elimination (dynamic lighting boost). You can check out the rest of the specs <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nikon.ca/en/Product.aspx?m=16662&disp=Features">over on Nikon Canada's site</a>. The camera takes images in a variety of resolutions, including 4000 x 3000 (12M), 3264 x 2448 (8M), 2592 x 1944 (5M), 2048 x 1536 (3M), 1024×768 (PC), 640×480 (TV), 3968 x 2232 (16:9).<br /><br />Physically, the camera is very well-built. It's slightly smaller and lighter than my Canon SD870, so the S700 was easy to carry. It's not as slim as some cameras out there, such as the Casio Exilim line, but I decided about two years ago that I was willing to put up with a bulkier P&S camera in order to get quality pictures. The screen is about average, no crazy high resolution display here, about the same as most. The controls are easy to understand and use - the 360 degree rotating pad took me a bit to get used to, but once you use it to quickly go through all your images, every other system seems a bit archaic. And speaking of going through your images, there's a great calendar mode that people who keep images on their camera for a long time will appreciate. Though if you're one such person, I'd strongly encourage you to back up your images onto your computer rather than leaving them on the memory card for months and months.<br /><br /><font size="4"><span><strong>A Lot of Options for a P&S Camera</strong></span></font><br />Movie options offered are 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 160 x 120, a time-lapse movie, and a stop motion movie (with options for 5fps, 10fps, and 15 fps). That's an impressive list, and more options than many P&S cameras offer (including my Canon SD870). Interval timed shooting is also offered, with settings including 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes. There's also a one-button voice recording that allows you to record a separate audio file up to 20 seconds long (in WAV format - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/DSCN0030.WAV">here's a sample</a>) that matches the file name of the image you just took. Unfortunately it only works in playback mode - it would be great to be able to press the record button right after taking the picture without having to switch modes. The S700 has a lot of flexibility with ISO and exposure settings: ISO can be set to auto, or anything from 64 to 3200. Pressing right on the control pad brings up the exposure compensation, which allows you to go +2 or -2 stops. Pressing up allows you to control the flash, pressing left brings up the self-timer, and pressing down controls the macro setting. It's a very fast, efficient way of accessing commonly used controls. <span><strong><br /></strong><div style="page-break-after: always;"><strong><div style="page-break-after: always;"><span style="display: none;"> </span></div><br /><font size="4">The Meat and Potatoes: How Do the Photos Look?</font></strong><br />So what about the photo quality? I selected some sample photos that show some of what the camera is capable of.<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559698.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-001.jpg">Ultra-Close Macro Shot</a> (1.79 MB): This photo is of the keyboard on my Dell XPS M1330. At 100% you can clearly see the sweet focus spot on the G/H, and nice fall-off as it moves outward. Very strong detail overall. <br /><br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559767.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-003.jpg">Lions at the Amsterdam Zoo</a> (2.2 MB): This photo was taken on an overcast day but the colour is quite good. At 100% the image is a touch soft, but not overly so for a P&S and the resolution holds up well.<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559794.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-004.jpg">Portrait Photo at Amsterdam Zoo</a> (1.4 MB): An outdoor, no-flash (ISO 64) posed shot shows good overall colour and resolution. At 100% fine facial details are evident, though so is the softness of the image. What impressed me here is that the details on the cream-coloured jacket were maintained. I find quite often, even with my Canon SD870, anything white (or nearly white) gets a bit lost in terms of exposure. So the S700 wins big points from me here.<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559802.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-005.JPG">A Very Expensive Car</a> (1.8 MB): No flash, taken at ISO 288, this image shows that Nikon's default JPEG image doesn't kill the reds with saturation like some cameras do. At 100% you can see some noise, but nothing horrible.<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559871.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-gridshot.JPG">Nikon's Multi-Shot 16</a> (936 KB): When you take a photo in this mode, the camera takes 16 photos back to back and puts them together into a single 5 megapixel image. Why would you want that you might ask? I can see it being fun for group photos, sort of a 16 frame video. Not something you'd use often, but I appreciate Nikon offering a creative option I haven't seen on other cameras.<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559897.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-normal.JPG">Random Sample Photo</a> (1.6 MB): A slightly blurry ISO 400 photo where the image stabilization didn't quite work. But I took this for a reason...<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559837.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-dynamic.JPG">Random Sample Photo with "D-Lighting" Applied</a> (1.8 MB): Here's a second photo I took immediately after the one above. On the camera, you can take an image stored on the memory card and apply Nikon's dynamic lighting fix to your image. It gives you a small preview of what will happen, but it's not sufficient to really let you see what's going to happen. D-Lighting is a brute force approach to boosting the mid-range lighting in an image. It also overwrites the original file, which I think is a mistake - it should save it as a copy. I appreciate Nikon's attempt to offer on-camera fixing, but using a computer to fix images will always result in a better outcome.<br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559934.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-ISO-auto.JPG">Dimly Light Shot, ISO Auto</a> (1.8 MB): This is an image I purposefully shot without the flash on to demonstrate the ISO noise that is sadly typical of P&S cameras. This image is ISO 772, 1/8th second exposure. You can see the noise clearly at 100%, although if this were a 4x6 print, it wouldn't be overly noticeable. More of a concern is the slight blur - the vibration reduction wasn't able to compensate for my unsteady hands. <br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1201559966.usr1.jpg" /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nikon-s700-ISOhigh.JPG">Dimly Light Shot, ISO High</a> (2.3 MB): Here we have a sharp, but incredibly noisy image. ISO does the best it can to give you a sharp image, but at the cost of adding a lot of noise. Like most P&S cameras, the S700 works best when it can trigger the flash.<strong><br /></strong><div style="page-break-after: always;"><strong><div style="page-break-after: always;"><span style="display: none;"> </span></div><br /></strong><font size="4"><span><strong>Room For Improvement</strong></span></font><br />In terms of things I didn't like, there's not much on the list, but the first one is a big one: when you're previewing your photos, the camera first shows you a chunky, ugly image with a lot of JPEG compression artifacts, then about one second later it does a rendering pass on the image and before your eyes the image goes from ugly to perfect. I've owned a lot of cameras over the years, and I've never seen a camera not be able to render a JPEG properly in the first pass. For those of you familiar with Web graphics, it's like watching a progressive JPEG load (actually, I wonder if the JPEGs the S700 creates are progressive JPEGs?). Regardless, it makes for a poor user experience and it's something I never got used to. My only other quibble is that the auto focus lock seems to take longer than what I'm used to from other P&S cameras, though not by a huge margin. It doesn't seem to matter if it's set on face detection or auto. <br /><br />Some features are neat, but not particularly well thought out: there's an option for you to select one of your images to appear as the welcome screen when you turn on the camera. That's a nice, personal touch - except that it doesn't re-size the image, instead storing the full-sized JPEG in memory, so when you turn on the camera you see the chunky-looking, pre-rendered JPEG, then the camera goes into shooting mode. Another thing I don't think Nikon thought much about: the battery charger isn't a sleek unit that plugs into a wall socket, it has a long and large standard-sized AC power cable. That takes up a lot more space when travelling.<span><strong><br /><br /><font size="4">A Great Buy</font></strong></span><br />My fairly minor complaints aside, when you consider that this camera has an MSRP of $349 CAD/$329 USD, and that you can pick up this camera from <a target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/digitalmediathoughts-20/detail/B000VRR9B0/102-9971738-2192961">Amazon.com for $259 USD</a> [affiliate], for the price this camera delivers a lot of bang for the buck. Depending on where you are in the world, you may find the Canon SD870 for within $40 of the S700 - then the decision becomes more difficult and it comes down to features (and how important the wider-angle lens on the SD870 is vs. the enhanced photo and video features the Nikon S700 offers). Neither camera will deliver poor-quality pictures, that's for certain. <em><br /><br />Jason Dunn owns and operates <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He has a busy month ahead of him with a lot of reviews.</em></div></div></span></div>