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With its split body design allowing more flexibility and creativity than normal when framing shots, and a compact shape that offers a fully internal stabilized 10X zoom, the most surprising aspect of Coolpix S10 is that it has a very reasonable street price, making it excellent value for the money."

...My chief frustration with the Coolpix S10 is the way it struggles to find critical focus time and again - the lens hunting more than it should - and happily takes the shot even if it has failed to find it....",/P>

The 10x Nikkor zoom lens makes the Nikon Coolpix S10 an exceptional swivel. It does exhibit some chromatic aberration at both wide and telephoto ends of the zoom range, but we thought it was kept under control, probably thanks to Nikon's use of ED glass in the Coolpix S10. ISO 800 shots were only usable at 4x6, but the ISO 50 shots were quite good at 11x14...."

In practice, the Nikon Coolpix S10 is a handy digital camera to work with. I liked it and although the Nikon S10 is not the smallest Megazoom camera on the block, the format and features are such that the camera adds up to a very interesting combination. I have pleasant memories of the useful innovations with which Nikon scored top points in the past and it reminds me of a time when creativity gained more importance in digital photography. The optical range of 38 - 380mm in combination with the image stabilizer gives an enormous range which can satisfy the user's wishes on all fronts..."

Unfortunately the twisting body is about the only thing that links the S10 with its fondly-remembered ancestors. Where that last of the EXX series offered SLR-like photographic controls and superb handling, the S10 is unashamedly simple, with little creative control and a body design that makes it almost impossible to use in one hand. The results, though perfectly acceptable, are far from stellar, and the focus performance is disappointing."

The S10 addresses many of the complaints I had with the S4, adding image stabilization, a higher resolution 2.5" LCD, and an improved movie mode. It also uses a proprietary lithium-ion battery instead of AAs. Other features include a 6 Megapixel CCD, 10X optical zoom lens, point-and-shoot operation, and (of course) that unique design.

Photo quality, on the other hand, was good - and comparable with the best ultra zooms out there. The S10 took well-exposed photos with accurate colors (on most occasions), pleasing sharpness, and minimal purple fringing. Noise levels were low through ISO 200 and reasonable at ISO 400. While there's an ISO 800 option, I'd avoid it if possible. The camera's advanced redeye reduction system did an "okay" job at removing redeye - your results may vary of course, as redeye is different from person to person."

The Nikon Coolpix S10 is a well-made and attractively finished camera with some useful capabilities, excellent noise handling and is capable of producing good results under the right circumstances. However, lacklustre performance, terminally slow AF, poor low-light capability and awkward handling limits its appeal. It is also expensive compared to rival cameras with superior performance, so the overall outlook is bleak."

The Nikon Coolpix S10 is a bit over-priced; it’s menu driven/non-intuitive and there are a couple of irritating design glitches, but it is not a bad camera. If it had been introduced two years ago it would have absolutely skunked the competition - today it may not be the best choice for smart digicam buyers..."