Nikon Coolpix S52c 9MP Digital Camera Zoom with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom with Wi-Fi (Vibrant Black)

I have a canon sd870 and am really happy with it. Recently I ordered a coolpix s52c for my mom, since the review looks great and I want to try out a different compact DC. I have to say I am very disappointed with coolpix s52c, for the following 2 reasons:

1) the shutter speed is very slow. After shooting one photo, it takes about 3 secs for user to shoot the next one, since it takes awfully long to save a photo. My canon sd870 only needs 1 sec, by comparion. This is the main reason I don't like this camera.

2) the buttons are hard to press. A lot of times I thought I pressed on a button however camera didn't respond, so I had to press hard again and again.

I am returning this camera.

The camera itself is great. The WIFi feature is a waste because it limits you to sending a down-sampled version of your image to a Nikon-owned web site - NOT your hard drive, which would be a much better use of the networking feature.

Hopefully they will kick-out a firmware update that un-cripples this feature. Why would I want to upload an image to someone else's web site (with limited storage).

This camera has an incredible set of features for the price. It takes great pictures and is fast. The only issue I have with it is the wireless. In the advertising they make it sound like you can upload the pictures directly to your PC and that isn't true, you have to set it up to go through a web site then copy to your PC. other than that, greta camera, good price, excellent quality.

For some reason Nikon has removed two features from the Coolpix s52c that existed in the Coolpix s7c thereby crippling the Nikon s52c.

First, you should be aware that unlike the Coolpix s7c, the Coolpix s52c is missing the Panorama Assist feature found under the Scenes option. Why Nikon would remove this feature is a mystery to me.

The Coolpix s52c is sold and advertised as a WiFi camera. Unlike the Coolpix s7c, which can wirelessly transmit pictures directly to your own computer hard drive, the Coolpix s52c can only wirelessly transmit pictures to Nikon's MyPictureTown web service or email. Not a great option if you don't have a very fast connection to the Internet. And what happens if Nikon discontinues their MyPictureTown web service? The WiFi feature of the Coolpix s52c becomes useless.

It really is a shame that Nikon has crippled the Coolpix s52c in these two areas. I hope Nikon will restore these two features in a future firmware upgrade.

Until then - buyer beware.

I was so excited to receive my brand new CoolPix S52 (Eco-Green), and the photos were really quite excellent. I was also pleased that it was very easy to learn how to use the various camera features. HOWEVER, when I used the movie or voice recording modes there was a very high level of awful static sound recorded EVERY TIME. I upgraded to the best memory card I could find, and that did not make a bit of difference.

Naturally, I returned the camera under Warranty (with sample video/audio) to Nikon TWICE for repair or replacement. To my dismay, they returned it to me both times stating "Your unit was thoroughly checked and was found completely within the factory standards". They also said not to expect the sound quality to be excellent because it didn't have a "sophisticated microphone". Maybe so, but it shouldn't be so poor that you cringe when you listen to the playback.

I was so disappointed that I sold the camera used and replaced it with a Canon PowerShot SD850 IS (Digital Elph) Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom that I am extremely happy with (both photos and sound are fantastic).

Bottom line - if recording movies is important to you, don't buy this camera. It will be a big disappointment and a waste of money. If you decide to buy it, be sure to test the movie and sound recording modes soon after you receive it to be sure you are satisfied.