Nikon Coolpix S · on sale February 2015 · a retrospective

The Nikon Coolpix S3700: the $140 pocket compact whose one new trick was Wi-Fi

In early 2015 Nikon refreshed its entry-level Coolpix with Wi-Fi and NFC and left nearly everything else alone: a 20-megapixel CCD, an 8x zoom and a small, low-resolution screen. Reviewers liked the colour and the price, and disagreed about how good the pictures were.

Compiled from 2015 reviews by PhotographyBLOG and ePHOTOzine, plus Imaging Resource's first look and specifications · we have not tested a unit yet

Release date and launch price: launched January 2015; launch price $139.35 · £99⁴¹².

Meet the camera

It is a slim, light compact: PhotographyBLOG gives its size as about 96 by 58 by 20 millimetres and its weight as 118 grams with battery and card, 7 grams less than the S3600 it replaced.¹ On the front sits an 8x zoom lens that covers 25 to 200 millimetres on a 35 mm camera, with lens-shift stabilisation.¹⁴ Behind it is a 20.1-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CCD.⁴

Imaging Resource's first look, posted on 14 January 2015, gave a suggested US price of $139.35 and availability from February;³⁴ PhotographyBLOG quoted £99 and $140, and ePHOTOzine also £99.¹² PhotographyBLOG says the one feature that is new compared with the S3600 is the built-in Wi-Fi with NFC pairing.¹ It came in several colours, including red, black, silver, pink and blue.¹²

Why this one was interesting

Wi-Fi at the bottom of the range

Imaging Resource called out wireless features as unusual for a camera this cheap.³ A dedicated Wi-Fi button sits on top of the camera,² and PhotographyBLOG says a phone with NFC can pair by being tapped against it. The Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility app, for Android and iOS, handles remote shooting and zooming; PhotographyBLOG puts the time to move one full-resolution picture at about 12 seconds.¹ ePHOTOzine found the app basic: it could take pictures remotely and copy them over, but it could not borrow the phone's GPS to tag photos.²

A real wide angle and a stabiliser

PhotographyBLOG tested the S3700 against the stabiliser-less S2900 and said the stabiliser clearly helped indoors and in low light, because it let the camera use a lower ISO.¹ The same review called the macro mode impressive, focusing as close as about 2 centimetres at wide angle.¹ ePHOTOzine also liked the macro mode but said the camera focused slowly there.²

A budget Nikon with real company

If the budget compact appeals, our Canon ELPH 180 review covers a later Canon rival, and our Coolpix 2500 review looks at a much earlier Nikon pocket camera.

What was lost

The S3700 trades away comfort and speed. Imaging Resource rated burst shooting at only 1.1 frames per second and the screen as smaller and lower in resolution than average.³ The flash resets to automatic each time the camera starts, PhotographyBLOG complained, and exposure compensation also resets at power-off.¹

The dark: its weak point

The two full reviews split on the sensor. PhotographyBLOG found noise low up to ISO 800, colour speckling at ISO 1600 in dim light, and ISO 3200 too noisy for anything beyond email, with the 3200 setting saved at a reduced 3.87 megapixels.¹ ePHOTOzine was harsher: some noise at ISO 80, good detail up to ISO 200, usable images at ISO 400, strong noise at ISO 800, with 800 and above best avoided.² Autofocus did not help in poor light: PhotographyBLOG often waited over two seconds, and sometimes got no lock even with the assist lamp.¹

Its own night modes show the trade. PhotographyBLOG describes the tripod night mode as ISO 80 and two seconds, and the handheld mode, at ISO 800 and a quarter of a second, was visibly noisier.¹ We did not find a free-licence photograph with a recorded ISO above 1000 for this camera, so the pictures on this page are daylight and sunset shots.

Sunset over a river and the vaulted ceiling of a church, both taken with this camera. Credited under each picture.

On eBay right now

Live listings for this camera, supplied by eBay and updated automatically. We earn a commission if you buy through them.

The little wins

How it drew the picture

PhotographyBLOG scored image quality 3 out of 5, found dynamic range underwhelming and said noise reduction and grain smoothed away fine detail.¹ ePHOTOzine said soft corners, noise, purple fringing and vignetting showed up even in good light at the lowest ISO, and wondered what a 20-megapixel sensor was for when a 12 or 16 megapixel one would give lower noise and quicker handling.² The two reviews disagree on fringing and corner sharpness, so we cannot give you a settled verdict on the lens. These are real files taken with this camera:

Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.

Where it let you down

The screen was the most common complaint: PhotographyBLOG found it pixelated, going black from a high angle and washed out from a low one, and ePHOTOzine also called the viewing angles poor.¹² The front is smooth, which PhotographyBLOG thought easy to drop, and ePHOTOzine advised using the supplied hand strap.¹² The two reviews also describe the body differently: PhotographyBLOG calls the body plastic and ePHOTOzine a compact metal body with a plastic back, so look at the unit you are buying rather than trusting either.¹² Flash portraits were a weak point for ePHOTOzine, which could not get a good flash portrait in any mode because of a colour cast.² Speed was uneven: PhotographyBLOG measured about 1.6 seconds from power-on to first shot where ePHOTOzine measured 2.5, and ePHOTOzine clocked 4.7 seconds between shots with flash.¹² Battery ratings differ too: Imaging Resource and PhotographyBLOG give about 240 shots and ePHOTOzine 220.³¹² Video is 720p, with mono sound in ePHOTOzine's test.¹²

What the reviewers said in 2015

Only two full reviews of this camera turned up in our search (Imaging Resource's page is a first look), so this page is thinner than most of ours. Where the two disagree we say so.

The timeline

• 14 January 2015Imaging Resource posts its first look.³
• February 2015Due on sale in the US at a suggested $139.35.³⁴
• 10 March 2015PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.¹
• 16 March 2015ePHOTOzine publishes its review.²

Should you buy one now?

Buy one if you want a light, colourful CCD pocket camera for daylight pictures and the occasional phone transfer, and you can live with a poor screen and slow focus. It launched at $139.35;⁴ what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:

• The screen. Reviewers found the viewing angles poor, so check it face-on and from a tilt before you bid.¹²
• The battery. It uses an EN-EL19;⁴ a fresh one is on Amazon ↗, and it is worth having a spare if you use Wi-Fi much.²
• The card. It takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards;⁴ see our memory card guide.
• The Wi-Fi. PhotographyBLOG lists 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi with WPA2;¹ test the pairing with your own phone before relying on it.
• The grip. The body is slippery, so ask for the strap.¹²
• The lens. Check that it extends and retracts cleanly.

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 ↗EN-EL19 battery ↗

Sources

1. PhotographyBLOG, Nikon Coolpix S3700 review by Jack Baker (10 Mar 2015)
2. ePHOTOzine, Nikon Coolpix S3700 review by Joshua Waller (16 Mar 2015)
3. Imaging Resource, Nikon S3700 first look by Mike Tomkins (14 Jan 2015; lab results promised)
4. Imaging Resource, Nikon S3700 specification table (availability 15 Feb 2015, $139.35)

Photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.