The new Nikon CoolPix S9100 is a pretty powerful compact digital camera.
The basic features of the Nikon Coolpix S9100 is its 12.1 megapixel image sensor, it has a backside illuminated CMOS imaging processor. The Nikon Coolpix S9100 also boasts of an 18x wide optical zoom. Images can be viewed in the 3 inch LCD display. The latest Nikon compact camera runs on the new Expeed C2 processing engine.
Nikon’s new Expeed C2 processing engine helps this digital camera have some impressive and performance options. The digital camera also has robust exposure features like Scene Auto Selector and in-camera special effects which is great for beginners who don’t want to fuss over using the camera.
The Nikon CoolPix S9100 is pretty nice to use at night because of its backlit images that is possible by combining multiple shots to reduce noise or create a HDR type image.
If you like our digital camera review you can purchase the Nikon S9100 for a US $329.95 price tag.
BUILT AND HANDLING
The Nikon CoolPix S9100 has a tiny body and is a compact camera. It’s less than 1.5 inches thick which is versatile and easy to carry.
This is really an easy to use camera, there are only automatic shooting modes.
Composing the shot and viewing the images are made easy with the generous resolution 3.0-inch, 921,000 dot Clear Color Display LCD screen.
OUTDOOR SHOOTS
When shooting outdoor images the result may be that it would be slightly overexposed. Although some would prefer their images very bright, if you are one of them then you would like the quality of the photos. Some chromatic aberrations are seen in high contrast areas.
In order to take outdoor shoots, meaning landscapes, the Nikon camera uses a 18x NIKKOR ED optical zoom lens. Pretty great shooting with a 35mm equivalent zoom range of 25-450mm with a maximum aperture of f/3.5. It is able to take sharp photos at any zoom range.
NIGHT SHOOTS
The Nikon S9100 boasts of being a great camera for special night shooting and it is. The lens captures sharp images at night. It handles low light situations well, especially when combined with the special night shooting modes on the S9100. The lens helps the S9100 capture sharp images throughout the zoom range. At the wide end of the 18x optical zoom you will also see some barrel distortion, which is quite typical.
INDOOR SHOOTS
The indoor capability of this Nikon camera is impressive with well exposed and tack sharp image quality. Low ISO exposure has controllable noise within the image.
SPECIAL SHOOTING MODES
The Nikon S9100 has great shooting modes including a burst shooting the camera is capable of up to 5 full-sized images in just 1/2 second, or it can capture a 1-Megapixel image at 120fps.
VIDEO CAPTURE
It also captures full 1080p HD videos with stereo sound. There’s a dedicated button. Videos can be played back smoothly from the camera to an HDTV. Computer may have lag time. The only flaw, as with most digicams, is that the mic of the Nikon S9100 picks up background noise easily. Nikon included a wind reduction setting to help fix the gargling sound.
The 18x optical zoom of the Nikon’s CoolPix S9100 is worth the buy. Our digital camera review shows that the Nikon’s features such as the 12-Megapixel backside illuminated CMOS imaging sensor, Dual Image Stabilization, Full 1080p HD video capture and a slew of creative, automatic shooting modes not justifies its price tag, it’s also a great camera for users who want fuss free camera use.
Nikon Coolpix S9100 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Snap photos of family and friends with this digital camera that features 18x optical zoom and offers compositional flexibility with a 35mm-equivalent focal range from 25-450mm for both close-ups and wide-angle shots.
18x optical/4x digital zoom3" color TFT-LCD1080p HD video modehybrid vibration-reduction image stabilization
Product Features
- >> Store more photos! Find compatible memory cards in our Memory Center!
- Compatible memory formats Include Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity and SDXC.
- USB 2.0 interface Provides a simple connection to your computer or other compatible device.
- 9-point autofocus Features face priority, center and subject tracking. Manual focus offers 99 focus points.
- Direct printing With any PictBridge-enabled printer, so you can connect the camera to a compatible printer and print photos without using a PC.
- Nikon NX2 software provided To help organize and add special effects to images.
- Filter effects Include soft, selective color, cross-screen, fisheye and miniature. Special effects include soft, nostalgic sepia, high-contrast monochrome, selective color, high-key and low-key.
- Face detection technology Isolates subjects in-frame and optimizes conditions to take the best pictures of friends and family.
- Special photo effects Include vivid, black-and-white, sepia, cyanotype, quick retouch, skin softening and border.
- White balance modes Include auto, preset manual, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy and flash.
- Advanced night landscape mode Combines a series of consecutive shots taken at fast shutter speeds into a single, clearer image when taking handheld shots at night.
- Scene modes Include auto, portrait, landscape, sports, night portrait, party/indoor, beach, snow, sunset, dusk/dawn, night landscape, close-up, pet portrait, food, museum, fireworks show, copy, backlighting and panorama.
- Burst shooting mode Captures up to 5 frames at 9.5 fps for fast-action shots.
- Smile mode Automatically captures a photo of your subjects when they smile.
- High ISO sensitivity (up to 3200) For improved image capture in low-light conditions.
- Electronic vibration-reduction image stabilization Combines sensor shift and electronic stabilization to minimize the effect of camera shake.
- Video mode Lets you record high-definition video clips in 1080p with audio at 30 fps. One-touch record button allows instant movie recording, and optical zoom and autofocus offer enhanced creative control.
- 3" color TFT-LCD monitor With a wide viewing angle, brightness adjustment and an antireflection coating for simple use and easy visibility.
- 12.1-megapixel 1/2.3" CMOS sensor Captures high-resolution images up to 4000 x 3000 pixels.
- 18x optical/4x digital/72x total zoom Through a Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens for precise zooming and accuracy.
| Manufacturer | Nikon |
|---|---|
| Model | Coolpix S9100 Black |
| Width | 4.1" |
| Height | 2.4" |
| Depth | 1.4" |
| Weight | 7.2 oz. |
| Camera Long Zoom | Yes |
| Camera Use | Compact|Fun & Basic |
| Shockproof | No |
| Coldproof | No |
| Waterproof | No |
| Smile Mode | Yes |
| HD Movie Mode | Yes |
| Color Category | Black |
| Software Included | Nikon NX2 |
| Touchscreen | No |
| Tripod Mount | Yes |
| Time Lapse | None |
| Imaging Sensor Size | 1/2.3" |
| Imaging Sensor Type | CMOS |
| Digital Magnification | 4x |
| AC Adapter | Yes |
| Batteries | 1 rechargeable lithium-ion (EN-EL12) |
| Image Storage Capacity | Varies |
| Exposure Control | Programmed auto with motion detection; ±2 EV in 1/3 steps |
| Audio | Yes |
| File Formats | JPEG, H.264 MPEG-4 AVC, AAC stereo |
| Video Outputs | NTSC, PAL |
| Camera Dock | Not included |
| Interface | USB 2.0 |
| Self-Timer | 10 sec., 2 sec. and smile timer |
| ISO Equivalent | 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, Auto (ISO 160 to 800) |
| Movie Mode | Yes |
| Focus Range | Normal: 1.7' - infinity (wide); 5' - infinity (telephoto); Macro: 1.6" - infinity |
| External Flash Mount | No |
| Orientation Sensor | No |
| Flash Range | 1.7' - 14' (wide); 5' - 8.2' (telephoto) |
| Flash Modes | Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, fill-in, off, slow sync |
| White Balance | Auto, preset manual, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy and flash |
| Aperture Range | f/3.5 - f/5.9 |
| Shutter Speeds | 1-1/4000 sec.; up to 4 sec. fireworks scene mode |
| Compatible Memory Formats | Secure Digital (SD)|Secure Digital Expanded Capacity (SDXC)|Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) |
| Text Overlay | Date|Date and time |
| Internal Memory | 74MB |
| Shots Available with Image Stitching | Limited only by camera memory |
| Image Stitching | Yes |
| Panorama Mode | Yes |
| Burst Mode | Yes |
| Face Detection | Yes |
| Image Stabilization | Yes, duo |
| Viewfinder | LCD only |
| LCD Screen Features | Color TFT-LCD with antireflection coating and brightness adjustment |
| Lens Focal Length(s) | 35mm equivalent 25-450mm |
| LCD Screen Size | 3" |
| Lens Features | Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens |
| Digital Zoom | 4x |
| Optical Zoom | 18x |
| Megapixels (Total) | 12.75 |
| Megapixels (Effective) | 12.1 |
| Vista Compatible | Yes |
| Included Items |
|---|
| Nikon NX2 software CD-ROM |
| USB cable, A/V cable |
| Wrist strap |
| AC adapter/charger |
| Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (EN-EL12) |
| Nikon Coolpix S9100 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera |
| Main Features |
|---|
| 5-way VR Image Stabilization System |
| Capture 5 shots per second at full resolution |
| 3-inch Ultra-High Resolution VGA (921,000-dot) Clear Color Display |
| 18x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom-NIKKOR ED Glass Lens. |
| 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for high-speed operation and exceptional low-light performance. |
| Optional Accessories |
|---|
| AmazonBasics 21-in-1 USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader |
| AmazonBasics 8 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card |
| AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 16GB Secure Digital Card |
| AmazonBasics SDHC Class 10 4GB Secure Digital Card |
| AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 32GB Secure Digital Card |
| Similar Products |
|---|
| Nikon Coolpix S9100 Digital Camera Battery Charger - TechFuel® AC & DC Compatible Travel Battery Charger |
| SanDisk Ultra 16 GB Class 4 SDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDRH-016G-A11 |
| 2x Nikon Coolpix S9100 Digital Camera Premium Clear LCD Screen Protector Cover Guard Shield Flim Kit |
| High Capacity 1050 mAH EN-EL12 Replacement Lithium-Ion Battery for Nikon CoolPix S620 S6100 S9100 S8100 S8000 S6000 S1100pj |
| Compact Impact-Resistant Camera Case for Nikon Coolpix S9100 / S3100 / S8100 and Many More! ***Includes Tripod*** |
Product Images
Additional Images
great zoom
I bought this camera after reading reviews claiming that it is good in low light conditions. I am very happy with the results compared to the last two cameras I own. I found that the "Portrait" setting did the best job in a low light wedding dance scenario. A big plus is the amount of zoom this camera has. As long as you use a stable platform (tripod, monopod, table top) it is excellent even if you use full digital zoom, which I don't recommend with any digital camera, it is very good. Battery life is excellent. I shot close to 300 pictures at a wedding, most with the flash, and still had over 50% battery showing on the screen. I highly recommend this camera. Minor complaints are that you have to charge the battery in the camera unless you purchase and external charger with extra battery and you have to pop up the flash manually.
I am happy with the camera!
I have owned the camera for 3 days now. The reviews are a bit confusing and I do not agree totally with them. I do notice some blurry pictures but that is most likely do to me holding the camera steady. I have taken oodles of shots; inside, outside, flash, close-ups, my dog, my husband, etc. I loaded the photos on my computer and printed a couple of samples. I was very pleased with the results. I purchased the camera primarily for the zooming capability of the lens and the size of the camera. I want a camera that will fit in a backpack and be easy to grab for traveling. I would like to see Nikon include a printed User's Manual. I downloaded the manual document to my laptop and had a copy printed at our local FedEx/Kinko's. I suggest that for anyone that does not want to print a 222 page document on their home computer. By the way, I would like to complement whoever wrote the manual for its ease of navigating and understanding.
Take the time to learn
I returned the equivalent Cannon because the auto shutter kept getting stuck. I find this a superior camera...especially now that the price has come down significantly. I have to agree with some other reviewers: learn to use the settings. I know, we all know how to use a camera, but seriously, you'll unlock the power of the camera if you do. Your photos will be impressive if you use something other than just "easy" mode (as I did initially). Zoom is amazing and video quality is good for a point and shoot camera. The speed shutter takes nice focused action shots (kids in sports), and Battery life is at least 3X better than the Cannon I returned.
Awesome!!
I love this camera. It has a great zoom yet its still a compact size. The pictures it takes are great and as others have commented it takes really good low light pictures. Also, the editing options that are built into the camera are great as well. Highly recommend!!
Bad batch of cameras
I brought this camera after learning about it's features such as 18x Optical Zoom, 1080p Video, Optical and Digital Image Stabilization etc. As soon as I opened the camera I found this is thicker than the competitions. My first attempt to take a picture failed as the camera was not focusing and it was giving blurry image on the screen. No matter whether zoom out or zoom in, this camera wont focus on anything. Then I turned the camera off and turned it on again, voila, this time it start working. So I thought it could be bug/glitch that has been sorted out. Well, I took some pictures and the quality was ok. I have 12mp digital SLR from canon and I could not find any wow factor in this camera. Anyhow, I turned the camera off and next time again when turned on it won't focus. Tried the first time method as turning off the camera and turning it on again. Camera started focusing again. Then I found that if you kept the camera off for more than 5 minutes and turn it on, it wont focus on anything unless you do a power recycle by restarting the camera. Thinking of that it could be an isolated issue, I did a google search and found more people having the same issue, especially those bought it from bestbuy. So assuming that it is a problem with certain batch, going to return it and try another one. Pros: Features on this camera Cons: Need power recycle quite often to enable this camera to focus (Probably a bad batch of cameras). Thicker in size that most competitions
Don't buy, go with S95 instead
I rarely leave reviews, but my experience with this camera pushed me to help others avoid my mistake. I really tried to like this camera and take as much of an unbiased approach as possible. On paper, it is awesome: big zoom, 1080P video, settings to tinker with, fairly fast picture times, etc. In reality, the marketers did a great job here but the engineering fell way short of expectations after using for 5 days - so much so that I returned it. I bought this camera about 10 days after it came out so reviews on the web were minimal, mostly all manufacturer provided content, even CNET had not looked at it yet - this was my first mistake. Second, I have been a Canon guy for about 10 years... the S110 was my first digital camera. Ever since then, I have loved the digital elf line /powershot and had 3 different models. This time around, I decided to branch out and see what the famous Nikon had to offer. They are well known for their DSLRs, so it seems to make sense that they could engineer a decent high-end P&S. I was wrong. Some unscientific positive/average observations: 1. Speed from turn on to first picture and continuous picture mode were all good/great. I had no complaints here. 2. Battery life, average. I did use the flash a lot during my testing (more on why later) and zooming quite a bit. 3. Interface and Design was actually fine. You would think I would hate it after being so used to Canons over the years, but I had no complaints here. And after playing with it for a few hours I felt very comfortable doing just about anything. I actually really like the video button on the back so you don't have to mess with any bezels or settings - it can go right into 1080 video from any mode. That is great. Canon - you should do the same thing here... this is still wonky on Canons. 4. Smile timer was fun to play with, it works great and I like that it stays in continuous shoot (you don't have to keep pressing shoot after first smile timer shot - you smile, shoot, smile, shoot, smile, shoot -- its neat). 5. You can take a picture in the background while you are videoing in 1080P - Awesome. 6. 1080P video and sound was great. There were some complaints on chat boards about it not having good video quality but I didn't see that. Some negative observations: 1. I had to really, really, really, really work at getting a sharp picture with this camera. Forget about taking a sharp picture inside without the flash - impossible without a tripod and good lighting. Even outside on a sunny day, I had a really hard time getting good pictures. I couldn't tell whether it was a sensor issue, or the auto focus was getting confused or what. For things that were not moving or landscapes, it was okay. Shooting my daughter who isn't bolted down and tends to move, it was just plain useless. This was the main reason we returned the camera. We could deal with the other negatives, but out of 300 test shots in various lighting conditions and trying all the different scene modes/settings, I would say 10 pictures were sharp enough to be happy with. I am pretty good with a camera, this was not my parents trying to use their first digital camera... this was not user error. It was bad in both the basic "auto" and in the pseudo-manual scene settings mode(s). Even when I thought I got a sharp picture, I would load up on the computer and zoom in and discover that it was overly soft Also, I think the white balance just plain doesn't work. 2. It is big, too big. I won't list the official stats, but anecdotally it feels about twice a big as what a P&S in this day and age should be, but I suppose it has to be this big to do 18x optical zoom. I wouldn't have returned it over this, but after I got my S95, I laughed when I opened the box at how much smaller it is than the Nikon. 3. The software that comes with it stinks. I couldn't get it to view pictures and videos in the same screen (software packaged with cameras is all fairly lame, but this one takes the cake) 4. You have to buy a separate charger to charger the battery external from the camera. Lame. Who wants to plug their camera in the wall and leave it lying on the ground to be stepped on, or kids to pick up, or charge on a counter to get water on it. Get with the program Nikon, include the external charger for free like Canon does 5. You have to manually put the flash up. This is odd. If a "scene mode/algorithim" feels like it needs the flash based on metering, then fine - pop the darn flash. Don't put an error message on the screen, make me stop push the lever and then miss the shot that I was trying to get of my kid. I would understand if this was a way to override the flash option and force the camera to re-meter and then take a good shot, it wasn't. It was just an annoyance and felt real old school. In some modes it just said raise the flash, and in others it didn't tell me I needed the flash and rewarded me with a really dark an fuzzy shot. Awesome. 6. Why don't you put the HDMI cable in the box? C'mon. You make a big deal out of 1080P video, then force a buyer to use an basic analog cable or spend another 20 bucks on one. Canon includes one. I realize how you priced the camera 60 bucks less than the market comparables... you didn't include half the things in the box you should have. That is just cheap. I returned the camera and bought an S95. Thank you Best Buy for no restocking fee and no questions asked. Yes, more expensive and not 1080P video, but I spent the last 4 hours testing out the same shooting conditions with varying lighting and a moving kid... not a single fuzzy picture with the S95.. Crisp, clean and well balanced. S95 has much better manual controls, 2.0 aperture and most of all it takes great pictures. Not the fastest camera from start to snap or when using flash, but oh well. Sorry Nikon, long-live Canon. I tried, I really tried.
Highly Disappointed
So I bought this camera yesterday and was excited to own it, well until tonight that is. I charged it and got a screen protector for it and off I went shooting photos.. More than half the photos I shot tonight came out blurry, mind you it was dusk but that shouldn't have been a problem for this camera. I tried it on all the different settings with and without the flash to see if I could get a clear picture of our rental office.. No such luck, even with the many modes offered. It took good indoor photos for the most part and the zoom was great but I still can't get over the blurry photos, even my Evo phone takes better photos. And the focusing time at times just stunk. The shutter button should be where the mode dial is, for people with smaller hands it is harder to reach and the button to pop up the zoom is in an awkward spot, its hard to move your hand to it and then back so you don't have it over the zoom. This camera does have the color select feature and it does do panoramas along with soft, high contrast black and white, sepia, etc. I will be returning this camera and continuing my search for another travel zoom point and shoot.
Great Camera - once you learn the settings
I too had issues at the beginning with blurry pictures and was ready to take back the camera the next day. BUT, once I came online to Best Buy and read some of the other reviews I finally figured it out! I changed the ISO setting and that worked wonders. This camera really is great and all the settings (especially the sports scene setting) make it worh the price! I love using the sports setting to snap multiple pictures in a row. The HD video is fantastic as well. If you're having trouble with blurry pictures change the ISO setting - that's all I needed to do to really start enjoying this camera!
Not sure how I would do any better
Count me as someone who doesn't understand any of the negative reviews on this camera. In my mind, I don't know how I would do any better than this camera. My only concern was the price, as I probably would have done better had I waited. Others have reflected the specifics better than I can. As a Dad who wants a strong zoom to get close-ups of the kids playing sports, this does it. And while you do have to have a steady hand to get a clean focused shot at maximum zoom, about 90% of my 18x zoom photos are perfect. I would say that indoor shots are very good, and outdoor shots in both low and bright sunlight are outstanding. I was prepared to pay more money for a DSLR, but when I saw how much more zoom can be had for such a small camera, I went with the 9100. And now I'm glad I did. This camera sits in the sweet spot for size and functionality for the typical photographer like myself. If you have doubts, take advantage of Best Buy's return policy. I was prepared to, and the longer I had the camera, the less I thought about taking it back.
Too many focussin issues.
I have a S8100, and from the start I felt very disappointed with this upgrade. I had a very hard time getting sharp pictures in a variety of circumstances. The S8100 produces much more keepers, than the upgrade. I had to return the camera to the shop that I had bought it at.
Nikon Coolpix S9100
For the price, this camera outperforms the more expensive sony and panasonic models. The 18x optical zoom is awesome, unless your a camera nut, this camera has more than enough features to keep you busy without manual controls. So far so good, really like this camera.
don't waste your time or money
I bought this camera after researching many namebrands and models, and believed this to be the best quality for the money. Unfortunately, I bought this the day of my daughter's homecoming game/dance and was very disappointed in the photo quality. I bought this camera for it's zoom. What I received was a poor image stabilization with any use of the zoom feature. The pictures appeared very soft and blurry. Out of the 150 pictures I took with this camera, only 5 turned out appropriately. Needless to say I will never get the opportunity to have those moments back, since it is her senior year. On the other hand I am fortunate that I am within my 14 day return period.
Easy to use, great pictures!
I read a lot of the reviews here and definitely some red flags, but I decided to go forward with the purchase anyway. So thankful I did! Easy to use, takes great pictures, what more do you need in a point and shoot? It powers up in nothing flat. The flash doesn't overexpose the pictures (like most do). Also purchased the Eye-Fi wireless SD card and now just wireless upload my pictures to my PC, which makes this a killer combo. Highly recommend this camera, if you want a easy to use point and shoot with a great optical zoom that can easily fit in your pocket this camera will do it for you.
OK Point and Shoot
I get a new point and shoot every year, and this one failed to satisfy. The autofocus is not very good, and there are other cameras out that to do a much better job with low light. The macro has difficulty focusing. This was also a little slow to focus and shoot. I sent it back.
Camera has potential, but requires some effort
If you're looking for a camera that you can set on Auto or auto scene select and forget, this isn't it. This camera requires some work, and experimenting with the various settings to get acceptable photos. However, after you understand what settings are correct for what you are trying to do, then you can get excellent photos. Flash photography, especially small groups, can be very frustrating. However its not the flash that causes the issues. The flash itself can provide even coverage, with 10-12 people standing side-by-side. But to get the picture without blurring is almost impossible. In another instance, a picture of six people at dinner never came off, again, due to blurring. In the first attempt, used the auto mode, with flash. Then used scene select mode, with flash, finally tried portrait mode. All were blurry. What I subsequently found was the party mode was best, not perfect, but best. This type of experimenting has been required for virtually every type picture I've taken. HOWEVER, the low light mode can provide some excellent results if you have some sort of support for the camera when taking the picture. Daylight scenes, and macro mode in daylight also do well. In specific scene modes I have also gotten very good results. The backlight mode does especially well. The camera writes fast, has acceptable battery life, and minimal controls on the back. Would I recommend this camera. Only with a disclaimer. And certainly not to people who aren't interested in working at their photos. The size is great, since you can carry it around in your from pocket, and the 18x zoom is great for outdoor pictures.
Feature Packed Fun Camera
I was afraid to try this camera based on many reviews online about blurry pictures and focus problems - but decided to try it out myself because I loved the look and feel and feature set of this camera. I'm glad I did. I can see why this camera received some negative feedback - it isn't perfect and I wouldn't recommend it if you simply want to turn it on, leave it in auto mode and snap thoughtlessly. I did experience some focusing issues, but mostly when zoomed in very far in low light. I didn't have a problem at wide angle or in good ligthing. Also, you may have to manually change your focus point, change ISO, and make sure you're in the appropriate mode for your situation, as auto mode isn't always best on this camera. It suffers a bit indoors without flash, it uses a slow shutter speed, in low light (and even a pretty well lit room) so if you're not steady you will get blurry photos (I think this is the cause of those complaints) using a flash should help indoors, but can cause unnatural looking results, so try and stay steady or use a tripod. If you don't need a big zoom, going with a different camera for better indoor results might be a good idea - but it is possible to get decent photos with this camera. Zoomed in fully photos are not super sharp, but that's a point and shoot for ya. Image stabilization isn't the best when fully zoomed and shooting video - I think Canon does much better with IS, but at 18x any camera is hard to keep steady when handheld. Enough with the bad - let's talk about what's great about this camera! First the look and feel - it looks great with a rubbery feel on the front which gives it a wonderful feeling grip for a square camera. It feels solid and everything is well placed - I especially love the scroll wheel on the back. The menu system is extremely easy to use, and the LCD screen is beautiful and clear. Camera has a flash you pop up manually, which is nice because you'll never flash when you didn't mean to. The battery charges inside of the camera (which doesn't matter to me). So many fun features! Besides the obvious 18x zoom for such a small pocketable camera, You have special effects that can be applied while taking the photo, and others you can do after. The before special effects: soft (like a soft focus filter, this one is great), sepia, high-contrast monochrome, high key, low key, selective color (like canon's color accent, but you only have a number of colors to select), you also have a hue and vididness slider so you can adjust those. You can also record video in these special effects! The after special effects: quick retouch, d-lighting, skin softening, frame, selective color, cross screen (like a star filter), fisheye, miniature, soft (this is different than the soft special effect in that it blurs the area around the center rather than a soft focus of the entire photo). For some reason though, the skin softening on this camera misses half of my forehead when it processes...I have another Nikon that doesn't have this issue, so I find that odd and a little disappointing since I like to use this. You cannot record video in these modes. There are no manual controls so you can't control the shutter speed or aperature, but you can control the exposure and ISO. You get a high speed burst mode, backlighting, and night modes. There is auto and scene select auto that selects the best scene for you - and the normal scene modes you see on digital cameras. In video mode, you can record in 1080, 720, 540, VGA, 240fps 320x240, 120fps 640x480, 60fps 720, or 15fps 1080. The 240 and 120 options let you record in slow motion (i.e. high speed) and you can change the speed from normal 30fps to slow motion all in the same clip by pressing the OK button during recording. You can choose if you want recording to start in slow motion or in regular speed ("Open with HS footage" ON or OFF). The 15fps option speeds things up by 2x - something I haven't seen on a digital camera before. So great fun video options and with 18x zoom you can have a lot of fun with those. You can zoom during video recording, but not on the HS options. So you have to look at the good and bad with this camera. I think it's a great camera and recommend it.
Consider the S8100 instead
The specs for the S9100 looked promising but it produced fuzzy and often out of focus still pictures making it unacceptable. In the end, I found the Nikon S8100's picture quality to be superior. I started by taking 50 or so pictures in a variety of setting using the S9100's default settings. The results looked ok on the camera's 3" screen (so it's difficult to tell in the showroom) but once loaded to my PC, poor focusing & fuzzy/soft edges were evident in almost every photo. I wasn't ready to give up on the S9100 so I spent the next couple of days reading the manual and even buying my second choice (Nikon's S8100) for a direct comparison. I am upgrading from a Sony DSC-P200 (3x zoom, 7.2 MP) which produces good pictures but has a small field of view, only a 3X zoom and only does so so in low light. So my final comparison was between all 3 cameras. After reading the S9100's manual I adjusted some of the default settings in the hope it would improve the photo quality: o Auto Focus (AF) mode: I selected Center mode instead of the default. This tells the camera to focus on the center of the screen instead of the default. The default attempts to guess at what you want to focus on which in my experience was the closest object. o ISO Setting: I changed the default to limit the ISO range to 400 max (Suggested in some other/similar Nikon camera reviews). o Auto vs. Scene modes: For indoor photos I selected the indoor scene mode. Of the 3 changes to the default setting above, only the AF Center change seemed to impact my test photos. I was able to tell the camera what object I wanted to focus on but even then focus was hit or miss. With the S9100 settings tweaked I again took the same 50 or so photos I took earlier using the factory default setting and compared them to the same shots taken with the Nikon S8100 and Sony DSC-P200. The results: Even when the S9100 appeared to focus on the proper object the photos were still fuzzy/soft when views on my pc. The more I zoomed in on the photos on my PC the more I could see the flaws. When I viewed the same photos taken on the Nikon S8100 and Sony DSC-P200 for the most part they were superior/crisper than the S9100 though the Sony could not zoom in nearly as close as the S9100 or S8100. The test photos were not particularly challenging... Indoors with lights on and Outdoors in midday daylight - With/without flash, wide/ zoomed, Auto/ indoor scene modes and focusing on various objects only some of which should challenge the AF. If the S9100 can't handle these basic shots there's no point testing more challenging tasks like low light, fast action or HD video. Conclusion: The S8100 has superior picture quality in these basic everyday situations and has the zoom upgrade I was looking for, it's a keeper. The S9100's poor picture quality is a show stopper, it's going back. Considering the specs how could this be? I'm no expert but one possible cause is the image stabilization process... The S8100 uses Lens shift and S9100 uses Senor shift. Of course perhaps I happened to get a defective camera. For those of you who are wonder what I mean by Fuzzy/Soft. A picture of a couch with patterns in the pillows... the edge of the pillow with a wall in behind it looked fuzzy and the pattern on the pillow looking as if the lines in the patterns were blended/feathered with the S9100 but sharper/crisper with the S8100. Pictures that involved text, whether it be a birthday card on a hutch or the lighting instructions on my grill, were clear and easily read in the s8100 photos but blurred/fuzzy to the point where I could only guess what the words were with the S9100. 5 Stars to Best Buy for accepting the return without charging a restocking fee !
awful awful camera
Pictures were blurry, I was just taking pictures around the house learning the features and every picture was blurry unless I held the camera completely still... I'll go back to Sony Cybershot... this Nikon S9100 is GARBAGE!! If you are going to spend this kind of money on a camera choose another camera...
It's Great
Wanted a good point and shoot camera to use for when not wanting to take the SLR. Awesome zoom. This camera doesn't walk on water or perform other miricales. So if you want a camera to act like an SLR, go buy An SLR. You want a good point and shoot that'll get you close, this one will do just fine. I could barely hear it zooming in video. It zooms slower while taking video than it does for pictures. I can't tell if the pictures were taken from this camera or from the D40x when looking at them on the computer. I'm happy
Point and Shoot PLUS. (Fantastic Camera)
I was looking for a simple to use, "Point and Shoot" camera with exceptional picture quality, for my wife. This was the third camera in as many years, but this one is going to pass the test.The last one was an expensive Sony that was virtually impossible to get the results she wanted. After spending four hours at Best Buy with a very competent individual, exploring the latest "Point and Shoot" offering, from Sony, Canon, Kodak, Olympus, Fuji, Samsung and Nikon, I purchased the Nikon S9100. So far we've taken only indoor shots, not sure how many photographs we've taken playing around with the various settings, but as many as you can with four battery charges. Anyway we took a lot a shots experimenting in different light conditions. Once familiar with the options, (and they are simple options), we could quickly make adjustments to maximize picture quality. I can't say enough about the picture quality in less than ideal lighting conditions. If you just want a "Point and Shoot" period, and don't take the time to read the manual regarding the various options for light settings, you might get frustrated. I printed out the manual, maybe that's a bit extreme but it helped get my questions answered quickly. My wife has been using her new camera and loves it. She's always been an "Auto Everything" kind of photographer, but has no problem playing with the options on this one to get the most out of it. The explanation and access to "Mode Settings", (White Balance, Metering, ISO Sensitivity, etc) is made really easy. HD video playback via HDMI cable is really nice. The flash pop up being manual instead of automatic is a nice feature. Have only found one inconvenience so far; you can only charge the battery through the camera. Adding a second battery helps but in order to use the camera and charge the spare battery at the same time, I'm going to have to buy a extra battery charger.
Dissapointed .. Indoor photo quality horrible !
I bought this camera when there were only a few reviews available. My experience with the camera is as follows: Outdoor photos are excellent. Zoom works great and focus locks in every time. However if you take indoor photos .. forget it! Photos are noisy, grainy, soft... no detail at all, they are really bad! I have not seen such horrible quality photos in my life (Indoor/low light). As everyone knows... ALL cameras will take good photos outdoors in good weather .... the true test is in indoor / low light conditions. The purpose of buying a compact digital camera is to have a camera that you can have with you all the time and you can use in all normal day to day situations. I consider using a camera in my home, office, restaurant etc.. a normal situation. For this the camera does not do a good job. I really hate to return this camera.. I was expecting it to be something special... but most likely I will return it and buy the nikon s8100 or canon s95. I have read many reviews that state the s8100 takes far better photos than the s9100.
Great pictures with lots of features
We just finished using this camera on a trip to New Zealand and the picture quality is amazing. We really liked all the different modes e.g. sport, etc. But one of the best is the panoramic capability. No need to fuss with knitting pictures together in your computer later on. This was the first camera where we had a video option and I was surprised how often we did use it for short action shots. Like we captured a baby penguin learning to swin that wouldn't have had the same impact in just a still mode. The only minus I'd say is the need to manually toggle a switch to lift up the flash. On the plus side there were numerous times we did not want flash and our camera was the easiest to assure that. But occasionally we needed to re-do a picture because we forgot to raise the flash. So some pluses and minuses to the flash.
BLURRY
My husband got this camera for me Christmas Eve. It came highly recommended by the sales rep. I used it Christmas Day & was able to salvage about 5 of 300 photos taken due to blurriness. Photos of my 3-year old daughter opening her gifts from Santa are just blurs. Photos were taken in various settings by 2 different people. They were so blurry that I was unable to salvage them with any of my computer's editing tools. Some were so blurry that I could not even identify the subjects in the photos. I returned it hassle-free (minus long lines) & bought a Sony Cyber-Shot.
Just like it says - point & shoot
Easy to use, easy to understand, excellent quality on stills and video. I bought it mainly for the zoom feature, and it has performed as advertised.
About what we'd expect for price
I marked down ease of use because the flash has to manually popped up when the screen says it is needed. Also wish they would have a user manual in the box. It's hard to have to look on the computer for the directions. There are many features on this camera that we are not using optimally because of the lack of a manual when we're actually taking a picture.
Defective Camera
I bought camera and it stopped working the first day. It was a lemon, not sure what the quality control process is but this one was totally defective.
Great carry around pocket camera with great zoom
Love this camera. Don't have anything negative to say. I am a sony user. My DSLR broke and had to send it out for repair. I was going through withdrawl. wanted a camera that was reasonably priced and had a good zoom. I liked this camera and bought it mainly for the zoom. Well I have been impressed. People can't tell the difference of pictures with this camera and dslr. It is the best camera I ever had in low light , night settings. I would highly recommend this for everyone. Easy to use , good video. Nice size screen
Great compact camera with lots of features
I wanted a camera that I could take to Italy. The camera needed to be compact as I didn't want to carry a camera as big as an SLR. I also wanted a camera with a big Zoom over 10x. I was sure I wanted the S9100 (with an 18x zoom) but after reading the Best Buy reviews I began to think there was something wrong with this camera so I continued researching. I kept coming back to the S9100 camera as the camera I wanted even though some customers had not so nice things to say about it. After speaking with a Best Buy clerk and was assured that I could return the camera if I didn't like it (without a restocking fee) I decided to purchase it. I have had this camera for two weeks now and I have taken pictures indoors and out, day and night, flash and without flash and zoom and wide angle. Honestly, I cannot find anything wrong with this camera. The pictures are great and the zoom is fantastic. This will be a perfect camera for traveling and any other occasions for that matter. It has all of the features of a bigger and heavier camera. I am sure happy that I did not listen to all of the negative reviews on this camera. I certainly made the right choice. And the fact that I could use my 10% discount on this camera made the deal even better.
Great midlevel point and shoot.
Loaded with features for intermediate amateur photographer.
Point & Click Ease w/ extra Features
I got this camera to bring it around to sporting events (baseball & fencing) as well as something to have around the house to record "those moments that make life special." I wanted something that would take high quality pictures as well as have a quick shutter response but would be small enough for me to have with me most times. The general "life" pictures; birthday parties, funny faces, beach time, are clear and beautiful. The flash allows for great low-light pictures. And I'm finally able to get the picture I want because when I push the shutter button the camera takes the picture. (My 6 year old camera was one of the digital ones that took the picture a second or so after the the shot you wanted so I got a lot of "after the fact pictures.) The "burst" feature is fantastic for capturing those action photos. Some blurring occurs in lower light, but in daylight you can get great "action" shots with this feature. Usually out of the five I can choose one or two really nice ones of my teenager playing baseball, but I've also gotten really neat sequences of my two-year old. (I have gotten a few great baseball and beach sequences as well.) The zoom feature was another big selling point for me. I've used this at the beach and at the baseball field. The clarity and picture quality with even the largest zoom have been wonderful. I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the video. I have essentially replaced my old digital video camera with this. The videos are clearer and better than I expected. Add a tri-pod and this becomes a fantastic camera for catching the moments we all want to remember. (My apologies for the sappiness.) My only issue has been the low-light pictures. Not the greatest without the flash. One final note, the included software is easy to use and, for a Mac user it is a great option. For a non-photographer who just wants to get great pictures of the family, this is a great camera. Beautiful, clean pictures and videos, ease of use and a small package size. Highly recommended.
Good not Great
This is a good camera with some really cool features. It's absolutely better than your cheaper point and shoots, but ultimately I think in this price range if you're willing to go just a little higher you can do better. PROS: Good lowlight pictures Pretty light Amazing Zoom Cool features & effects CONS: Shutter delay. Half the pictures I took came out blurry despite focusing first. I'd say splurge the extra $50 and get the canon s95. It's way worth it.
Full featured camera for a great price
Chose this camera as a gift for friends over other Sony, Canon and Panasonic models as it offered more features and larger screen for a lesser price. The 18x optical zoom is great and this camera has many additional features, but in automatic mode takes fabulous pictures. This is just a great camera with lots of extras for a price that can't be beat.
Great camera, but required add-on's increase cost
Not included in the cost of the camera is the need to purchase a charger and a camera card that makes the camera functional. I even purchased the camera bundle, charger, card and case, and later found that the camera card included in the bundle needed to be upgraded with another card costing $40 to achieve the full functionality of the camera. Other than that the camera is great. Just a bit upset that they had to suck more money out of me.
good pocket camera
I'm writing this review to help others considering this camera. I'm a Nikon fan. At 73 I have owned Nikon products ever since I could afford them.[ FA,D70,L100,D300} However I find myself taking a pocket Cannon on trips because it also shot video.So when I saw the s9100 with it's long lens and 1080P video I didn't hesitate. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it doesn't play back in 1080P only 720P or 1080i.When I tried to get an explanation from Nikon they were evasive So if your expecting 1080P your not going to get it. Buy the camera for it's lens and size. Be sure to read manual the auto focus is slow and no human can hold steady at 200 mm let alone 450 mm
Awesome Features (but still not a DSLR)
I love all the features and the megazoom is cool, but it all just makes me wish I got a DSLR for the extra fine control.
450mm in your palm
I bought this to use at yankee games.. It replaces the Lumix DMC-ZS7. The extra 150mm is amazing. I also have a pentax k-x w/ 300mm (450 equiv) and the difference outdoors is very minor considering the difference in size. This camera fits in your shirt pocket..very cool. Best Buy was the first to have it on 03/01/2011... Just buy it..you wont be sorry
Awesome little camera
I was looking for a simple pocket camera that would take great pictures. I found it here with the coolpix 9100. It is simple to use and takes excellant photos. It is the closest thing to a SLR that I could find. We just got back from a week of taking lots of pics (150) and looking at them on the large 3" monitor and the battery was still almost at 100%. You can edit the photos right on the camera and then just plug it in to your pc and download them.
Unhappy with camera
Very difficult to focus pictures. For the price I expected a better quality picture. I have tried to take pictures and practice to get a better feel and nothing works. My cheap Kodak digital took better quality pictures without blur problems like this one.
Great camera for low light conditions.
I purchased this camera mainly for the zoom and for taking pictures in low light conditions. I attend many concerts and wanted both features in a pocket size camera. This camera is perfect for that. The picture quality is outstanding. It is a bit bulkier that other point & shoot cameras on the market, but that is because of the long range zoom.
Great camera with great zoom
I read some negative reviews about the picture quality and was a bit apprehensive about buying the camera. I have to say the camera takes great pictures even on maximum zoom. I took pictures at night in dark narrow European streets and the pictures came out great. I like the fact that the camera has automated settings for different scenes and light levels. The back light setting was great for taking photos in full sun (you can actually see people's faces). On a recent trip to Europe I took over 600 photos and 99.9% turned out great. The zoom can't be beat and the size is perfect. I highly recommend this camera.
Nikon should be ashamed of themselves
I was attracted to this camera by the long zoom and Nikon reputation. I bought it a week before a trip to Europe and Asia. I noticed the zoom was very loud, but not bad enough to return the camera. I quickly grew frustrated with very poor quality image stabilization which meant the long zoom feature was useless. Any pictures taken at more than 60% to 75% zoom were blurred and out of focus even when I steadied the camera on a surface. Things then got worse, within a week, while on the trip, about 20% of the time while zooming to take a picture the camera would lock up. I had to remove the battery to get it to reset. Then I realized that when it locked if I gave a gentle turn to the lens it would unlock, continue zooming and take a picture. As I was overseas I had no choice but to make do with the problem. I searched online and found a number of other people who had reported the same problem. When I returned I called Nikon tech support - Useless - they were in Mexico and clearly did not understand camera. They tried to tell me the mechanical problem was because the memory card Best Buy sold with the camera was not an authorized card. I then called Nikon HQ in Melville NY and spoke to a woman who told me my options were to send the camera into them for repair, and that they had no reports of the problem. Also they do not pay attention to the blogs as a "few people" complaining is meaningless compared to the large number of camera's sold. When I returned the camera to Best Buy they were wonderful, it exhibited the lock up problem for the customer service rep and he took it back. I replaced it at Best Buy with a model from a different Japanese company that has a 16x zoom and image stabilization that works flawlessly.
Fab & Friendly
Most cameras that I've bought have been bad on photo quality or hard to navigate the options. This camera is by far the BEST! The features and options of picture-taking are easy to use and AWESOME! I would buy this camera over and over and refer to all my friends ;) Most do not like the flash that you have to manually pop up but it's actually a GREAT thing because not all pics need that extra light. It's quicker than resetting your camera to take dark or light pics with the pop of a flash.
Dissapointment
It is a great point and shoot camera, I feel in love with it once I started using it but a couple of days after I bought it the shutter froze (removing the battery and restarting worked a couple of times); after a week of having it the camera permenantly froze and made a clicking noise. I never dropped or had water near it so not sure why this happened. I searched online and this occurs a lot. I wouldnt recommend this camera simply because you pay a good price expecting a long lasting camera and it lasted me a week. Very dissapointed with Nikon.
Great camera, easy access
I traveled in Europe with 3 other friends for over a month. I took over 3,000 pictures. The image quality for the snap and shoot camera was awesome. That is in my opinion and in the opinion of the 3 other people I shared pictures with. I could easily carry it in my back pocket which was one of my buying points. I also enjoyed the zoom and the many different featured that this camera has to offer. My mother wants one for Christmas!
Very Disappointing
I was anxiously awaiting the release of this camera and bought one from of Best Buy last week (kudos to Best Buy for being first to stock this camera). I purchased this camera to replace my Lumix ZS3 to use when I don't feel like carrying my DSLR. I was very disappointed and returned the camera 3 days later. While this camera looks good on paper (18x zoom, HD video, fast shooting, CMOS sensor, etc...) I was shocked at how poorly it performed in any situation other than bright sunlight. Indoors, it was nearly impossible to get a clear, focused shot off without using the flash. Even at wide angle. the focusing system constantly hunts and never really locks on the subject. On a positive note, it does deliver beautiful colors and crisp pictures when used outdoors or indoors with the flash. If this is your intended use you will be very happy.
Nothing but headache
I bought this camera to replace my old one. I loved the 18x zoom, the small size fits nicely in my purse so that I always have my camera. I took this on vacation and at the top of the mountain it broke. The view was fantastic and I couldn't take a picture. It would turn on but I couldn't zoom and I couldn't snap the picture. I had to remove the battery to get it to turn off. I had to buy another camera on vacation for $80 that worked better than this camera. Once I got back home I took it back to the store where I purchased it and it was one day out of the 30 day replacement warranty....They did replace it for and talked me into buying the extended warranty on it. 2 months later with my new replacement, I went to take a picture and it did the same thing....I am so disappointed in this product that I will be replacing it with a different brand!!!!
Wow! I am seriously impressed by this camera.
I got the camera today. I already have used many of the features without even reading the manual, both still photos and videos. I am very impressed. I took videos of my two dogs and uploaded them to Facebook. I took photos of a turtle swimming in a local pond. You can't see the turtle in the pond, but with this camera I was able to zoom in and see the turtle and photograph it partially underwater and this was after the sun had set and lighting conditions were very iffy to take any pictures. I was also impressed when I took an indoor photo earlier in the day without using the flash. THe room was kind of dark. The photo turned out amazing and you could see everything in the room as if it was daylight and lights were turned on. I posted those photos on Facebook too. The only thing that fooled me was no view finder. I don't need one, but it did not occur to me that there was no view finder, until I tried to look through it. LoL! I'll get used to using a camera with no view finder. The 3" LCD screen is great. I can't wait to go into the woods or to the beach and see what wildlife photos I can shoot with this amazing camera. I'm a happy camper!
PIctures quality is bad
Hold off buying this camera as I don't think Nikon has the 18X zoom lens perfected! A majority of the pictures on zoom were blurry and did not improve much with a tripod. We are returning this camera and getting the Nikon S8100 which I know has great pictures. NOTE - Bestbuy needs to add "Customer Reviews" as an additional sort option to help consumers weed through the muck.
Great in 1996 . . . . .
In a one sentence summary, this camera was the biggest disappointment I have ever purchased. It is almost offensive that Nikon would pass off such a low quality model as a moderately priced point-and-shoot. Do yourself a favor and check lots of reviews on this camera, don't just take my word for it. Ok, I'll try to be a little positive. What worked? The camera body itself is well designed aesthetically and ergonomically and it has a tremendous zoom. What didn't work? The camera. It has horrid image stability built in and is incredibly difficult to get a decent shot with. I sat down to test this because I really liked the camera on paper. It is almost useless indoors, didn't fair much better outside, and don't even think of taking a picture of a pet or anything that has the slightest bit of motion to it. I could not capture an image that met my expectations for clarity, not even close. This may be the only product I have ever bought that I would go out of my way to caution others about. For the $300-$400 range this camera is inexcusable.
Great Action and Low Light Shots
I'm really surprised by the people giving this camera low reviews. I've been through A LOT of cameras and while I'll say the best picture quality (in this price range) is with the Canon sx210/230 , this camera is a very very close second. However, the features are much better on this camera. And this camera is leaps and bounds over Canon when it comes to action shots. The low light shots are really impressive too (which is very hard to find in a lot of cameras under $600)! The video options and quality is very very good. I have finally found a camera that I am happy with.
Great camera for an intermediate user
I read consumer reviews and was a bit puzzled because PC World rated the camera very high. Many of the consumer reviews were excellent, but others were poor. Knowing Best Buy would take the camera back if I didn't like it, I gave it a try. I am wowed by the picture quality. All the adjustments have given me something to experiment with without having the bulk or complexity of an DSLR. What I decided was that the people who didn't like this camera didn't read the manual...and I don't mean the quick start printed guide. I think you have to use the DVD manual to get some basics down and then go back when you have questions. It is not a simple point and shoot camera. The digital zoom takes some practice.
Very disappointed...
I was so disappointed with the S9100 that I returned it after 3 days of experimentation. I was very excited about the promise of the techical features of this model, especially the optical zoom, but it did not live up to my expectations. In fact, my wife said the photos and videos of my 3-year old Canon were much better. The quality of the photos and videos were just inconsistent, and the optical zoom seemed to be a big factor in that. Any time I used the zoom with photos or videos, results were unpredictable. If it took 5 photos in sequence of the same subject, two would be good and the others blurry. And videos with a higher zoom did have the the "jello effect" noted with other Nikon models. I tried some of the tips suggested by other reviewers (changing to 'central' focus, etc.), overall I was very disappointed with the performance. I'm traveling to Italy next week and wanted something more reliable to record my journey. Thanks to Best Buy for their liberal return policy, I exchanged the S9100 for another Canon.
Read the Manual
Iv seen a bunch of bad reviews based on fuzzy pictures... Unless you have it set to auto every mode has the ISO set to 300 factory default .... The lower the ISO the better the picture quality will be ... the higher the ISO the better it will capture motion... At 300 ISO you cant be taking pictures willy nilly ... you have to ensure the camera is steady.... If you raise the ISO it will be less of an issue and you will see less fuzzy photos... If your using the full zoom you probably dont want it set to 300 ISO unless you have it on a tripod ............ Hope this helps
I wish I never bought it
Got a card read error within hours of first using it. Took on vacation and it only took a week to break. Sent to Nikon for warranty repair and was refused. Spoke to management - I felt they did not care.
Best camera I have ever owned
I have owned several cameras in my life. I must say this is the best camera I have ever owned. I think people that have given this camera bad and low reviews have not taken the time to read the manual and set up the camera properly. The thing I love most is the food setting. I am a Chef and love to take pictures of the food I create. Taking pictures of food is extremely difficult. With this camera and the food setting it makes it easy. The pictures come out beautiful and perfect every time. This camera has a very powerful zoom. It also takes great pictures in low light without a flash. I would recommend this camera to everyone.
bought it for my daughter and she loves it!
Did a lot of research before we decided on this camera and found it was a great value and found a great price for it here!
Disappointed
My purchase of this camera was impulsive, but the salesperson helped me and made me feel confident in my decision. I reviewed the users guide (not the digital users manual) and began using the camera if various situations. It took some good pictures, but several blurry ones. I tried the various settings, but couldn't get the quality I was hoping for. Overall, I was disappointed for the price paid and returned the camera.
will not take good pictures
I really liked all the features on this camera but the pictures quality was no good some would turn out half way descent the rest trash. So I went back .Keep looking there are camera out there with better pictures that are in a good price range.
Excellent video quality
This camera has excellent video quality and takes good pictures. My only criticism would be that when you zoom in on a subject it takes too long to focus and sometimes it never does focus properly and I have to zoom back.
I hate having to charge this camera!!!
I got talked into this camera by the salesperson. The quality, features ect are good, no complaints there. What SUCKS, is the charing system. You have to use there charger and not batteries. I loose that @#^# thing and can never find it when II want to take a picture. Batteries may cost more in the long run but I can at least get some in a pinch.
very easy to use
Good value for the sale price. Photo at max zoom is stable due to the anti shake.
S9100
Was looking for replacement for an older Olympus (4 MP) camera and the Nikon had some of the best independent reviews. Now I can see why. Even though the product did not include a manual, the online version has everything one could want. There are some features that I'll probably never use, but nice knowing they are there. Biggest drawback is trying to find the feature you want for the need at the time. I also do not like the tripod mount being close to the edge of the camera (rather have it near the CG of the camera for stability.
AWESOME!!
I had a Nikon Coolpix S630 which was a great camera up until it fell on the concrete. I had to send it to NY to get fixed. In the mean time I could not wait I needed a camera! This was the only camera that had the best zoom, picture quality and HD for the best price! I absolutely love it! A++++++++
NIKON CAMERAS A GREAT FOR ALL USERS
OVERALL EXCELLENT HAVE PREFERRED NIKONS FOR 30 YEARS
Ok, at best.
Bought this for a vacation. Took over 1500 photos, and a dozen videos. Photos came out ok, camera was sluggish to zoom and focus though. Video's at the HD 1080 came out awful. I had to do a series of conversions to get them in AVI at an acceptable quality (though lower). I returned it when I got back since I bought it right before. I ended up with the Sony HX9, which vastly outperfoms this camera.
Great Camera!
The first Nikon S9100 camera I had to return because the auto focus was broken. The exchange was hassle free. I love this camera, it takes great pictures, it's small with a 18x optical zoom that I can carry with me all the time. I am very happy with my new camera!
great for anyone type of camera user
I wanted a simple point & shoot camera that took good quality pictures. I've had this camera for about a month and have used it basically everywhere. The only problem that i had was taking pictures of fishes in the ocean. They would come out kind of blurry, but some came out good. The pet portrait mode is fabulous and was able to get a very good picture of my energetic puppy. The only bad thing I have to say about the camera is the switch to open up the battery, if you're holding this camera by the strap you can accidentally flip the switch and open up the battery holder part. Maybe it's just my camera that is so easy to open, idk. Other than that I LOVE this camera, and have no regrets.
Best Point and Shoot I have owned
It seems there are people that love this camera and people who hate it. I bought this camera back in April from Best Buy and have yet to see what all the nasty comments are about. Granted, I have had a few blurry shots here and there, but that was more due to user error (shaky hands, incorrect picture size setting, etc) than that of the camera. The Nikon S9100 is incredibly easy to use, which is one of the many reasons I enjoy it. I have a DSLR and hate lugging the thing around and messing with settings to get "the perfect picture". The S9100 is a little large for a point-and-shoot, but with an 18x optical zoom, you tend to expect that. The camera starts up in a flash, takes pictures without any noticeable lag, and doesn't require you to do much in the way of settings. Yes, there are a few modes to play with, but for the most part, you can set the camera to Auto and shoot away. I also like the separate video recording button. Features are plentiful. There's a flash that is manually controlled. There's unique modes like "selective color" where you leave out all but one color on the photo. There's numerous video shooting modes (1080p, 720p, and several slow and fast-motion modes). There's an Easy Panorama mode. Macro Mode takes gorgeous close-up shots. And there's a nice Burst mode as well for fast-action shots. Oh, the display screen is also an incredibly sharp 3" LCD that is easily visible even in bright sunlight. As for photo quality, from what I have taken so far, I'd say it's about 88% great to 12% average/below average. The great shots are very sharp and detailed and upon first glance look like they came from a DSLR. Blowing the pictures up past 400% you'll notice some grain and softness, but I normally don't need to blow up photos that large. I have taken some great shots at amusement parks and local metro parks that look absolutely fantastic, even when using the zoom. There have been a few blurred shots (mainly because I have a bad case if the shakes) and for some reason, the highest quality picture in terms of pixel count (12MP with a star) looks worse than the standard 12MP shots. Honestly, I don't know how so many other people have gotten consistently bad shots. Since I have never had a dedicated video camera, I am more than impressed with the video quality. The end results look crisp and sharp when watched on my 42" LCD TV. My only two complaints about the video would be that the microphones can make a light breeze sound like a hurricane, and you need to set the Autofocus to "Continuous" if you use the zoom while filming as at first I had many shots go out of focus and remain that way. Not a deal breaker for me though. Overall value is good, if a little pricey, as you are getting an amazing amount of zoom in such a small camera. Battery Life seems to be very good as I have yet to use my backup battery when out shooting. Be sure to get at least a Class 6 SD card though if you plan on shooting videos. Based on my personal experience, I wouldn't hesitate recommending this camera to others. It's far better than my last point-and-shoot (Fuji EX720) and the end results are mostly pictures I can show off and feel very proud of.
The Pro's wanted it on safari
I bought this camera to take on safari and had taken only one pic with it before boarding the plane. By day 2 - I had it more or less mastered. By the end of the trip I had sold at least 10 (others on the tour are going to purchase this camera when they get back to the states). The color! the clarity! the HD video of a hyena eating a wildebeest! (gross). I LOVE this camera! (a phrase I repeated many time a day on safari!). The others in the group made me promise to upload the pics somewhere that they could access them online - even the people with the BIG lenses! I LOVE THIS CAMERA!!!!
Great zoom capability
The Nikon Coolpix was chosen for its incredible optical zoom of an equivalent 25-450. The photos thus far have been excellent with good color saturation even under extremes like glacier ice next to green forests. The menus are straight forward and easy to select and use. The system has a relaively quick start up time making it easier to get a "grab shot" than some point and shoots. The lack of an optical viewfinder is a negative from my point but the large 3" display works well in all but bright light situations.
Wife loves it!
We purchased this camera about a month ago as a replacement for a Sony 7 megapixel camera that was over six years old. The old camera still worked fine, but my wife wanted something "better". We did the research and purchased this camera over some 14 megapixel cameras because this one had the amazing optical zoom. we have taken over 400 pictures since and had them developed and we are very happy with the results. If you are looking for a great camera at a good price, this is it!
Very nice zoom on a pocket camera!`
Have been using for a short time but am enjoying the camera. Learning to be steady on certain effects is just a matter of practice. Can't wait to use on vacation.
Wonderful for first lasting camera
If you want a NIKON and can not afford a great one get this. You'll be greatly satisfied and the battery life is good. Win win for me.
Great camera for everyday use
Bought this to replace my old Sony. This camera is much larger and that's an issue sometimes, but it's capabilities--specifically the zoom feature---are signficantly enough to look past its bullk. Got it on sale too, so this was a great deal. No problems to date.
Great sharp images
Bought this camera literally while driving to the airport for a vacation. I had researched a few the night before. This one was the highest price of the ones I liked but has the best optical zoom in the price range. So happy I got it. Needed to adjust color a bit, and it is a little hazy/blue when using the zoom to it's max for landscapes, but the sharpness of the details is amazing! You see every blade of grass, every leaf. Takes nice videos as well. Next I'll be trying it out on photographing my original artwork for my website. Very very happy with this camera. also bought sandisk Ultra 8GB memory card, very fast shooting.
Disappointed
My old Kodak camera died the day before my son's first birthday party in May 2011, so I went out to BestBuy and bought what I thought was a decent camera. I would have bought another Kodak had BestBuy had a better selection, but settled for the S9100 as it seemed to work fine in the store. (The store has great lighting - it's hard to get a real world scenario for testing a camera out in the store.) You'd think that camera technology would be better as the years go by, but what I've found is the following: 1. The pictures tend to come out looking like they're in soft focus. Hardly any of the pictures are crisp, and pictures that look OK on the camera's screen do not look good when I view them on the computer. 2. This is a terrible camera for taking pictures of your kids - or any moving object. If there is any movement at all, the pictures are blurry. I literally took 50 pictures of my son taking his first steps and maybe 5 of them came out. He wasn't moving all that fast, yet the pictures are in soft focus and are blurry. 3. The camera doesn't flash automatically. There's a separate button on the side of the camera that you have to push to make the flash appear. We usually forget to push it, resulting in pictures that are too dark. 4. The zoom control is built into the same button that you press to take pictures. Sometimes I'll try to snap a picture and nothing happens. Turns out the camera is trying to zoom itself. It's really frustrating. 5. The camera can take a long time to finally snap a picture. For some reason, sometimes it just stalls or hangs, and a few seconds later snaps a picture. This is a separate issue than the zoom issue. By then, the moment is gone. The end result is that I'm taking a lot more pictures in the hopes that one will actually come out right, and am missing out on actually watching my kids with my own eyes because I'm watching them through the camera's monitor to see if the stupid camera finally works. There are a few things that are actually good about this camera, such as the fact that it has a decent zoom and can take video in 1080P. I also like that there's a separate button for taking video. But the things that are positive about this camera are not enough to offset the negatives. I think it's time to ditch this camera. I do not recommend this camera to anyone, and will probably never buy another Nikon.
Unbelieveable zoom range in a small body
I picked this camera up for my wife, as I normally carry around my D7000. She needed a camera to take pictures, but didn't really want to learn the DSLR side of things. We upgraded from a Canon SD790, which only had a 3x zoom. This thing has an incredible, 18x zoom! I've been impressed with how quick this camera is to power up, focus and take a shot. This thing is wonderful in automatic mode. The image stabilization on the lens works great, even at the long end of the zoom. I don't know how Nikon did it, but they managed to keep chromatic aberration under control with this lens (which is tough to do on such a long lens in this small of a size). The only thing that is a bad thing about this camera is how noisy pictures can be in low light. However, this is expected with a smaller sensor, and why I didn't give the picture quality 5 stars. When you have enough light, this thing captures great images. Honestly, if you're looking to carry a camera with you on vacation, this is the one to use; it takes up no extra room versus a typical smaller point and shoot.
Lens Stops Working
After only 7 days the lens started going in and out and then stopping. The camera froze and I had to take the battery out to get it unfrozen but it malfunctioned again. Best Buy sent it in for repair which took about one week. After three pictures the lens did the same thing and the camera locked up. Even though I only had the camera 7 days when it failed Best Buy made me use manufacturing warranty. Review indicate that this camera has massive problems with exactly the same problem my camera exhibited. Going back to Best Buy in the morning to demand exchange for a different camera. Don't buy this camera.
Great extra features
Just returned from a trip overseas and this was our first time using the camera, and we took over 1000 pictures. Battery life was excellent, and we charged it once in a 10 day trip. The 18x zoom was perfect for getting quality closeups. Picture quality was great, once you got used to the camera, my son had difficulty at first until he got used to it. The low light function worked wonderful and we got great night pictures, especially the night portraits. We also loved the panoramic function which was fun to use and we got great photos using it. Overall, it takes a little playing with the camera to figure out all the functions, but if you are willing to do that, then it is well worth it. My one negative would be that the users manual that they send with the camera is minimal, but you can get the info on the disc they include.
Not that impressed
Originally bought this camera over the Canon SX230HS -- big mistake. The ease of use and the features were excellent. As far as the picture quality...just ok. You have to hold the camera extremely still or it will come out blurry. Not impressed and returned it. Just bought the Canon instead. I have two friends that have it and they love it. Hopefully this works out better. I do not recommend this camera.
Great upgrade from ultra compacts.
I bought this to replace a 4 year old Canon SD750, which used to take good pictures and great video but had recently slipped in image quality a bit. I also wanted to upgrade to one that takes HD video and after checking out a friend's Nikon last year, I was ready to make the switch. I did tons of research and physically tested many out and this one won. This camera does a great job at both images and video. Some images have been grainy/blurry but it was b/c of the operator or subject moving, or the angle, or lighting level. As with any camera, you should read the manual to inform themselves of the features and knowledge on the many factors at play with getting good images. I think some people don't take the time to do that and then complain that the camera takes poor pictures. There are a lot of features with this camera...more than with a standard point and shoot. It's not for everyone. However, family and friends who have used mine have commented on how fast and easy it is to use and love the quality of the pictures. It is a bit bulkier than many of the ultra compacts (especially when in a case) but it still beats the cost, complexity, and bulkiness of a DSLR. The zoom is amazing, especially for video. I took video at a recent U2 concert and zoomed in on the stage from the back of the stadium. The only issue was every little movement I made was exaggerated and some detail was lost. You have the option of recording in 720p or 1080p and can start/stop recording with a dedicated button, which is awesome. I also bought a mini HDMI cable so I can hook the camera up to our 55 inch HDTV...pretty impressive! Another cool feature is you can edit images in the camera and save a new copy. It's not as detailed as the editing software but it's really good for retouching or improving the lighting/contrast of pics. Speaking of the editing/organizing software: it took some time to make all the adjustments I wanted but it's pretty good. The flash must be manually raised via a small lever on the left side of the camera. This takes some getting used to but hasn't been a huge deal. Most pics we take don't really need the flash. I've finally realized that flash is only useful in certain situations. There's also many special scene modes and the ability to change the brightness on the fly if you ever see the need to do so. Very flexible quality camera...excellent for the price and what I need.
Feature packed...have to ready instructions
The Nikon is a pretty good camera, especially considering the price and features. I cannot believe that there is actually an 18x optical zoom in such a smallish body. That is why we bought it and that is primarily why we like it. We went to the Denver Zoo recently and zoomed into a lion's face from about 30 yards away! The many other features are interesting, but comparable to other cameras of the same size and price. The pictures in dim light are about the same as my old CCD camera. I though that the backlit CMOS sensor would be much better than a standard CCD, but I have not found that to be true, though I am not certain that I am correctly using the full function of that feature. The camera takes really fast pictures. You press the shutter button and it is taking the photo! I'm not sold on the face recognition nor the pet mode. I found neither to work reliably. The night mode takes bout 30 photos of the same shot, but I see not improved overall photo...so I am not sure that I am using that mode correctly. Bottomline is that if you want to use the full features of this camera, you probably have to thoroughly read the instructions.
Great camera. Exciting features
This camera has everything I've wanted for years and was never able to find. Tons of special features, beautiful pix and an excellent zoom on a small camera. I couldn't be more pleased with it. Just wish there was a separate charger. That's really no big deal though. Love it!
Great 18x optical zoom in a small footprint
Great, compact point and shoot -- with outstanding 18x optical zoom and very sharp lens. Good if you want a camera that makes almost all the decisions for you -- no real manual control available to speak of.
Excellent point and shoot camera, worth buying.
It is takes great pictures and has lot of features. It takes videos @ 1080p/30fps with stereo sound, which is awesome. Also the video quality is great which I did not expect from this small camera. It is little slow at night in indoor without flash, but with flash it works great. CMOS Back-illuminated sensor does improve low-light performance. This is the only compact camera has 18X optical zoom, which also works for video, no other camera in the market has this feature and it takes steady shots at 18X full zoom. Overall this is a great camera.
could be a nice camera but
This is my 2nd Nikon Coolpix S9100 The first one I returned because the battery indicator didn't work It took about 100 pictures and quit without any indication. I returned it 2 days after I purchased it and exchanged for the same camera thinking the next one would be better. Well the second one had the same problem. I sent an email to Nikon and they replied saying the battery indicator should warn you when it's running low. The flash doesn't work for back lighting either. Sometimes it would work fine and other times it wouldn't. While holding the camera trying to take a still picture the video would be activated. Most of the pictures were out of focus not because of the video problem.. I have been photographing since 1981 so this isn't my first camera.I am a professional photographer and wanted this camera for point and shoot shots. I do love the style of the camera and wanted it for the 18x's zoom. This is my experience only this camera isn't up to par. Maybe there are 1000's of the same camera out there working just fine. But the two I had didn't and I did a lot of research before I purchased the Nikon Coolpix S9100. I always heard what a great camera Nikon was. After having Canon for years thought I'd buy the Nikon. Well no more Nikon for me.
Great camera for travel
So far this has been a good travel companion. Compact and great telephoto for a small camera.
Technologically Advanced & Affordable
I bought my Nikon Coolpix S9100 about a month ago after comparing it to the Canon Powershot sx230hs. (And I did a LOT of research!!!) After being convinced that the cameras were practically the same (there were equal pros and cons to each), I went with this Nikon because of the greater zoom (18x vs. 14x) and the unique ability to take pictures WHILE filming video. After owning the camera for awhile, I find the picture quality to be excellent. The low-light technology seems to be excellent also; it helps because I take a lot of pictures at concerts. This camera is a GREAT value for an intermediate photographer, who wants professional-quality photographs. The only negative thing I would say at this point is that it takes awhile to "get to know" all of the settings that make this camera so versatile. It takes great photos without knowing how to use all of its features; however, to make the most out of the camera, it'll take some time. Also, learning how to focus the camera takes a little practice, when doing artistic shots, but its easy to shoot "everyday" kinds of pictures (landscapes and portraits). Overall, this is a wonderful camera that I would recommend to anyone who wants one of the most technologically advanced (with low-light technology), most affordable cameras (try to get it on sale) on the market! Again, I did a lot of comparison research when deciding on which camera to purchase, so comment if you have any questions about this product!
great camera,must read owners manual to use.
Do not be misled by the negative reviews. if you take the time to set the camera up correctly and understand that one has to practice on the use of the long zoom it works great. This camera is more than the average point and shoot user needs. i use it as a backup to a nikon D80. the video is great.
Excellent Camera
I traded up from a S4000 and this is faster and better quality. Movies are easy to take with one button and the quality is equivalent to a camcorder Battery life is good..
freezes up
this camera constantly freezes up on me leading to having to constantly take out my battery and putting it back in to restart.
Terrific Trade Up camera
I had an older Sony DSCW230 for the past few years and have been very unhappy with it's low light or flash photos. I have reviewed all of the options of Sony, Nikon and Canon and settled on this one. Canon and Sony had the GPS, which reviews were bad on battery drainage and frankly, I know where I am when I take a photo, so I cant see the point in that anyway. I am very pleased with my choice. The flash works great as when you want a flash, you just pop it up, when you don't you leave it down. The zoom is incredible, but at a long length you have to have steady hands or a tripod which is expected. The video is awesome too. The only negative is the size and weight as the lens tends to protrude out, but I will get used to that. The camera has a good feel in my hands and is very quick to record the photo. One negative and I have not found how to change the setting yet is the time it displays the review of last shot seems to be be quick. Overall I give this 5 stars for a $300 point and shoot camera.
Great value
Good quality for the price. I am very happy with the purchase.
Great point-and-shoot!
We bought the Nikon to replace an old Canon Powershot. The main issue with our old camera was lag time between shots. I read the reviews on this camera and am very impressed with how quickly this camera works. I can't wait to use it on our upcoming trip overseas!!!
Great for beginner or as a second camera to a slr
Great picture both indoor and out.Shot to shot times are very good.
Great so far!
I really struggled between this & a Canon because Canon IS cameras, but Nikon is moving up. I bought it because it had mostly good reviews on various camera review websites & high reviews at local camera stores. I have only had the camera for a month, & so far, so good... but only time will tell whether or not it was a good buy. I have only used it in auto mode, so far, & it takes great pics, which is good for a novice like me. I can play around with manual settings & learn, yet switch to auto when I really want to KNOW I'm gonna get a good shot. One thing I don't like is that you have to remember to put up the flash, in low light or indoors; it doesn't have an automatic flash. I love the large zoom, & used it quite often, on our trip. Unfortunately, there is significant camera shake when you zoom. However, patience & holding down the shutter button, halfway, brings it to focus & locks it in while you take the pic. I like that, in picture mode, at the press of a button, you can be video recording, & quit as quickly. I also like that you can snap pictures while in video mode. The sound isn't very loud, though, unless you're pretty close to the camera. The battery holds a long charge, which is awesome. I charged it before we went on our trip, took 500 pictures throughout the week, & only had to charge it once, during the trip. When we got back, I reviewed & showed the pics, on the camera, twice, before having to recharge it. The only thing I don't like is that you have to recharge the battery IN the camera, though I suppose carrying an extra charged battery would solve that problem. There is no viewfinder, so I hope the LCD screen, which is nice & big, never goes bad. All around... from my limited experience... I really like the camera. I think it's a little pricey, & I paid more than I wanted to for a point & shoot, but I bought cheaper before & was disappointed. It's a little bit larger & heavier than a lot of the other little point & shoot cameras out there, but that's because of the larger zoom. I guess, like with anything, to gain some things, you also give up some things.
Somewhat disappointed
I bought this new camera hoping for better picture quality than my current one which was 3 years old. I found almost no difference, and the new camera is more difficult to operate.
Camera broke after 3 months of moderate use
Purchased end of April, broken by mid-June. Camera froze up and would not focus. Nikon took 6 weeks to repair, but product still is not functional. Cannot get adequate service. DO NOT BUY! Very disappointed in this camera. Won't buy Nikon again.
A Nikon for anyone to use.
Makes a good first camera or a good backup for your SLR. Lots of features, quick focus, great images. Huge LCD Easily slips into a purse or pocket. Big zoom range. Excellent macro. The easiest panoramas ever.
Amazing Night Pictures-Awesome Zoom
Takes the most amazing pictures at night. The zoom is awesome--optical, I don't care for the digital as it tends to get a little fuzzy. The stabilization feature works really well. The simple dial control is not easy to get used to, I am prefer a more specific scene selection--this camera tries to choose for you. It does a good job more than half the time. The movie function is good in close quarters, but distance does not seem to allow you to focus as things change. Flash is very odd, requires you to manually raise it. I like the camera--got it on a discounted sale, not sure if I would pay the full price; hence my 3* for value.
Great camera
If you are looking for a small camera that takes excellent pictures and has a long-range zoom lens (18X), stop shopping and buy this one. Definitely the best in class for the time being. I particularly like the scene modes which I have learned to use almost all the time. Whether you are in a museum or taking a sunset picture, these special modes make the camera do exactly what a pro would have done manually to set the camera correctly for the unusual shot.
Great camera for everyday use
My wife and I bought this camera while on vacation. We wanted a good zoom and this camera, which can go up to 72x, meets our needs. It was very easy to take pictures right away without reading through the manual for for than a few minutes for the extra features. The picture quality is great (which is something we spent a lot of time looking for and almost went with a Canon). The video has turned out very nice. If you are looked for a point and shoot camera that can get near SLR quality this is the camera for you. We bough a cheaper point and shoot camera a couple of years ago and immediately regretted going cheap and not meeting our needs. This is a great camera for somebody who cares about picture quality, wants good zoom, and doesn't want to buy another camera a year or two down the road because they settled on one that stinks.
Okay but i expected way better indoor photos.
Honestly, I'm beginner I make my husband buy me the expensive cameras(previously had the olympus stylus tough 8010 was also an okay camera pic quality sucked) & i have no clue how to use them. I loved this one because of the special effects setting it's real easy to change. But my thing is i don't understand the ISO, Marco, any of that. My point is when i'm taking pictures of my son (toddler) in low light the pictures often come out blurry/ fussy usually indoor pictures. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem is there something i can do to fix it or is it just the camera?!. Raising the flash helps a little but then you get a really bright photo. When i first bought the camera the sales rep said it was excellent at capturing great pictures especially kids moving around & not sitting still!
Takes Vivid color Pictures in perfect Clairity !
This is buy far the best Camera I've ever OWNED ! It has very clear pictures out doors, and indoors while using the flash. It has an easy to manual exposure control when using close ups with the flash. The camera is all lens in a small body. Well designed and easy to use. Takes the most clear 1080P videos so you don't need a separate video camera. This camera wins over the previous 2 cameras I owned from another top camera company. I've read somebodys elses review claiming that their pictures weren't clear. There' a little know how in using any camera thats required. But mine are as clear and vivid as I've ever seen. Buy this camera, you won't be sorry. Its a power house in a good size compact package. The LED screen is top notch too !!!
only a fair point and shoot
Love Nikon products and I have D90 and wanted a point and shoot for times when taking the d90 was not appropriate. not as happy with this camera as I wanted to be. pro: low light works great flash pop up manually nice size several nice functions nice large viewing screen battery life seems very good non zoomed pictures are very nice cons: zoom makes pictures blurry control button tends to move on its own and changes what mode it is pictures in general aren't as sharp as I want them but then maybe I am to use to my d90 in conclusion great for snapshots, family, indoor shooting, general life but I think you could do better with a different camera.
Great camera
The oly thing I have to get use to is pulling up the flash, it is not automatic so I tend to forget.
Excellent Camera
It is worth the extra money, takes great pictures, and is easy to use. Have not found anything I did not like. Takes great pictures in low light conditions without the flash.
Great features, bad engineering - do not buy
I purchased the S9100 because of its speed and long zoom. In the first few weeks of use I was delighted with it, but it abruptly stopped working - "lens error" which froze the camera. I returned it to Best Buy but was a week outside of the ridiculously short 14 day return period. BB sent it to Nikon for repair, it was covered by warranty. Nikon authorized a replacement instead of repair, so I got another S9100. I used camera #2 for only a few days when it also failed - this time the camera simply froze, nothing worked and it couldn't be turned off. I was able to restart it by taking the battery out and putting it back in, but that had to be done repeatedly. Thankfully BB took #2 back and allowed me to exchange it for a Canon Powershot 230, which so far I like. There are serious problems with this camera - two failed after light use, for different reasons.
Do not buy it!
I really love NIkon ,it has been our family brand for cameras for several generations .I got this camera after I lost my Nikon P90 ,that camera was great but bulky and I wanted to keep similar features in a smaller package,what a big mistake I made ordering online this camera: #1 all the reviews talking about getting blurry pictures are true,specially if there is any movement(even minimal) present. #2 the selector is on the way of the shutter and often I changed by mistake from auto to other selections. #3 no viewfinder with and LCD that go off in the sun plus the glare make it very difficult to use it outdoors. #4 no programmable selections I think the best use of this camera is for restaurants because the wide lense,remember you have to raise the flash manually! I hope that help ,as for me I am planning to buy the p500 ,yes I know is bulky but this s9100 is a foul.
Blurry / Bad Pictures / Worst Camera
Would give it 0 stars but option is not available!!! Received this camera from husband for Christmas. Loved the hype on commercials and picture quality it showed on tv. HOWEVER, it is by far the worst Digital Camera I ever had. The pictures come out blurry without flash in good light, forget about steady hands it takes it blurry even when placed on solid surface. Motion stability is not there. Sometimes with a flash it takes an extremely POOR quality picture. Save your money and buy a different camera as we are returning this one ASAP (sucks for bestbuys 15% restocking fee when obviously I as a customer was misled because as advertised it is not what I got) VERY VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH NIKON AND THE QUALITY especially for over 300$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Nighttime Pics
I bought this to take night pictures and it does it well.
Phenomenally bad photos
Wow. I did some research to replace my Lumix, which is pretty old and obsolete. Lots of good ratings and reviews (and some bad, which I should have paid more attention to) on the S9100. Bought it, brought it home yesterday, spent all this morning tinkering with settings, trying to get ONE decent photo. No luck. This thing is a mutt, and I'm taking it back today. Nikon should be ashamed.
Great camera for a great price
So i did some research online and actually never even looked at this camera, i decided to go to best buy and look at all the cameras and see how i liked some of them. When i got to best buy i was looking through all of them and came across this camera (9100) i fell in love when i saw it. I used to have a nikon D40 DSLR, but sold it due to the fact that it was a pain to carry around (especially to parties and on vacations) to take normal pictures. Anyway, i wanted a camera that had a good amount of zoom, and took pictures anywhere near the quality that my dslr did. well after playing around with some of the cameras i found this one, and loved it. the zoom is amazing for such a small camera, the picture quality is perfect (for those complaining, just change the iso settings to 200 or 400) if you leave the iso on auto it tends to come out blurry without the flash, but if you change it the pictrues are PERFECT. and my favorite part are all the little effects, like the miniature effect and things of that nature. i would deff recomend this camera to people that are looking for a good camera with a lot of zoom, id say this camera is for middle of the road to experienced users as far as settings and getting it to take perfect pics. its not a camera where you can just turn it on hit auto and take perfect pics. but there isnt much needed to get them.
Rec'd as a Birthday Gift!
I received the above captioned camera in August as a birthday gift and I haven't had the time yet to sit down with the camera AND the book! I have been using the camera by just figuring the basics but I cant wait until I can sit down with the book and the camera and learn EVERYTHING step by step!!
Good camera, even on the zoom shots.
I am no camera wizard, but found it easy to use, with good quality pictures as the result. I like the megapixels size, zoom quality, easy of use, and compactness.
Light weight secondary camera
I am a nikon groopie. This camera was purchased after a month of river cruises in Europe with my D90 and 3 lens. Took it to Italy, Greece and Turkey this past summer. Found using this for quick shots especially when guided tours moving to fast for D90 set up. Color, distance and wide lens make it perfect secondary camera. Only wish it had nef capability for Aperature fine tuning. But difference in price made it great choice.
Decent point and shoot....good basic camera!
I am an avid photographer and have been a Nikon nut for over 15 years now. I decided to pick this up as a good option for on the go and quick shoots when its not advantageous to haul around my professional Nikon bodies and lenses. Initial reactions are decent at best, a lil slow to focus and takes some getting used too to deal with the menu and scene modes to get the camera to preform as it was designed to. the few pics that i have played with it on are decent enough for memories and family pics. My major disappointment about this camera comes in downloading the images through the camera...you HAVE to install their proprietary software to access the images that are on the internal card. I find theis extremely annoying seeing as in and A) a mac user (and proud of it) B) use real software like photoshop and lightroom to manipulate my images, and C) hate loading bloatware on any system to just jet to the end product. All that being said ill just have to open the battery door and pop out the sdhc card and put it in the computer to get to my images. All in all it will be a great camera for a beginner to intermediate user and a professional like myself can enjoy the form and functionally. Like a few other reviewers on here, I wish that the camera had nef raw format capture capability to better control the final images. So far the image and video quality are good for a reasonably priced nikon camera. Just hope that my unit doesnt suffer the same fate as some others with the lens cover sticking or the lens jamming. Only time will tell. Lastly, please research the prices on this unit before buying this unit...i found it in store today for $279.99 and then while researching it further on the website found that they had it for $239.99 and had to go back to the store and fight a nice young sales lady and her boss to get the difference back on my card. In the end i got the adjustment and have a good lil camera that I hope will last me for quite a few years.
LOVE IT!
I have only just started to learn what this camera is capable of. I carried a "throw away" $100 camera for the past couple of years and the pictures were just sub-par, so I was looking for something easy to carry, but that takes great pictures. I believe I found it! I need to sit down with the manual and learn the ins/outs of the camera but so far I am VERY happy!! The only con is the flash, I wish it would pop up on its own if needed.
Best in class
I've now had this camera for 14 days and have taken well over a thousand pictures with it. I know some people have complained of focus issues and fuzzy pictures. I also at first had focus issues right out of the box. But after inspecting the camera: I discovered a finger print on the lens. I'm pretty sure it wasn't from me. I can't say for sure, but I know better than to touch a camera lens. Anyway, after cleaning the lens, I have had no focus issues. Even though the camera has image stabilization, some people may have focus issues when using high zoom levels, as it is hard to hold a camera steady when holding your arms out away from your body. This is where an optical view finder would have been nice. The lay out of the buttons and dials all seem comfortable to me. Everything is easy to access. And the camera interface is simple and clean. All option are easy to find and not hidden under a bunch of sub menus. The build quality also seems equally good. The camera feels nice and solid in my hands and not like some cheap toy. Most of the pictures I take, I use the auto mode. My next favorite mode would be burst mode, which will snap off 5 shots at a rate of 9.5 fps. One nice feature I like on the camera is the ability to adjust brightness, color saturation, and hue. This can be accessed by a single press of the finger. These adjustments however are not available in every mode. The ISO can also be specified by the user, which is real nice. The ISO goes from only as low as 160 but as high as 3200. You can also select from two auto ranges where the camera chooses for you from between 160 - 400 or 160 - 800. The camera has a dedicated video button. So that means no spinning of the dial or flipping of switches to get to video mode. Just press the button and you're recording. Videos taken with the camera look good and play real nice and smooth on my computer when using windows media player. When using quick time, the videos play choppy for some reason. Also you can hear the zoom lens in the videos if recording in quiet situations. It is not very loud, but it is noticeable. Also while recording video you can snap of some still shots. There will be no shutter sound or pause or preview or any indication at all that you took a snap shot. This was confusing to me at first because I was expecting to see a preview or pause or noise or something to indicate I had taken a shot. Well after pressing the shutter button twenty times or so and hearing or seeing nothing. I stopped the video and checked the preview. Every time I pressed the shutter button while recording there was a picture for it. I later discovered the reason for no noise or pause is because the shutter sound and or pause would be in your video. I would have liked to have seen a little more manual control on this camera; and I did look at other pocket sized mega zooms that offered it. But the other cameras lacked the picture quality of this one. Over all I am very pleased with this camera. I feel that it is the best pocket-able mega zoom out there right now. I have added two photos so everyone can judge for them selves on quality. One still life photo and one action photo. As you can see they are both clear and in focus. These were each taken later in the day with no flash. They also were each only taken once. Not a bunch of shots of the same scene and then I chose the best one. The action shot in burst mode the camera actually took 5 shots, but I chose that one because it was the biggest splash in the sequence. I wanted people to see how the camera was able to capture the water drops in the splash. If any one wants, they can pop on over to amazon and check out more pictures I uploaded there. One last thing. Nikon recommends a class 6 memory card or better. You don't discover that till you open the box and pop in the CD user manual.
Better if left at the store!!! >:(
I recieved this camera for Christmas as a replacement for my Kodak Zoom, that's actually 5 years old. Well, even at 5 years old and with a bad flash my Zoom still takes better pictures than this camera. Out of 5 images 2 or 3 of them would be blurry for NO reason. The shutter speed is insanely slow causing tracers and missed photo opportunities. The editing features will only allow you to crop and use one other editing feature, on the camera. The editing software for your computer is awful. I can honestly say there is not one thing I liked or enjoyed about this camera. When paying that much money for something, you'd think the flash would automatically pop up.....nope! Just another cheap camera with a popular name on it. Needless to say, my boyfriend is taking this camera back after only a little over week of owning it. I'll stick to my iPhone and Kodak for all of my picture needs.
Fantastic camera and features...at a great price!
The Nikon Coolpix S9100 is the rare beast that will please both novices and experienced shooters, even with its lack of manual controls. Thanks to its great image quality and creative controls, practically anyone will find this camera a pleasure to use. The Coolpix S9100 knows what it takes to get the best shot in nearly any situation, and then just does it. This camera offers great performance and value for the price.
Believe the negative reviews - blurry & unreliable
Nikon Coolpix S9100 - I read the reviews about blurry images, but bought it anyway. bad move. Disappointing and surprising from such a well-known brand. One pic turns out great, the next is blurry. Believe the negative reviews - blurry & unreliable
Good Camera for outdoor use with steady hands!
This camera is not my first point and shoot purchase and I also own DSLRs from Nikon. It takes good picture outdoor and great video. Night photography, flash photography is not useful with this camera. The flash performance and flash pre-sets are not effective. It also requires a very steady hand and otherwise the pictures will be blurry. In my experience it is is 50-50 chance of getting reasonable pictures in high ISO setting and at night with flash, On the opposite , outdoor and high speed focus works great. High quality pictures with good and natural colors. Great zoom.
Dissapointed
I was excited to get this camera at such a great price. However when I began to use it I regretted buying it. Every single picture I took came out blurry. When I was taking photos indoors they were even worse. Out of 48 pictures I took only 3 were decent. I didn't even own this camera for a full 24 hours, I took it back to Best Buy and got the Canon Powershot ELPH 300 and I love it. Not to mention it was $100 cheaper =)
Great Name Brand
I bought this camera for myself for Christmas after hearing excellent reviews on it. Shortly after I bought the Item, I noticed that it could not take a good focused picture. Maybe 1 picture out of the ten you took would be focused and not blurry. I think that this camera came out to soon and needs to have some work done before selling this camera. I loved the zoom and the features, did not like how the picture quality came out. After all the Christmas reviews came out, I found that it wasn't just me and that a lot of people have been having the same problem. So I returned the S9100 Nikon and exchanged it for the Nikon s8200 and I love it. Great Brand!!!
Great Camera More Compact then SLR
Bought this Camera to use when I didnt wanna carry my SLR around and it Performs great . Easy to use and and Lightweight for it's size Pictures are Great and Lots of Options to Adjust Settings .
BEST Camera ever!!!
I just purchased this camera a week ago and I am in LOVE with it!! I had the Nikon s8100 till it broke and I was going to get the 8100 again till I saw this one came out. I am sooo glad I went with this one instead. It takes amazing pictures and the zoom is OUTSTANDING!! It also has some other really neat features that an slr camera has, but not as big!
Not Impressed
First of all, I wish I had read the reviews before I fell in to the commercial hype surrounding this camera. I own another Nikon product (which I love) and thought this camera was a home run. I like the optical zoom capability of the camera and the video seems to perfom at a level expected from a point and shoot camera. Now for the bad news. I have taken a few hundred photos with this camera and have come to the conclusion there is no possible way this camera can take good photos. Four out of five pictures are blurry with or without the flash. At first I thought it was me, but I have tried every ISO setting, all scene settings and even placing the camera on a solid surface and it refuses to take a picture that I would consider acceptable. They claim the camera works in low light. I can't get it to work in normal indoor daylight let alone low light. I have tried as much as I am willing to make this camera take a decent picture. One more thing, why would Nikon think I want to use my camera as a battery charger. Nikon should rethink this one and try again for next Christmas. This one will be going back to BB. We'll see about that restocking fee.....
Not recommended
This camera has trouble finding a good focus, and it makes a lot of noise when filming a movie. You can hear the camera noise in the recording. I returned this camera for a refund.
Sluggish focusing is a deal-breaker
This may seem odd to say for a camera, but its performance is slow. By that I mean, zooming in and out and how long it takes to focus (if it ever focuses). It is noticeably sluggish. The lens tends to hesitate for a second after pushing the zoom lever, whether going telephoto or wide-angle. Once you're zoomed in, very often it is not in focus. When you push the shutter down half-way, its SLOW attempting to focus, and often times, it never gets the picture in focus. Video mode is also abysmal. The motor is LOUD when zooming in movie mode and quite frankly for what is supposed to be 1080p, the quality is not very good at all when transfered to a computer. When the camera decided to focus, some shots were quite nice. But the camera is really disappointing overall. You're paying for 18x room in a compact camera and thats really its only selling point. I'll be returning this tomorrow.
Great Camera Overall!!!
This is my third point and shoot camera and this one is by far the best one that i have had. I got it just before Christmas when it went on sale for $240.00. I now see this week that it is on sale for $199.99. Overall camera quality is great. I'm not a professional but I do enjoy a good camera that takes quality pictures and has some nice features on it. The zoom on this camera is excellent. This camera also takes great low light photos. Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase of the S9100.
great little camera
Digital cameras have really come a long way since I last purchased one (2004). I love all of the features of this camera...especially that it finds peoples' faces and makes sure they're in focus. It has several useful modes (sunsets, museums, sports, and on and on and on). Great zoom capability. The biggest minus for me and why easy to use is only rated good is the user's manual is on a disc that you have to put in your computer. This seems to be the new trend with products, but I find it extremely annoying and would gladly pay a little more if they would include a user's manual book. Finally, the battery charges while in the camera...helpful to purchase a spare battery and charger.
Terrible faulty piece of junk.
I have not even had this camera for a year and it's a piece of junk. It seemed fine for a few months, even though it took a lot of messing around with settings to actually be able to take consistent pictures. However now, the button to take pictures works about half the time. You are supposed to be able press it down lightly to try to focus before pushing it all the way down to take the picture but it rarely happens. I have missed countless shots of my daughters because this piece of junk finally took the picture after I have had to keep pressing the button over and over. It's supposed to be good without a flash, and the pictures are usually very blurry. I have read many other reviews about the camera freezing up on people and luckily that has not happened to me. I saw another reviewer who said they were going to get the Canon Elph 300HS, I highly recommend returning the S9100 and getting the Canon. I have owned two Canons in the past and wish I had never jumped ship. Nikon has terrible customer service and from what I have read if they fix your camera correctly, you will wait like 2 months. I actually plan on getting the 300HS or possibly the 310HS, depending on whether or not I decide the 8x zoom is worth it for me versus the 5x. Do yourself a favor and return this camera for something else. Buyer beware.
This camera has the best weight ratio and quality
This camera has the best weight ratio and quality for type and style. Its responsiveness is off the chart and is able to capture those special moments that we all come across.
Going through 2 cameras, shots are still not good.
Both of the two S9100 cameras that I owned still take poor quality picture. Sometimes the photo is too bright and at times dark. I tried with and without flash, still the same results. I wonder if a Nikon Technician will call or email me and give some tips on how to fix the photo quality problems. I bought both cameras at Best Buy, staff at Best Buy does not seem to know much about cameras. I'm still waiting and looking for someone to help me. If by the end of this week, I won't get any help, particularly from Best Buy staff, I will return the camera. Thanks, Dan
Terrible focus problems
I bought this camera originally for our first ever Hawaiian vacation. I am sorry to say that most pictures are blurred. It doesn't matter if it's bright daylight, twilight, or indoor, most pictures are not acceptable. I sent the camera back to the factory prior to Christmas. The Camera returned and the problems remain. It is now back to the factory again. I have been informed by The Geek Squad that the camera has to be sent back to the factory 4 times to be considered for replacement. I think that's outrageous. I originally chose Nikon because of The Nikon reputation and quality optics. I am dissapointed with my purchase and can only hope that some accomodation can be made.
V poor camera, returned in 24 hours
I bought the camera and used it for one evening. The pictures and video were incredibly bad. By the way i am not saying that the camera was defective. I am saying that the quality of the pictures and videos were not good. I used a point and shoot camera and its videos and pictures were far superior to this cameras despite that being half the price of this camera. The charging is also cumbersome! I strongly suggest AGAINST buying this camera. I returned this one within 24 hours!
great combo of pocket,zoom and smart all in one
I have used this camera for grandchildren, christmas decorations, family and my roses. Great range and a powerful zoom. The price for the goodies will serve you well.
Impressive So Far
Just bought this on sale and it was a toss up between the ELPH 300 HS and this one... The S9100 won on zoom, high res LCD, 1080I 30fps vice 24.. Price was the same...... I'm very impressed with the low light/ no flash pictures from this camera although I have come across the focus issues mentioned by others in Auto mode. Quick fix was to play with the zoom a little (in or out#, second was using the subject tracking mode #focused locked in 99% of the time when Auto did not work#. I primarily bought this camera for auction inventory pics, the low light and macro capabilities are a much needed improvement of the non stabilized camera I used in the past. Popped in an eye-fi card and the pics fly through the air into the laptop... Pros - Low light - Macro - 1080i 30fps 30min; 15,120, and 240 fps modes 10 sec - Great Zoom 18x, add the 4x digital and you'll need a tripod with no wind. Cons - At times will not focus in auto #have to change focus modes or re-align shot) - No 800 x 600 image size #jumps from 640x480 to 1024x768)
Nice camera
Owned several Nikon film cameras and a few early digital cameras. This 9100 received mixed reviews which made me reluctant to buy it. The professional testers liked it, some user didn't. When my Canon died during a trip, I was forced to make a decision. I trusted the testers. I'm not disappointed. I like the short shutter lag, the clear LCD (I gave up the great tilting LCD which I had on all of my previous digital cameras), the zoom, and the feel. It's solid and has some fun and useful features. Being brought up on film cameras, my left hand is under the camera for support, so the manual pop-up flash location that some reviewers reported was always under a finger is not a problem. So far so good. 3 months. Bought cheap batteries and out-of-camera charger through Amazon. Great deal and they all work.
So Far, So Good
This camera is capable of taking great point and shoot pictures, but in low light you need to get creative in selecting proper scene modes and whether flash is necesssary, particularily when using the zoom capability of this camera. Some blurring in portrait mode in dusk situation when using some optical zoom.
Camera has focus problems
I bought the camera about a week ago. And took about 150 shoots with camera. Problem camera has trouble with auto focus indoors and even on out side shoots when useing the zoom. I went to bestbuy and bought a Panasonic zs-8 and took about 50 shots the same shots on both camera's and every shoot on the zs-8 focusest fine and pictures where clear. I gave up on the nikon s9100 and sent it back. And just keep the zs-8. I liked some things better on the nikon but it's no good if it wouldn't focus on alot of pictures.
Excellent camera for the price.
Previously purchased two other cameras in the price range and both had very poor shutter delay timing. The selling point for me was the multiple frame rapid fire. The best feature is one I missed when reading the specs before purchase. The high speed video is fantastic. Hard to believe a camera at this price has this capability.
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