Below average speed overall.

Overall, the Nikon Coolpix S51c is a bit sluggish. Start-up time is slow, as are mode-switching times. Shutter lag at wide angle and telephoto zoom settings are both on the slower side, and "prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are longer than average as well. Shot-to-shot cycle times are quite slow, at about 3.8 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, though the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. Continuous-mode speed is also below average these days, capturing only 0.87 frame/second, but for over 20 shots in succession at the large/fine JPEG setting. The flash recycles at a fair rate at 6.7 seconds after a full-power shot. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast enough that you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. While the S51c's overall timing is considerably slow compared to other consumer digital cameras, it would likely be a good all-around camera for travel and average use, though you'll experience some hesitation during normal shooting.

Battery
Below average battery life with the custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack.

The Nikon Coolpix S51c uses a single lithium-ion rechargeable battery for power, and comes with a battery and charger. Because runtimes are quite limited at 150 shots (way below average), I strongly recommend picking up a second battery and keeping it freshly charged for longer 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 S51c accepts SD/SDHC/MMC memory cards, though no card is included; approximately 13MB storage memory is built into the camera.

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/SDHC memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 2-4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and videos. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)