Written by:
Katie Peoples
» Order
this Issue of Curve:
18#2
I was the only non-hipster at Nikon's Four to the Floor event in the fall when I self-consciously strolled into Ruby Skye in San Francisco. As guests tried their luck at scratching and mixing, up-and-coming DJs set up for their live show on the dance floor. But the real star, and my reason for being there, was the drool-worthy line-up of Nikon's latest cameras.
Nikon served up their Coolpix S551c on a silver platter...literally. Introduced just in time for Pride, this easy to use point-and-click has built-in Wi-Fi that lets you upload photos (up to 2 gigabites free) to a service called my Picturetown or directly to your Flickr account. Now you can share pics of that hottie with your friends immediately. For those less techy but slightly more fashionable, Nikon has a similar model without the Wi-Fi that comes in an assortment of colors, the S551.
The Coolpix S551c features 8.1 megapixels and a nifty feature that hunts down faces in the frame for perfect focus and no red-eye. You can even shoot video with it. For those who love to shoot at night with no flash, the camera has a hi-sensitivity setting that captures a scene with virtually no noise. Of course, we won't ask what your taking pictures of in the dark.
The camera also has a handy click wheel for shuffling through options and thumbnails. Anyone with an iPod will find it familiar and intuitive.
The body itself is sleek, and easily fits in a back pocket or purse, but a professional photographer may prefer the bulkier body and extra grip of Nikon's digital cameras with full manual functions: the Coolpix P5100 and the Coolpix P50. Each have 8.1 megapixels but the manual functions allow for more control than the preprogrammed settings allow. Needless to say I was more than happy to walk out with this puppy in my hands.
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