Nikon Announces the Splash-Proof Ultracompact Coolpix S2 Digital Camera

[Ben Stafford]

Nikon has announced the introduction of the Nikon Coolpix S2 digital camera featuring a splash-proof aluminum body that is only 0.9 inches thick.  This 5.1 megapixel camera, with a 2.5 inch LCD also includes some nice in-camera software features for red-eye removal, face-priority autofocus and exposure correction.

The camera can capture images at 5.1 megapixel and display them on the 2.5 inch, 110,000 pixel LCD (there isn't an optical viewfinder).  The lens is a 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor 35-105mm ED glass lens that utilizes a "right-angle" system so that the lens doesn't protrude from the body.  The camera has a 4x digital zoom for a total of 12x zoom.  There is a sliding cover to protect the lens (show closed below).  The camera has good battery life - able to take 190 pictures with a fully charged battery.

Start up time is approximately 1 second and can shoot in continuous mode at 1.8 frames per second.  The movie mode can capture video at 15 frames per second up to 640x480 resolution.  The camera has 12MB of internal memory, expandable using the SD card expansion slot.

As far as software features, this camera is pretty loaded.  It features Nikon's In-Camera Red-Eye Fix functionality which detects and fixes red eye effect and corrects it digitally.  The Nikon Face-Priority AF feature automatically detects a face in the frame (in portrait mode) and focuses on that area.  The new D-Lighting technology from Nikon lightens areas that are under-exposed while leaving properly exposed areas alone.  There is a nice Blur Warning feature to let the user know if shaky hands have blurred an image.  Finally, there is a built in help guide that can display help on camera functions in 12 different languages.

Nikon is including a Coolstation MV-12 docking station for charging and sharing pictures.  The Coolpix S2 will be available at an MSRP of $449.95 in June of 2005.

Full product details

[Brian]

Man, the ultra compact market is getting flooded with great looking and fully featured devices.