The Design: Nikon Coolpix S1
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The front of the Nikon Coolpix S1 features its 35-105mm (35mm equivalent) zoom lens. The S1 uses a folded optics system that allows the camera to adjust the focal length inside the camera. This means that the lens never extends out of the body. To the left of the lens is the built-in flash. On the right side of the lens is the AF-assist lamp, which helps the camera to focus when there is not enough light.
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The back of the S1 features a large 2.5" LCD monitor with 110K pixels. On the upper-right side is the zoom controller, which serves to operate the optical zoom in Record mode as well as magnify images in Playback mode. Below the zoom controller are the Menu button and a 4-way controller with a separate OK button in the middle. The up, left, and down positions correspond to flash mode, self-timer, and macro mode respectively when the camera is in Record mode. Just below this are the Play and Delete buttons. At the very bottom is the main mode switch. The main mode positions are Record, Scene, and Movie.
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On the top of the S1, we can see the microphone and the main power button. When the power is on, the power indicator lamp will illuminate. To the right of the power button is the shutter button.
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On the bottom of the Coolpix S1 is a plastic tripod mount. To the left, we can see the sliding hinged battery door and the power connector for the dock. The S1 uses a rechargeable EN-EL8 Lithium-ion battery (3.7V 730mAh).
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The right side of the S1 features a hinged door that conceals the SD card slot. The camera has 12 MB of internal memory and does not come with an SD card. We highly recommend starting out with at least a 256 MB SD card. From this angle, we can also see the post for the included wrist strap.
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R3MF - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
< owns a panasonic fx8, and loves it.sciwizam - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
Nice, I just ordered a SD400 yesterday!bigpow - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
Panasonic FX7 >> Canon SD400 & it's cheaperFricardo - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
Heh. Just a day or two after I asked for an SD400 review you guys come up with this. Thanks.astralusion - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
excellent review...i'd been waiting for a full sd400 review, also just wanted to say that your selection of Duke for your sample pictures was an excellent choice.UNCjigga - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
As a long-time Canon customer, no surprise here. Right now, Canon makes the best consumer-level digicams period. Sony may be close to catching up, and Nikon may have been the shizznit a few years ago, but right now Canon has a considerable lead.I really want to get the SD400...but I'm wondering if I should hold out for a newer Canon with wifi.
Johnmcl7 - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
I've been really impressed with Canon's pocket cameras, I bought their Ixus 500 (the European version of the SD500 I think) as I wanted a camera I could keep in my pocket and have with me all the time, as much as I like my big Fuji it's simply to o big to carry over my shoulder all the time. It's great it takes CF cards, so it can share with the Fuji plus it doesn't leave me regretting too much that I didn't take the Fuji.The build quality does feel good but it's really let me down recently, there's a little bit of plastic which broke on the door which holds the memory card door shut, so the camera has had to go back for repair - really missed having it to hand while out at the weekend, looking forward to getting it back.
John
blwest - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
#4 both of those cameras suck more than the Olympus and would thus be a waste of time to review. A piece of %$@#$ is a piece of @#$#@.cheesus - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
I agree -- great review. However, I was a bit disappointed to see that the Panasonic FX-7 was left out of the review. It's a similarly-priced 5MP ultracompact that has some of the best resolution and color reproduction I've seen. Also comes with optical image stabilization, which i can't say for the other cameras here. I understand that you can't review every ultracompact, but I think the FX-7 beats the SD400 in terms of image quality any day.Larso - Monday, July 18, 2005 - link
Yes, great review. But it fails to recognize one weakness with the Canon SD400, that sharpness is lacking in the corners of the image (at wideangle).I decided to buy the camera anyway because of its excellent performance and nice case, and I'm extremely happy with it!