Nikon S10 Performance

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Nikon Coolpix S10 Performance

Timing and Performance

Overall somewhat slow speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.9 seconds	Time it takes for camera to boot
Shutdown	1.5 seconds	How long it takes to shut down
Buffer clearing time	1 second	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.5 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	4.0 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	1.0 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	0.74 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.76 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.075 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	3.12 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	1.94 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	No; Yes with flash	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	0.82 second (1.22 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	0.58 second (1.74 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Flash recycling	3.5 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	894 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a Kingston Ultimate 133x SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode.

The Nikon Coolpix S10's performance ranged from average to somewhat slow, depending on the task at hand. Start-up time is reasonable considering the long lens, but not fast. Shutter lag at wide angle and telephoto settings is fair, at telephoto zoom it's on the slow side of average, but "prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are better, with a shutter delay of only 0.075 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are quite slow, at about 3.12 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. Times are a little better for the lowest resolution setting, at 1.94 seconds. Continuous-mode speed is on the slower side, at a bit over one frame/second, though the camera seems to capture frames continuously at this rate for as long as the memory has space. The flash recycles at about 3.5 seconds after a full-power shot, however. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast, so you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Coolpix S10 is a bit sluggish overall, and most likely not quite up to the challenge for capturing action shots, but should handle most average conditions fairly well.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Modest battery life with the included LiIon rechargeable battery.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
LiIon rechargeable battery	300

The Nikon Coolpix S10 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power, and a charger is included with the camera. Because battery life is only fair, I strongly recommend picking up a spare battery and keeping it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Coolpix S10 accepts SD/MMC memory cards, though no card is included; 16MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 16MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal
2,816 x 2,112	Images	5	10
2,816 x 2,112	File Size	3.1MB	1.6MB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	-	20
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	-	864KB
1,024 x 768	Images	-	68
1,024 x 768	File Size	-	254KB
640 x 480	Images	-	128
640 x 480	File Size	-	136KB

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/MMC memory card at least a 512MB card, preferably a 1 or 2GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)