Nikon Coolpix S10

A compact, high-zoom digicam with CCD-shift image stabilisation and some handy auto image correction functions.The latest of Nikon's 'twist-and-shoot' cameras, the Coolpix S10 has a 6-megapixel imager and a 10x optical zoom lens. Nikon's swivelling cameras were among the more versatile models in their digicam range but that has changed with the S10, which has been designed with point-and-shoot photographers in mind. There's no thread on the lens barrel for filters and other add-ons, the maximum aperture is relatively small at f/3.5 and controls are somewhat restricted for a long-zoom camera.

Announced in August, the Coolpix S10 is the latest incarnation of Nikon's 'twisting body' camera design that can be traced all the way back to the original Coolpix 900 in 1998, though - like the S4 before it - this one manages to squeeze in a big 10x optical zoom. Design tweaks aside, the S10's biggest enhancement over its predecessor is the inclusion of CCD-shift image stabilization (or Vibration Reduction, 'VR' as Nikon calls it), pretty much an essential for a camera with a zoom this big. The maximum ISO has also been boosted to 800 and there are a couple of interesting new features. The big zoom market is a crowded one, and truly compact models such as this have rarely impressed when compared to their bulkier 'SLR-like' cousins. Let's find out if the Coolpix S10 has what it takes to offer the ultimate 'pocket' super zoom, starting as ever with the headline features:

Nikon S10 review, find out how the S10 stacks up against the competition in our real-world review with in-depth image quality comparisons.

Nikon Coolpix S10

Can Nikon's latest swivel camera match the success of its predecessor?

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The S10 is stylish beast with its curvaceous wave-surface design and neat features but it’s flimsy-feel, easy to mark, metal and plastic build that

Announced in August, the Coolpix S10 is the latest incarnation of Nikon's 'twisting body' camera design that can be traced all the way back to the original Coolpix 900 in 1998, though - like the S4 before it - this one manages to squeeze in a big 10x optical zoom. Design tweaks aside, the S10's biggest enhancement over its predecessor is the inclusion of CCD-shift image stabilization (or Vibration Reduction, 'VR' as Nikon calls it), pretty much an essential for a camera with a zoom this big. The maximum ISO has also been boosted to 800 and there are a couple of interesting new features. The big zoom market is a crowded one, and truly compact models such as this have rarely impressed when compared to their bulkier 'SLR-like' cousins. Let's find out if the Coolpix S10 has what it takes to offer the ultimate 'pocket' super zoom, starting as ever with the headline features:

Features & Controls The Coolpix S10 is equipped with a 270° swiveling 10x Nikkor optical zoom lens with 38~380mm (in 35mm equivalent) focal length coverage. The maximum aperture is F3.5 and electronically preset in 5 steps (f3.5, f4.0, f6.8, f8.0 and f13.6). This all-glass lens is constructed

The propaganda The CoolPix S10 is Nikon's top end swivel design digital camera. Although the rotating lens might look a bit outlandish - probably more like a camcorder than a digital still camera - it incorporates a 10x optical...