Nikon Coolpix S520 Reviews: Digital Compact Camera

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58 Real Customer Reviews - In Summary

+ This digital camera has no outstanding positive points. - It scores poorly on performance. “The good points the robust of the camera and the easy use of it and the battery…” Frank , St Austell View all 58 real customer reviews

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2.5" Screen, 3x optical zoom, SDHC Card storage More »

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Real customer reviews

58 verified purchasers have reviewed this product.
78% of people recommend it.

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All purchasers (58)

Build Quality	8.6
Compatibility	8.0
Ease of use	8.3
Features	8.1
Image quality	8.1
Performance	8.1
Value for money (at time of purchase)	8.8
Overall rating	8.4

*not all purchasers provided a score or review

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 7.0/10

+ attractive design, light, compact and easy to use

- typeface on screen menu looks very dated and poorly presented compared to previous camera Olympus F-180.

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 20 Nov 2008

Frank , St Austell , “bset buy so far ”

Score 10.0/10

+ the good points the robust of the camera and the easy use of it and the battery last for a long time the pics i took come out perfect.

- I have not found any bad points with this camera so far

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

purchased 02 Dec 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser , “easy-going”

Score 8.0/10

+ small, rugged

- No case

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 21 May 2008

Elidovich, Glasvegas , “Student”

Score 9.0/10

+ It is small and easy to use and the ease of uploading is very useful.

- Nothing as far as I'm concerned.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 26 May 2008

Katharine, Bristol , “keen photographer”

Score 8.0/10

+ nice and compact size, easy to carry around, stylish look

- Reviewer left no comment

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 22 May 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 5.0/10

+ Light, compact, easy to use

- Quality of pictures not good if using any kind of zoom - all grainy

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 03 Jun 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 8.0/10

+ Really good little camera. Takes great pictures and has lots of different functions to play with.

- Took a little while to get used to and work out how to get to everything and sometimes the face recognition takes a while to kick in, but otherwise all good.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 01 Jul 2008

Mikey, East Sussex , “technologically inept and grumpy”

Score 9.0/10

+ strong metal case; nice appearance.

- probably unnecessarily compact - too small - can be lost at the bottom of a bag. If small size is important, then a small phone camera would be better.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 22 May 2008

Kathy, London , “Total novice ”

Score 10.0/10

+ Very straight forward. Easy to start using. Helps reading the guide as there are many different settings, but obvious once you understand what can be done.

- None - except I can't stop taking pictures!!!!

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

purchased 23 Jul 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 10.0/10

+ easy to use picture quality ex.

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 30 Aug 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser , “Traveler”

Score 7.0/10

+ Large screen

- slow speed
Menu is not easy to navigate

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purchased 18 Sep 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 10.0/10

+ easy to use

- you sent me the wrong colour, but i like it

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purchased 19 Sep 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 10.0/10

+ value for money quality product,easy to use

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 16 Sep 2008

william, gillingham , “experienced amateur photographer”

Score 4.0/10

+ small and compact
looks smart
god features

- build quality was poor
image was quite poor
close focusing didnt work
noisy on focusing

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purchased 30 Sep 2008

tony, folkestone kent

Score 8.0/10

+ focus face ide looks

- have not found any yet

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purchased 01 Oct 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser , “great value for money”

Score 9.0/10

+ excellent build
quality pictures
compact size

- no case provided

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purchased 19 Nov 2008

peter, leeds

Score 9.0/10

+ compact
easy to use
versatile

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 24 May 2008

John, Fort William , “A retired Police Sergeant”

Score 9.0/10

+ It very compact and makes it easy to carry and use at a moments notice.

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 30 Jun 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 9.0/10

+ Very light and easy to set up and use.Picture quality very good.

- Would have liked option to buy a decent sized memory card at the same time.

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purchased 21 Sep 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 10.0/10

+ Love this camera, easy to use and handy to pop in the hand bag. Definitely a good purchase!

- No bad points!

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purchased 03 Sep 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 10.0/10

+ It takes good pictures, is easy to use and it is especially good for taking pictures when my hand is knocked as it doesn't become all blurry.

- None as yet.

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purchased 29 Sep 2008

Ross, Selby

Score 9.0/10

+ The size of the camera. it will fit into your pocket or handbag easily.
No hassle bying filmes and fairly easy to use.

- It does not come with a case.

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purchased 05 Nov 2008

Ev, Taunton , “Female”

Score 5.0/10

+ Slim line. Colour: purple

- Image on screen is not the image captured because the speed is too slow

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purchased 28 Sep 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 8.0/10

+ easy to use and fast start up

- not supplied with a memory card

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purchased 02 Dec 2008

Dave , Lincoln

Score 9.0/10

+ easy to use, gives good pic quality, very good camera for casual users

- Reviewer left no comment

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purchased 01 Dec 2008

Brian, Bromley

Score 9.0/10

+ Reviewer left no comment

- I would prefer to have a separate programe for use only with the camera to file and sort images.

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purchased 25 Aug 2008

paul, bristol , “no”

Score 9.0/10

+ size

- no viewfinder

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purchased 04 Oct 2008

jigen, london , “cool human”

Score 8.0/10

+ lense

- a bit complex to operate

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purchased 23 May 2008

Anonymous verified purchaser

Score 8.0/10

+ Takes clear pictures - lovely colour - easy to set up

- The catch for opening the battery housing is a bit cheap

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purchased 22 Oct 2008

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Product Features

Camera Type	Compact
There are 2 main types of camera: The SLR and the Compact. SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. SLR cameras use a prism to reflect the exact image as seen through the lens and so offers a more accurate viewfinder. SLR cameras have detachable lenses offering greater flexibility if you wish to take a variety of different photographs. Compact cameras have a built in lens and an ‘above lens’ viewfinder which is less accurate but they are often cheaper, more sleekly designed and easier to carry anywhere with you to capture that moment perfectly without having to fiddle with complex settings or a bag full of lenses.
resolution (Megapixel)	8.29

Optical Zoom Ratio	3
The amount by which the camera optics (lens) can bring the subject closer.
Screen Size in Inches	2.5
Screen size is measured diagonally from corner to corner.
Digital Zoom Ratio	4
Not to be confused with optical zoom, digital zoom enlarges a portion of the image thus simulating optical zoom. In doing so, some image quality is lost.
Image Stabilisation	Yes
If a photo is taken at a slow shutter speed, or at a long focal length, the effects of ‘hand shake’ will be amplified. Some cameras come with built-in image stabilisation which is designed to act against this to produce sharper images. It’s great for low light shots without a tripod, like at a gig.
Colour	Multi
The main colour of the product.
Memory Card Slot	Yes
Having a memory card slot allows you to save data to a memory card and then transfer it to another device. For example you may put a photo from your camera or mobile phone onto a memory card and then plug it into your printer to print directly. Memory card slots come in many formats: Compact Flash Card Memory Stick Duo Micro SD Card MMC SD Card SDHC Card
Media Format	SDHC Card
This is the type of storage that your digital camera or camcorder uses to save images to. The main types of card media format: Compact Flash Micro SD MMC (Multi Media Card) SD Card (Secure Digital) SDHC (Secure Disk High Capacity)
PictBridge	Yes
An industry standard allowing images to be printed from camera to printer, without needing a computer. CIPA PictBridge Standard Website
Macro Mode	Yes
This mode allows close-up photograpy of small objects such as insects and flowers.
Video Recorder	Yes
Video recording functionality allows the capture of videos in mpeg or avi format which is great if you want to capture a whole scene, not just one moment.
Manual Focus	No
Almost all modern cameras have autofocus. Manual focus allows you to override the autofocus and set the distance yourself. This is especially useful if your camera is struggling to focus in a low-light or confusing scene.
Timer	Yes
Having a timer function is essential if you want to get into the shot yourself. Make sure your camera has this feature if you plan to go on holiday and capture photos of you and your friends or family having fun together.
Under Water	No
An under water feature means your camera is safe to dive with, usually between 3 and 5 metres. Most dSLR cameras will require expensive separate housing so consider investing in a waterproof digital compact first.
Dimensions (mm)	53x94x22.5
The size of the device in millimetres, in width x height x depth.
Weight (g)	115
The weight of the product in grams.
Flash	Yes
Whether or not your camera has an in-built flash. Flashes are essential for fully capturing a low light image.
Body Only	No
dSLR cameras have detachable lenses and are sold in a variety of combinations. This facet lets you know whether the package your are considering comes bundled with a lens or whether it is just the body of the camera.
Resolution (Pixels)	2448x3264
A camera sensor, that captures the photograph, is measured in pixels. The number given here is the horizontal amount of pixels followed by the vertical quantity of pixels. The more pixels a camera sensor has, the bigger and higher quality the image will be.
Shortest Shutter Speed	1/1500
This is the fastest speed at which the camera can take a photo. Faster shutter speeds really freeze the action and are great for sports photography.
Longest Shutter Speed	4"
This is the longest exposure your camera will take. The longer you take a photo for, the more light is let in and the more motion is captured. Long shutter speeds can give fantastic, artistic results. Try photographing the night sky at 30s or longer to see how the rotation of the Earth causes the stars to curve through the scene.
Max. Aperture Lens 1	f2.8x4.7
Measured in f-stops the aperture of a lens dictates the maximum amount of light captured. If you want to do low light photography look for something with a wide aperture like f2.8. The widest aperture is given as a range as it changes when your lens is zoomed in.
In-Built Memory (MB)	23

USB Port	Yes
Socket for connecting devices such as a computers and other components

Digital Cameras Buyers' Guide

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Manufacturer's Description

The functional beauty of unique versatility and optical VR.

8.0 effective megapixels for high-resolution images
Optical 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens
High performance optical lens shift VR image stabilization
2.5-inch LCD monitor with anti-reflection coating
High sensitivity up to ISO 2000
Food mode for beautiful close-ups of food without using flash
Favorite scenes feature for easier access to your favorite scene modes
Favorite pictures feature allows in-camera organization and saves images to albums
Three Unique Nikon Image Innovations for high performance – Face-priority AF, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix and D-Lighting
Face Zoom-in feature zooms right in on the subject’s face for clear viewing during playback