Nikon S1 - Who should buy it?

 Nikon have released a new range to the "Nikon 1" series of compact system cameras. Introducing the S1 this camera being aimed at the consumer market, this camera is aimed at those who have the likes of point &  shoot cameras but would like to step up in both quality of images and speed of the camera. You may say this look very similar to the J series compact system, you would be correct but Nikon have made several changes to the system to make it more user friendly and appeal to the correct target audience. You are able to use interchangeable lenses which will allow to change between all of Nikons compact system lenses.

So what makes this camera different to the likes of the J1 and the V2? The S1 has been stripped of all real manual settings which you are able to access in the other camera and has have an overhaul in the menu setup to be more user friendly and easy to use. Using all in camera menus to navigate the different aspects of the camera from setup to shooting modes of camera which if your coming from a background of using digital cameras it will be a very smooth transition as using the likes of the J1 might be confusing from someone stepping up into the compact system market.

Don't be put off because the camera because although it is a beginner or entry level camera into the compact system market it will still be able to pack a punch, being on par with the J1 and having the same 10 MP sensor you will get the same quality of shots but what has been taken away is the likes of such high FPS available in the J and V series as well as you are not able to access them manual settings which will give you access to the full potential of the camera. This series being designed to be more user friendly and there as an option from someone ready to step up from the compact camera world they will find using the likes of the "perfect shot" system and all the different shooting mode will get them really high quality images that people who don't want to get into photography but want high quality images wants to be able to get out of a camera.

Nikon S3100 - Review

The S3100 is based on the design features of being easy to use and small and compact you are are able to fit it into your pocket and if you want to take a picture just point and shoot. Showing off a range of scene modes you are able to pick the situation you are in and it will adjust the setting of the camera to get the best shot possible. Rocking at 14 megapixel CCD sensor is for those who just want to take simple photos the camera is a plain and simple point and shoot.

The camera is very easy to use, using the zoom which is positioned round the shutter release you are able to zoom up to 5x using the optical zoom into your subject and simply just focus and take a photo. The camera when using it seemed a little bit slower than I expected from a compact camera and some others in the same price range I know to have a faster focus time. When taking a photo of a landscape I was pleasantly surprised at some of the results as it was able to take a good shot as long as you had a good few seconds to take the photo.

In a compact camera these days consumers expect a good performing continuous shoot mode so they can keep up with subject weather that is kids running round the house or their dog in the park and when using this shoot mode on the S3100 is seemed very unresponsive and slow so if you are using it this this kind of environment your result would be poor.

Navigation through the different setting was very simple and easy to use, just pressing the record button you could put it into video mode without having to change it into video mode in the settings. Being able to select the different scenes was very easy again which shows how Nikon know who the camera is aimed at and have made the different feature easy to access to take advantage of. For those wanting to do a little but more with the camera the only setting you will be able to have fun with is white balance as this range of camera does not support any kind of manual setting what so ever.

My overall conclusion of the camera being that if you are after just a very simple point and shoot camera for landscapes and taking picture of the family then this will be perfect for you, with a range of colour you will be able to find one that fits your style but for those expecting a high performance compact camera this would not be a camera I would recommend. It struggled in macro mode when trying to take pictures of small details and objects up close but the landscape features seemed to be good. Personally does not suit my needs for a camera but would be good for someone looking for just a very simple point and shoot.