Quick Look at the Nikon S8100

I got folks slipping me Samy's product brochures, photo magazines and Fry's ads. It is a beautiful thing. As a teen I read and lusted over Nikon cameras. It was like dreaming of owning a Corvette.

It was unrequited love that I had to walk away. A love denied is painful but life goes on. Yet there are yearnings.


Nikon was slow to incorporate video to their product line. Their business, heart and soul is still photography. The market changed and when arch rival Canon make the move to include quality video on still cameras there was no choice. HD Video seems to be included in almost all of the newer compact digital cameras.

This is a test video from HarryZPhone on the Nikon S8100:



Here are the video relevant specs for the camera:

• Image Sensor CMOS Sensor Size 1/2.3 in.
• Lens 10× optical zoom, NIKKOR ED glass lens
• Lens Focal Length 5.4-54.0mm (angle of view equivalent to that of 30-300mm lens in 35mm[135] format)
• Lens f/-number f/3.5-5.6
• Storage Media SD memory card, SDHC memory card and SDXC Memory Cards. Not compatible with Multi Media Cards (MMC)Storage
• Sound files (Voice Memo): WAV
• Movies: MOV (Video:MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, Audio: AAC stereo)
• Movie Movie file format: MPEG-4 AVC H.264
• Audio file format: AAC stereo
• Full HD: 1920x1080p / 30fps
• Standard TV: 640x480 / 30fps
• Small Size: 320x240 / 30fps
• Power Sources One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12 (supplied)
• AC Adapter EH-62F (available separately)
• Charging Time 3 hours and 50 minutes (when using Charging AC Adapter EH-68P and when no charge remains)(Approx.)
• Battery / Batteries Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12 Battery Life (shots per charge) Still pictures*: Approx. 210 shots Movies: Approx. 1 h 20 min (HD 1080p)
  

As expected due to the compact size of the camera the image sensor will be small. There will be good images but this isn't going to record a television show anytime soon. I like the small size and the fact it does record 1080p video.

The f 3.5 to 5.6 will do fine outside but indoors videos will need more light. Understanding this ahead of time saves me grief.

The Li-On battery will last about an hour. If it is a standard rechargeable battery I should be able to pick up a back-up battery but that adds to my overall costs. If I bought it that might be an expense I'd be willing to take on.

The video file format of .MOV/.MPEG-4 works for me, I have QuickTime Pro and other video editing programs can read the format.

Love the optical zoom on compact devices but one of the problems is that the zoom may or may not work with the movie mode. On some compact cameras you have to zoom where you want to record and then start recording the video.

I'd have to check it out if I was interested. I could be.