Nikon Coolpix S series · on sale March 2010 · a retrospective
The Nikon Coolpix S3000: the cheap, cheerful, metal-bodied first digicam
In 2010 Nikon sold a 12-megapixel metal compact in seven colours for about $150. Reviewers said it was well made and easy to use, and that it was a step up from a camera phone.
Meet the camera
It is small, flat and a little plain. Trusted Reviews called it exceptionally small, at 94 by 56 millimetres and 19 thick, and very light at 116 grams including battery and card, with an attractive, well-finished all-metal body and a flush-folding lens that suits a pocket or handbag on a night out.2 It came in seven colours, from champagne silver and magenta to green, blue, orange, red and matt black,2 and Cameralabs noted a magenta review sample so bright that it called it eye-watering.3
Imaging Resource listed it as shipping from March 2010 at $150.1 Cameralabs described it as the successor to the COOLPIX S220, with a larger screen, two more megapixels and a longer zoom, mostly at the wide-angle end.3 Trusted Reviews priced it in Britain at about £90 and called it essentially what you would get by crossing the S570 with the older S225.2
Why this one was interesting
Not much, on purpose
PhotographyBLOG called it a stylish but basic point-and-shoot aimed at snapshooters, with a pared-down approach it found refreshing. Its reviewer thought it hard to find too much fault with a £100, $150 camera that was very slim, light and made of metal not plastic.4 Trusted Reviews said it was a very simple camera designed for ease of use rather than creative versatility, with only five main shooting modes, and a main menu of seven adjustable things.2 PhotographyBLOG's summary: a cheap and more than cheerful step-up from a camera-phone or first-ever digicam.4
Was it a new chip or lens?
No. It was a 12-megapixel CCD with a 4x lens whose wide end reached 27 mm.1 The lens had no mechanical stabilisation. Imaging Resource said it relied on a software approach to camera shake,1 Trusted Reviews called digital stabilisation less effective and said that with the short focal length it was not really a problem,2 and PhotographyBLOG called the electronic system ineffective.4
No HD, no close-up
The S3000 recorded only 640 by 480 video at 30 frames per second, Trusted Reviews pointed out, unlike almost every compact launched in the previous six months, which had HD.2 PhotographyBLOG called the VGA movies dated and the macro distance a disappointing 8 centimetres.4
The same year's Canon of this class is in our SD1400 IS retrospective, and the Sony of a few years earlier is in our W55 retrospective.
The pictures, honestly
Reviewers disagreed on how good they were. Trusted Reviews called image quality good for the price and surprisingly good, but noted it was noisy at high ISO, with no distortion correction.2 Cameralabs found the S3000 matched the more expensive Canon IXUS 105 pixel for pixel and outperformed it in outdoor tests, and also beat the Sony W310, but said the Canon was worth the extra for indoor and dusk shooting, where the Nikon's low-light and high-ISO results could not compare.3 PhotographyBLOG was less excited: solid rather than spectacular, with heavy noise reduction smearing fine detail even at base ISO, though still sharp at the centre, accurate colour in natural light, and an auto white balance that struggled indoors, with a manual option as a pleasant surprise.4
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data.
Like that look? See what S3000s have recently sold for on eBay ↗
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The little wins
A real metal body for the money
All-metal construction and excellent build quality were the S3000's best points, Trusted Reviews said.2 PhotographyBLOG agreed that metal, not plastic, was notable at its price.4
A manual white balance
PhotographyBLOG was pleasantly surprised that an otherwise basic model offered manual white balance.4
Face and smile detection
Cameralabs listed scene recognition, face detection, AF tracking and smile detection among its features for a basic camera.3 Trusted Reviews found its face recognition good, detecting faces even in poor light or turned partly away.2
A smooth zoom
PhotographyBLOG found the zoom smooth for a power zoom.4
Where it let you down
Trusted Reviews found the controls engraved silver on silver, hard to see in good light and almost invisible in dim light, a start-up that looked like two seconds but was nearer four before the camera was ready, shot-to-shot of about 2.5 seconds and no audio cue in continuous mode.2 Imaging Resource rated the battery at 220 shots.1 Cameralabs found the screen much less bright and vibrant than the Canon's, with a narrower viewing angle.3
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
What the reviewers said in 2010
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Trusted Reviews | 30 Jul 2010 | A good low-cost ultra-compact: short on features and mediocre in speed, but well made, easy to use and good-looking, with image quality good for the price.2 |
| Cameralabs | 2010 | Extraordinarily good value against the Canon IXUS 105; better outdoors, worse in low light; for those who prize image quality, looks and value over control.3 |
| PhotographyBLOG | 8 Sep 2010 | Stylish but basic and half the price of the S4000; solid rather than spectacular pictures with heavy noise reduction.4 |
The timeline
- March 2010The S3000 ships at $150.1
- 30 July 2010Trusted Reviews publishes its review.2
- 8 September 2010PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.4
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a first digicam that is cheap, metal and simple, and you will shoot in daylight and share small. It launched at $150;1 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The battery. It was rated for about 220 shots when new;1 a fresh EN-EL10 is on Amazon ↗.
- The card. It takes SD cards and has 47 MB built in.1
- The controls. Silver on silver and hard to read,2 so check every button works.
- The screen. It is the whole viewfinder; look for scratches.1
- The settings. Keep ISO low and shoot in daylight.32
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗Replacement battery ↗
New to the jargon (CCD, ISO, xD cards, IXUS vs ELPH)? Read our plain-English digicam glossary.
Sources
- Imaging Resource, Nikon Coolpix S3000 overview and specifications (2010)
- Trusted Reviews, Nikon CoolPix S3000 review by Cliff Smith (30 Jul 2010)
- Cameralabs, Nikon COOLPIX S3000 review by Gordon Laing (2010)
- PhotographyBLOG, Nikon Coolpix S3000 review by Mark Goldstein (8 Sep 2010)
Camera photo by Io (public domain); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.