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Nikon Coolpix S01

Yes, the Coolpix S01 is small, and really, that's about all it has going for it.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman

Nikon

The Nikon Coolpix S01 seems to be the opposite of the point-and-shoots that are selling best right now, high-zoom cameras with large displays and fast, high-sensitivity CMOS sensors.

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The supersmall S01 camera -- it measures just 3.1 inches wide by 2.1 inches high by 0.7 inch thick and weighs only 3.4 ounces -- has a 3x f3.3-5.9 29-87mm lens, a 2.5-inch 230K-dot touch screen (because there really isn't enough room for buttons on this thing), and a 10-megapixel CCD sensor that's the same tiny size you'd find in a camera phone.

The battery and storage are built in, too, and Nikon says you can expect to capture about 190 shots to its 7.3GB of available memory on a single charge.

Not exactly "Get your credit card out now" specs, but, hey, not everyone has a smartphone yet, right? It also has a simplified interface that sounds the same as the one in Nikon's Coolpix S30 waterproof camera, which is actually a good thing.

I don't think that's enough to make this camera a big seller, though, and frankly, it sounds a whole lot like Kodak's EasyShare Mini with a touch screen (and you know where those kinds of cameras landed Kodak).

To top it off, when the Nikon Coolpix S01 ships in September, it'll be priced at $179.95, which is probably about $80 too much for the current ultracompact market.