Nikon Coolpix S10

The Coolpix S10 uses the same split-body design as the 4500 and 950 before it. But unlike its ancestors, which only had 4x optical zooms, the S10 crams a 10x zoom lens into a body only 113 x 37 x 74mm (WDH). Since it twists, it's more pocketable than the Samsung, whose lens creates a permanent 60mm depth.

We have a few gripes, though. At full zoom in low light - and occasionally in good light - the S10 struggles to focus. Also, despite the VR (vibration reduction) that shifts the CCD to compensate for shaky hands, shots in low light at full zoom were still blurry. Shots are sharper if you let the S10 ramp up the ISO to a maximum of 800, but this introduces noise. The S10 also lacks the Samsung's aperture- and shutter-priority modes, there are no metering modes to choose between and - like the NV7 - no live histogram.

But start scrutinising the actual photos and the Nikon stops losing and starts winning. While the NV7 might be an enthusiast's dream, it can't hold a candle to the S10's quality. It may have only a 6-megapixel sensor, but outdoors the Nikon is stunning. Images are free from noise and super sharp even at the corners, with realistic - if muted - colours. Hold it steady and it's capable of great close-ups with the long lens too. Useful here is the Best Shot Selector, which takes a series of ten photos and stores only the sharpest.

Macro ability is also excellent; only the Canon was able to get closer. When shooting indoors, the S10 delivered yet more clean images with only a little noise. If there's one quality flaw it's that the flash tended to be too focused, leading to vignetting (a darkening of the corners).

But it's made up for by the high- resolution 2.5in TFT, which helps to show whether your subject is in focus. Plus, there's the superb continuous mode, which shoots at 1fps until your memory card is full. Finally, an orientation sensor automatically rotates portrait shots, so there's one less job to do in the bundled PictureProject 1.7, which is a decent package.

With noticeably better battery life than the Samsung, the Nikon wins the fight with relative ease. It may lack the manual control, but unless you're willing to live with mediocre photos from the NV7 OPS, the Coolpix S10 is the clear winner of the £150-£199 group.

Author: Jim Martin