Nikon COOLPIX S9100 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 18x NIKKOR ED Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full HD 1080p Video (Red)
- 18x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom-NIKKOR ED Glass Lens.
- 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for high-speed operation and exceptional low-light performance.
- 3-inch Ultra-High Resolution VGA (921,000-dot) Clear Color Display
- Capture 5 shots per second at full resolution
- 5-way VR Image Stabilization System
Take one superior shot after another with Nikon’s sharp shooting, sharp looking COOLPIX S9100 with an incredible 18x wide zoom feature and 12.1-megapixels. As a matter of fact, built with Smart Portrait and Auto Scene technology (i.e. fool proof), you’ll have to try pretty hard to take a bad shot with this bad boy. You can even bring back full HD 1080p movies of your vacation! And if looks count, well the S9100 will keep your audience captive with its slim metal body and contemporary red color.
List Price: $ 329.00
Price: $ 329.00
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Nikon S9100 450mm zoom camera 12mp,
The S9100 is the perfect size and feel for a pocket camera. It looks to be all plastic, but the type of plastic and the quality of the build makes it look and feel like the best small cameras made these days. Startup time is about one second, and going from minimum zoom to maximum zoom takes about two seconds. Image quality is very good for a camera with a 1/2.33-type sensor, but certain very fine details like hair, or a bird’s feathers in a low-contrast part of the bird’s body may be smeared somewhat. This is apparently caused by the noise reduction software in the camera, which can’t be turned down or off. On the other hand, my Canon SX-210 (which I replaced with the S9100) does not reduce noise much if at all, and the end result is a compromise between the two systems. I think the Nikon S9100 wins in that compromise though, since the images on average look better than the SX-210’s. Pocket cameras that have much larger sensors (and consequently much less zoom) can often produce a better image with less noise, but you have to give up the long zoom, or put up with a much larger camera.
In my tests of the S9100’s videos, using the highest quality 1080×1920 (1080p) setting, I did not see any clear superiority over the 720p videos from the Canon SX-210, or the Panasonic ZS3 that I also own. The ZS3’s and SX-210’s videos use about 3mb per second of filespace for the 720p movies, yet the Nikon S9100 uses only about 1.8mb per second to record 1080p movies at highest quality, day or night. Even if the S9100’s video software is much more efficient, it doesn’t account for such a disparity. 1080p is 2.25 times bigger than 720p in resolution, so I would expect 6.75mb per second if using the same video codec as the 720p cameras, or perhaps 3.5mb per second if the S9100’s codec is twice as efficient. In any case, I don’t see a major problem with video quality on the S9100 – where I have a problem is holding the camera steady when shooting movies at maximum zoom. Still photos are not much of a problem in good light, because the shutter speed will be high enough and the image stabilizer will help out. So I would recommend using a tripod, or bracing the camera against a solid object when shooting videos, especially at maximum zoom. If you use a tripod, or place the camera on a solid object so that there is no camera movement at all, you have to remember to turn the image stabilizer off or the video will not be sharp and clear.
Note: Many of the comments I’ve seen about blurry images from the S9100 could be due to using the camera on a tripod or placing it on a firm surface, and forgetting to turn the image stabilizer off. Then of course, you have to remember to turn it back on.
Using the S9100 is easy enough, since the menus and controls are pretty well common to most pocket cameras these days. I especially like the separate video button, which has saved me from a lot of missed opportunities. There are a few nitpicks I have with the S9100, which I wish Nikon would fix in a probably more expensive camera. I would prefer an optical image stabilizer to the sensor-based stabilizer, I would like to have Spot Focus as an option on the menu, and I would like to have the option to adjust the amount of noise reduction, in case I wanted to do noise reduction on the computer with extra software.
Battery life with the S9100 is rated about average for a pocket camera, which I find is good enough for about three hours of use in the local parks, shooting 100 to 300 photos. How many photos you get on a battery charge depends on how many you shoot close together. If you have the camera on most of the time and keep it activated, and take very few shots, the battery will still run down in a few hours due to the LCD screen, to the image stabilizer, and other electronic features that are active when the camera is active. If you don’t want to run out of power when you’re out shooting photos, you should get a second battery (never, ever get anything except a genuine Nikon battery) and make sure both are charged up before heading out.
I gave the Nikon S9100 only four stars because it’s not perfect, but in fact it’s a very good camera – the best pocket zoom camera I know of, and a bargain I believe at the standard price. If a person learns to use the S9100 properly, accounting for its particular features and requirements, they should get excellent photos that in many cases would compete with photos from high-priced DSLR’s.
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|Excellent Camera for the Investment,
Folks, this purchase came after 3 solid days of research using everything from Amazon, CNet, Infosyncworld, to YouTube. You are here, reading reviews, as I was at the beginning of my search for a great quality digital camera that was neither high-end nor cheap. Let me begin by saying that I just purchased this camera and have not gone over extensive testing myself, but rest assured that you should NOT take Amazon.com reviews for digital cameras (and a lot of other things for that matter) as the gospel. Why? Because too many people come on here, bashing good equipment when the vast majority of the time it is user error. Please, do yourself a favor and do research using professional analysis by people that test these things out and that take pictures and video that you can see for YOURSELF.
I ignored all of the reviews that didn’t specifically point towards any sort of systematic malfunction and that solely complained about image quality or other things that are easily altered and messed up using settings. And also reviews that complained about their camera breaking — yeah I don’t care HOW far you think you dropped it from…dropping electronics and it breaking then giving it a negative review is absurd. After narrowing my search down to the Canon S95, the Canon SX230, the Nikon s8100 and the Nikon s9100, I chose the Nikon S9100.
WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR:
1. a compact camera…not too small, not too big
2. advanced enough to get my feet wet in the world of digital photography
3. offers 1080 HD video
4. optical zoom of at LEAST 10X
5. Under $450 – as I’m not ready to purchase a dSLR
6. utmost picture quality offered by a point & shoot (to include low-light performance)
WHAT MY RESEARCH TOLD ME:
1. professional review websites, not amazon reviewers, know what they are talking about when it comes to digital camera picture/video quality and they back it up with samples
2. not to rely on a handful of negative reviews to sway my decision
3. Nikon and Canon were the 2 most reliable brands offering products that met my requirements
4. cameras are going to offer stuff I don’t need, won’t use
5. pretty much all of the cameras are battery hogs
6. the memory card can influence camera performance/speed (wonder how many negative reviewers trashed the Nikon for their lack of putting a quality card in it eh)
MY FINAL 2 CHOICES:
1. Nikon s9100
Why over the s8100?
-well, the image quality is virtually identical DESPITE what some of the Amazon reviewers are saying because they pretty much use the same imaging system.
-s9100 has slight upgrades to scene modes, video, etc…
-s9100 is the newer model and has just dropped to a reasonable price as compared to the s8100
2. Canon sx230
Why over the S95?
-the s95 didn’t shoot 1080 video (it is a 2010 model)
-the s95 had a lot of manual controls I am not ready for at this point and that I’d probably not use (this is a PRO for a lot of people)
-the s95 would likely be upgraded in the near future with a 2011 model
-the s95 cost roughly $50 more and didn’t really give me anything the sx230 wouldn’t at my usage level
So, How’d I decide on the Nikon S9100 over the Canon SX230:
Menu System: Canon – I really liked the canon menu system and it was really fast to navigate. However, the Nikon menu was just as fast, just not as fancy or “pretty” as the Canon.
Image Quality: Tie; I found pictures taken at the store to be the same, and reviews online touted both cameras as being excellent in both low-light and bright light.
Video Quality: Tie
Picture/Video Stabilization: Picture: Tie; Video: Canon
Zoom: Nikon
Effects: Tie – however the Nikon approaches some of the effects a little bit different. Canon does offer a few effects the Nikon didn’t like a miniature video effect.
Audio: Tie – however you will hear the zoom in your videos if you use it while recording.
Form Factor: Canon – the Canon was more sleek and curvy
Comfortability: Nikon – the Nikon just fit my hand better
Price: Nikon – the Nikon was roughly $40 less.
In the end I REALLY liked both cameras. I’m no pro photographer, but I didn’t want a battery operated purse toy either. So I don’t think I would have gone wrong either way, however I just couldn’t justify spending $40 more for the Canon when it really didn’t offer me anything more features (that I’d use) over the Nikon. I wouldn’t use the GPS function on the Canon…it is a battery hog anyway, EVEN when the camera is off unless you turn the feature off. I wouldn’t really use a few of the extra effects the Canon had, and the Nikon had the better zoom. Despite Nikon’s menus not being as pretty, nor the back of the camera being as pretty. I liked it’s LCD screen better and was able to understand…
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|Excellent Camera,
Now I’m no professional photographer, but I am picky about how my pictures look. I have a good eye, and can be very anal about details in my photos. I’ve seen this camera get some bad reviews lately, and I am really perplexed by this. I looked at lots of other cameras. some costing more and some less. This was by far the best point and shoot pocket-able mega zoom out there, I thought. I read some negative reviews about sluggish focus and blurred images from here and from Best Buy’s web site. I don’t know if a bad batch of cameras went out? I did have some focus issues right out of the box when I started using the camera; but after inspecting the camera I noticed a nice big greasy finger print right on the lens. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t from me, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it though. After cleaning the lens, I have had no focus issues. The only thing I can say about the focus is that when indoors, sometimes you need to take a step back and use more zoom to get focus lock, and sometimes you might need to take a step forward and use less zoom to achieve focus lock. This happens rarely though. Most of the time my S9100 focuses fast and true. Low light shots are great indoors and out. Auto mode works pretty good for about 90% of my shots, and the rest I use the various setting or scene modes to capture the shot I want. Now I’m not saying every shot I take is perfect and clear. As with any camera digital or film. You have to expect a few bad shots. That’s why I always try to take more that one shot when possible. the lcd is gorgeous. I find that if the pictures look good on the camera, they will look good on my computer. Of course different computers will yield different results. On my laptop the pictures look a bit drab or dull, but on my desk top with a high res monitor the pictures are real vivid and pleasing to the eye. I’ve had the camera now for almost two weeks and I love it. The long zoom is great, but even with image stabilizing enabled you will need a steady hand for clear shots at higher zoom levels. The video from the camera plays nice and smooth on my computer when I use windows media player; but when I tried quick time the video was choppy. In video mode you can take pics while recording, which is nice. There is no shutter sound when you take the picture, therefore no shutter sound in the video. You will however hear the zoom lens in your videos under quiet situations. It’s not very loud, but it is noticeable. The camera starts up quick with little delay from shot to shot. I do recommend a class 6 or higher memory card. It made a big difference for me in burst mode. The camera can fire off 5 shots at a rate of 9.5 fps, but write times with a class 4 were painfully slow. I had to wait a good 9 to 10 seconds before my next shot. I am now using a class 10 and that time has been cut down to about 3 to 4 seconds. A bit of advice on memory cards. Make sure you look at the minimum and maximum write times. Not all class tens or sixes are equal. I saw a lot of class 10 cards with the same write speeds as higher end class 6 cards. I did upload a bunch of pictures so everyone can judge for themselves on quality. I guess the best advice I can give is try some test shots using various scene modes for other than there intended purpose. That’s what I try to do when possible. I’ll take a few pictures of the same shot using different settings. Then I view them on the computer later to see what looks best. Some other things I would like to touch on. A complaint I heard a lot about on the S8100 is the battery level wasn’t displayed until the camera needed charging. It is now displayed always on the S9100. Another complaint was about flash placement on the S8100. It’s in the same place for this one, but for me there is still enough room behind the flash for my finger. The flash no longer pops up automatically. It now pops up by activating a little switch on the side of the camera. This I actually like. I never cared for auto pop up flashes. Some people have complained about placement of the shutter button. That of course is an individual preference and shouldn’t effect a rating. I like where it is on this camera, no problems at all. The other buttons and dials all seem to be good places and easy to activate or use. The camera itself is pretty easy to use. The interface is simple and clean. Settings are easy to get to and not buried under five or six sub menus. All in all, this is a great little camera.
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