An area of photography that I’ve been very interested in the past few years is that of non professional cameras for people who need quality images and information but don’t want to commit to the expense or the learning curve of an DSLR. That’s why when I heard about the Nikon Coolpix s810c, I had to see it for myself.
This is a pretty great start to this end. The s810c is unique because not only does it take Coolpix level images, it uses Android. To me, this is a brilliant way to bridge a huge gap in photography right now, the gap between taking a picture and sharing it.
Now most professionals don’t care about this because they will never sacrifice speed for quality, and undoubtably DSLRs win in quality. And with novices, especially if they have cell phones, don’t care all that much either because they don’t even realize the quality of their images from their phones isn’t outstanding, but even the ones who do often are content with it because it is convenient and can be shared immediately.
However, this is the gap. There are a number of people who want quality images that can be shared right away. Now there are WiFi cameras out there, but they are a step behind a camera like this which has Android, giving the user the ability to take excellent images and then use them right away on an Android device, which has full access to the Google Play store and the myriad of apps that work on images.
For instance, the new Android Digital BT Journal App can be loaded on this camera! Imagine having professional guidance right in the camera. Do your Arches trek with just one camera in your pocket, acting as memory recorder and trip adviser. The potential behind this is significant.
I hope to see future generations of this design that have a bit more speed and more of a bridge camera design, allowing for further, faster, and more dynamic photography, especially with more exposure control. However, as it is, I had a lot of fun with it, especially with macro photography, and even managed to trouble shoot Digital BT Journal user problems all with this one device!
