The Coolpix S1 – Nikon’s first ultra-thin camera — is a stylish camera that ultimately fell behind the competition in several areas. The S1 has a compact, all-metal body with a 3X zoom lens (using folded optics technology like several other cameras in this class) and a 2.5″ LCD display. The camera is well built and can go just about anywhere. While it’s large, the LCD wasn’t terribly impressive in low light, and the resolution could’ve been higher too. The camera has an AF-assist lamp, but I wasn’t thrilled with how it performed in those situations.
The Coolpix is pretty much a point-and-shoot camera, with the only manual control being for white balance. There are numerous scene modes including several which provide framing guidelines that help you compose your shots. The only downside here is that the slowest shutter speed available is just two seconds, which may not be long enough for some night scenes.