Nikon Coolpix S500 Review

Nikon has come out with a sleek, compact model, the Coolpix S500. The S500 features 7.1-megapixel, 1/2.5-in sensors, 3X zoom that provides a 35mm film equivalent focal length range of 35 to 105mm, 35-105mm-equivalent, f/2.8 lenses and 2.5”, 230k anti-glare LCD monitors with 230,000 dot composition.

The camera also boasts of optical vibration reduction, in-camera red-eye fix, 15 scene options, face-priority auto focus (AF), D-lighting image correction, plus the standard auto mode.The S500 has a rectangular shape (measuring at 88 x 51 x 22 mm), with a classy metal appearance in silver chrome or dark bronze.

The S500 shows great speed when you turn on the power button – you can start shooting in 0.6 of a second. Focus can be acquired quite fast, in good lighting conditions, and lets you capture images in 0.005 seconds after releasing the shutter.

The camera has a conventional control layout with a D-pad that scrolls fast, thanks to a rotating motion that makes you go through recorded images or menus rather quickly. Just be careful about changing the settings by accident.

One great feature the S500 possesses is a moving-lens anti-shake system that makes a two-stop advantage possible then you’re shooting in low lighting, hand-held. This is the smallest camera you can find in the market sporting this optical image stabilization system.

Keep in mind though, that the S500 is a pocket snapshot camera that doesn’t have an overload of features, but instead, gives you the basics plus some more. The program auto mode has menu options that beginners will have no problems navigating well, with warning signals when you take a blurred shot. You can also get drive mode, a short range of pre-set colour modes, a white balance image quality.

Pros: The S500 is great for users who want an “automatic” job – letting the camera make decisions for them while coming up with picture quality results. This model can set fixed ISO sensitivities, while influencing color, image quality, exposure, and other factors. If you’re getting an S500, you can be content with just pointing and shooting, and have pictures come out fine.

Cons: A word of warning: pressing the “shaky hand” icon found On the top panel will initiate the Anti-shake mode, and then activates the optical image stabilization system. This in turn will turn on the BSS mode, which will override the manual ISO settings you’ve set. The whole process will set on a maximum of 2000 ISO, producing negative image noise that can ruin your pictures. Although the image stabilization system can be turned on for good in the set-up menu at any ISO setting, perhaps there’s no need to use the “shaky hand” button at all.

There are some basic performance issues that takes getting used to. For one thing, though powering on the camera is rather quick, turning it off can take about a second longer. You have to get used to its shooting patterns to make it work well with your own habits. There is a slight pause after shooting three frames before it re-focuses again for another round of continuous three-frame shooting.

The S500 seems to drag when used in bright daylight, or low light. The AF assist lamp has a limited range that doesn’t work well indoors.

Overall: The Nikon CoolPix S500 tries its best to give consumers a compact camera that can do as much as its size will allow. The optical image stabilization feature is quite an interesting element in a point and shoot camera, though setbacks like image noise, and poor performance in extremely bright or low lighting situations can be a problem. Given the choices we have in the market, there are other models that fare better than this one. But if you’ve managed to obtain an S500 already, it can be as useful enough when you get around the technical flaws.

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