Nikon Coolpix S4

The Coolpix S4 ($400) marks Nikon's return to the swivel-body camera design. Back in the early days of digital photography Nikon had quite a hit on their hands with the Coolpix 900 series cameras, and later the CP4500. That was the last "true" swivel-body Nikon camera, unless you count the ill-fated Coolpix SQ.

While the old Coolpix 900-series and 4500 cameras were aimed toward enthusiasts, the Coolpix S4 takes a different approach. This camera is aimed more toward consumers, with its point and shoot operation, plastic body, and relatively low price. While the older models had more modest zoom lenses, the Coolpix S4 has a whopping 10X zoom.

To say that the ultra zoom field is crowded is an understatement. How does this unique camera compare? Find out now in our review!

What's in the Box?

The Coolpix S4 has a below average bundle. Inside the box you'll find:
The 6.0 Megapixel Nikon Coolpix S4 digital camera
Two AA alkaline batteries
Wrist strap
USB cable
A/V cable
CD-ROM featuring Nikon PictureProject
97 page camera manual (printed)

With their 2005 Coolpix models, Nikon is going the route of so many other camera manufacturers by building flash memory into the camera instead of including a memory card. The Coolpix S4 includes a paltry 13.5MB of internal memory, which holds a grand total of four images at the highest quality setting. That means that a memory card is a required purchase, and I recommend a 256MB or 512MB as a good starter size. The Coolpix can use Secure Digital or MultiMediaCards, and I recommend sticking to the former. A high speed card is not a necessary purchase.

The Coolpix S4 uses two AA batteries for power. Nikon includes two alkaline batteries in the box which will quickly find their way into the trash, so you'll also need to buy a set or two of NiMH batteries (2300 mAh or higher) and a charger in addition to a memory card.
The Nikon Coolpix S4 is a fairly average ultra zoom camera with a most uncommon design. Given the tough competition in the ultra zoom space the S4 has its work cut out for it -- and its feature set and image quality keep it in the middle of the pack.

The Coolpix S4 marks the return of the Nikon's swivel-body design, and I missed it. I owned a Coolpix 950 back in the dark ages, and I became a fan of the swivel-body instantly. It comes in handy when you're shooting over people's heads in front of you, or at ground level for cool shots of your pets or kids. Unfortunately Nikon cut a few corners on the S4, and it's not quite as nice as its predecessors. Build quality is okay in most areas, though the cheesy plastic lens cover leaves much to be desired. In terms of ergonomics I have a few complaints. First, there's absolutely nowhere to put your right thumb, which will end up on that large LCD display -- I hope you like fingerprints! Second, the four-way controller is a little clunky, but that's just my opinion.

While the old swivel-body Coolpixes had manual controls and expandability, the Coolpix S4 is a point-and-shoot camera if there ever was one. It has one manual control -- and it's a useful one -- which is for white balance. Everything else is automatic, and Nikon should be commended for providing tons of scene modes and a help system for menu items. The Best Shot Selector and D-Lighting features are handy, though the latter only increases the noise levels in the S4's already grainy photos. While the camera features a VGA movie mode with a digital image stabilization feature, the frame rate is limited to a choppy 15 frames/second and the video quality is poor.

The S4 features a 6 Megapixel CCD, 10X optical zoom lens (the highest the old swivel-body cameras ever got was 4X), and a 2.5" LCD display. While the LCD is large, its resolution and low light performance leave much to be desired. One thing that unfortunately got axed on the S4 was an optical viewfinder, something that all its predecessors include. The camera has a paltry 13.5MB of on-board memory as well as an SD/MMC memory card slot.

Camera performance was average in all areas except for battery life. There the S4 performed better than average, especially if you put some decent NiMH batteries in it. One area which was a real disappointment was the S4's low light focusing ability: it was pretty awful considering that there's an AF-assist lamp on board.

Photo quality was a mixed bag. While photos were well-exposed, colorful, and low in purple fringing, things were a little too "overprocessed" for my taste, with details looking muddy instead of sharp and clear. Redeye levels were fairly low, which surprised me.

There are a few other things worth pointing out. The camera doesn't support the USB 2.0 High Speed standard, which many other cameras in this class offer. Nikon gives you throwaway batteries with the camera, and I already mentioned the tiny amount of built-in memory. And finally, some manual controls, or at least a slow shutter speed mode (2 seconds isn't very long) would be nice.

Ultimately the Coolpix S4 is an average camera in a sea of excellent ones. It's unique design allows for some creative shooting, and it's a heck of a lot smaller than any other ultra zoom. At the same time, there are better ultra zoom cameras out there, offering manual controls, image stabilization, expandability, and more. For those who value the S4's form over its features, it's worth a look.