Nikon Launches Two New Wireless Cameras: Coolpix S50 and S50c

It's about time there were Wi-Fi cams available for those of us who've
been longing for the next generation to follow up Kodak's EasyShare-
One, Canon's PowerShot SD430 and Nikon's own Coolpix P1 and P2. nikon
has added two new digital cameras to the Nikon Coolpix Style Series
line-up.....

http://askwiki.blogspot.com/2007/02/nikon-launches-two-new-wireless-cameras.html

Enjoy!

 

And if anyone wants some more information than the bit of press
release that rishil provided on his/her blog, Nikon has brochures of
its new cameras than can be downloaded. More interesting than the
two little wifi-cams (S50 and S50c) is Nikon's Coolpix P5000 which
has a 10mp sensor, optical VF, optical VR, P S A and M shooting
modes, flash hotshoe for the SB-400, SB-600, SB-800, high res. LCD
display and up to ISO 3200 (hah!). YMMV


S50:

http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/coolpix/s50/pdf/coolpix_S50_2p.pdf

S50c:

http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/coolpix/s50c/pdf/coolpix_S50c_2p.pdf

P5000:

http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/coolpix/p5000/pdf/coolpix_P5000_2p.pdf

S200:

http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/coolpix/s200/pdf/coolpix_S200_2p.pdf

S500:

http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/digitalcamera/coolpix/s500/pdf/coolpix_S500_2p.pdf

 

You bet. I hope Nikon continues to expand and refine the Pxxxx line. Just
the fact that they've put a hot shoe on that one shows they may be getting
serious about compacts again. They haven't had a hot shoe on a Coolpix since
the 8800.

And that SB-400 is a neat looking little bugger. Just ordered one this
morning. It should be perfect for my 5400 especially, which gets awfully
top-heavy with an SB-600 on it.

Neil

 

If only it had a 5MP sensor instead of the 10 (with corresponding
decrease in noise levels or increase in ISO), it would start to get
interesting. Though I think it'd look *really* strange with my SB-800
on top of it. Isn't the SB-800 about three times the size of the camera?

 

Canon, not Nikon, but same basic idea:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0609/canon2/PowerShot-G7-w-580EX.jpg

-dms

 

You reverse it so the flash acts as a big handle for the camera
which sits above the SB-800. You're right. It would be
extremely awkward, but when I've had to attach my old SB-26 to a
small digicam I used an old Stroboframe bracket with a cord
connecting the camera's hot-shoe to the flash. It not only improved
the balance, it made it easier to hold and the additional height
practically guaranteed that there'd be no redeye! Even though the
P5000 doesn't have the 5mp sensor you'd like, the brochure notes
that "ISO 3200 is available only for image sizes of 5M (2592 x 1944)
or smaller" so perhaps it's meeting your request half-way. I hope
the sensor is at least 1/1.8". Any smaller and I'd think that it
would be straining mighty hard to get a usable ISO 800.

 

I agree, but judging by the ISO numbers offered I wouldn't expect noise to
be a problem at more usual settings. Still, the pixel-cramming race is
getting pretty silly.

Just about, I'd guess. I wouldn't even put my SB-800 on my 5400, which is
surely a larger camera than the P5000. The 5400 looks ridiculous enough with
the SB-600 on it.

The new SB-400 is the answer to that problem. Granted, it's awfully
feature-deprived compared to the larger Speedlights but there's only so much
you can fit in a unit that size. At least it tilts, is much farther away
from the lens axis and more powerful than the built-in, and doesn't use up
camera power.

Neil

 

It would be even nicer with a RAW mode. I agree, though, that 10 megapixels
is too much for a point and shoot.

 

Yeah, that's about what I was envisioning (and I did mean 3x by volume,
so it's not totally crazy).

 

I suppose; works for big lenses!

I would use the SB-8000 in bounce mode mostly, for better lighting and
no redeye.

Yes, one can always downsample to reduce ridiculous resolutions to
useful ones. But there's overhead circuitry on the sensor that's
per-pixel, so you'd get even better results if the sensor was a sane
resolution to begin with.

(10MP isn't *inherently* insane, it's not completely ridiculous in my
D200 for example; just that in a snapshot camera I'd find 5MP and much
lower noise more useful than 10MP.)

 

For a snapshot camera, I'll take 3/4 of my pictures at ISO 800 and
higher, so I'm pretty concerned with how it performs there. (Current
snapshot camera is a Fuji F11, which performs decently there.)

Buying and carrying another flash isn't high on my list either.
Although -- can the SB-400 play CLS? And if it's that small it's
probably not powerful enough for bounce (given how marginal the SB-800
is for that).

 

Only in the sense of i-TTL exposure, as far as I know. What's on the Nikon
site makes several references to its compatibility with CLS-capable cameras,
but I don't think it will work as a wireless remote unit which is what I
assume you're thinking of.

Depends on the situation, I should think. An ordinary sized room with
off-white walls and ceiling ought to be OK. Mine should arrive in a day or
so and I'll try to remember to post something about it here.

You find the SB-800 only marginal for bounce? That surprises me.

Neil

 

The SB800 has plenty of power for bounce.







Rita

 

I have the SB-400 but haven't had much time to play with it yet. Just a few
early comments:

It's cute as a bug's ear, weighs only 4.5 oz. empty. Has the usual Nikon
locking pin. Has no diffuser of any kind. The tiny flash head (not the whole
body) tilts from straight ahead to 60, 75 or 90 degrees. Comes with a nice
fitted zippered case, not the usual Nikon baggy thing.

The instruction manual is on a single very large sheet of paper in three
languages.

The ready light is the unit's only way of communicating anything to the
user, and it does this by different blink rates and patterns. For example,
if it detects that it's not on a CLS-compatible camera it blinks very fast
for a half second and keeps repeating this. Other blink rates serve to warn
of possible underexposure, low battery, and overheating.

It is only usable on CLS-compatible cameras. Disappointing to me is that it
just gives the "not CLS compatible" blinking on my Coolpix 5400, for which
the size of this flash unit would have been perfect. Same thing on my 8700.
The only Coolpix mentioned as suitable for it in the instructions is the
8800, but it also works on my 8400. Evidently Nikon's new Coolpix P5000, out
soon, will work with it too.

On suitable Nikons it operates in i-TTL mode. On the D40 only it will also
work in manual mode. Viewfinder flash-ready signals work on DSLRs, and
additionally on the D40 the flash-ready signal blinks to warn of focal
length shorter than 18mm (maximum flash coverage) or flash head not
horizontal.

So this is basically a flash unit designed for the D40 with which it was
introduced, which also has functionality with some, but not all, other
digital Nikons with hot shoes.

Neil

 

I have certainly found it so, and the SB-600 too for that matter.

Neil

 

You mean it supports the wireless stuff?

 

Not as far as I can see. Nothing about wireless is mentioned in the
instructions.

Under "Specifications" it says:
Flash mode | i-TTL, M (manual, only with the D40)

Under "Available flash modes" it lists:
Slow-sync flash
Red-eye reduction
Red-eye reduction with slow-sync flash mode
Rear-curtain sync
FV (Flash Value) Lock
Exposure compensation and flash output level compensation
Manual mode (only with D40 camera)

 

My standard of comparison is a Braun RL-515.

Or, to put it another way, I want to bounce off a 20-foot white ceiling
and shoot Plus-X (ASA 125) at f/5.6.

 

<chuckle>

What, not Panatomic-X?

Well, I guess we have different needs.

Neil

 

Because it was never conceivable; no hope of a flash that powerful then,
not a portable one. But the grain difference in an 8x10 between Plus-X
and Tri-X was big, and my client much preferred the Plus-X results.

I don't think I shot more than 5 rolls of Panatomic-X in 30 years of
serious film photography; seems like I was shooting either Plus-X or
pushed Tri-X (anywhere from 1000 to 4000).

Shocking, innit?