Nikon Expands S-Series with Vibration Reduction
Nikon today updated its S-series, the manufacturer’s line of flat, compact point-and-shoots. The new Coolpix S700 and S510 tout higher megapixel counts, enhanced face priority, and optical vibration reduction on this pair of cameras.
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August 30, 2007 – Nikon today updated its S-series, a line of flat, compact point-and-shoots. The new Coolpix S700 and S510 tout higher megapixel counts, enhanced face priority, and optical vibration reduction. The 12.1-megapixel S700 will retail for $379.95 and the 8.1-megapixel S510 for $299.95 when they are released in September.
The new Coolpix S700 and S510 have 3x optical zoom lenses that have optical image stabilization, called Optical Vibration Reduction (VR). Of the older Coolpix S500 and S200 announced in February, only the S500 had optical VR, while the S200 had electronic VR. Now both the S700 and S510 sport the "VR" tagline. The Optical Vibration Reduction system compensates for blur associated with camera shake even at long shutter times, according to the release.
The S700 and S510 also feature the Expeed image processor that promises to reduce noise at high ISO speeds. The S700 has a maximum sensitivity of 3200, while the S510 has range up to 2000 ISO.
The pair of cameras promise to operate faster with a start up time of under 1-second, and shutter response time of 5 milliseconds, according to the release. The S700 and S510 also have enhanced Face Priority that focuses faster. While Nikon’s face detection varies by model from 5 to 12-face detection, the S700 and S500 can detect up to 12 faces in a scene.
Like the earlier models, the S700 and S510 carry Nikon’s In-Camera Innovations, a set of three built-in functions: Face Priority, In-camera Red-eye Fix, and D-Lighting. Other features include 16:9 aspect ratio shooting so that users can capture in wide format.
The S700 also includes a function called Distortion Control that automatically corrects barrel distortion caused by the lens, a symptom of many point-and-shoots that causes curvature on the frame’s edges.
The Nikon Coolpix S700 and S510 accept SDHC media and the new Li-ion EN-EL10 battery.