NiniaPimp Magazine

The Coolpix S8100 compact megazoom is Nikon’s follow-up to the Coolpix S8000. That camera didn’t offer much more than what you could get from other manufacturers–if anything–and produced average photos and had average shooting performance. Its design was really the only thing that made it above average. Nikon quickly moved forward with the S8100, keeping the prior model’s design for the most part, but adding a high-speed backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor.

These sensors generally allow for faster shooting performance and better low-light photo quality, and this is the case with the S8100. For the same price as its predecessor you get a lot more camera, better photos, and burst shooting capable of up to 10 frames per second, among other performance gains. There’s still room for improvement, but overall the S8100 is one of the better compact megazooms I’ve tested at its price.

Overall photo quality from the S8100 is very good, on par or above other cameras in its class. Though its sensitivity settings run from ISO 160 to ISO 3,200, the S8100 produces the best results at ISO 200. Photos on either side of this sensitivity look soft and benefit from sharpening with photo-editing software. There’s a Fixed Range Auto option that will limit you to ISO 160-400, which is nice since this is where it performs best. On the other hand, the regular Auto ISO setting only goes up to ISO 800 and since the S8100 does OK there, too, it’s fairly safe to use. The two highest ISOs–1,600 and 3,200–should probably only be used in emergencies, mainly because the colors get very washed out and the noise reduction makes subjects appear smeary.

Sample photos:
Nikon Coolpix S8100

Like most cameras with BSI CMOS sensors, the S8100 has multishot modes for improving low-light photos of landscapes and portraits. At a single press of the shutter release, the camera takes several photos and then combines them to improve blur from hand shake and reduce noise and correct exposure. In general, the Night Landscape mode is successful, though at full size you will see chroma noise. The Night Portrait mode takes shots with and without flash and combines them into nicely exposed shots. However, because of the nature of how these images are produced, these modes cannot be used with moving subjects.

Nikon does an excellent job of controlling both barrel distortion at the wide end and pincushioning at the telephoto end of the lens. The lens is fairly sharp in the center, but there is noticeable softness at the sides and in the corners when photos are viewed at their full resolution.

Colors produced by the S8100 are good up to ISO 800, if not altogether accurate (though that’s average for midrange point-and-shoots). Exposure is consistently good, too, and if you need some help, Nikon’s D-Lighting feature can be used in Playback mode. The auto white balance under unnatural light tends to be a little too warm, so it’s best to use the manual white-balance option whenever possible (the presets turned out a little green under unnatural lights in my tests).

Despite its 1080p movie capture being a main selling point, video quality is merely on par with a good HD pocket video camera; good enough for Web use and nondiscriminating TV viewing. If you plan to do a lot of panning from side to side or shooting fast-moving subjects, there is a lot of judder. That’s fairly common for point-and-shoots, but it’s really noticeable on the 1080p movies. Also, while the zoom does work when recording, the movement is picked up by the mics on top so you will hear it in your movies. If you use the zoom while recording you’ll want to keep the autofocus set to full time, but unfortunately you will hear the lens focusing in your movies, too. It basically sounds like a constant clicking sound.

There are two Auto modes on this camera. One is Nikon’s Scene Auto Selector. It adjusts settings appropriately based on six common scene types. If the scene doesn’t match any of those, it defaults to a general-use Auto. Then there is an Auto mode, which is like the program AE modes on other point-and-shoots. You can change ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation as well as light metering, autofocus area and mode, and continuous shooting modes. For the S8100, Nikon adds some extra control over hue (color tone) and vividness (saturation), with adjustable sliders. They’re not revolutionary, but if you like to experiment they’ll be welcomed. (Then again, so would semimanual or manual controls.) The slider settings get stored in the camera’s memory for the Auto mode, so they stay even if you power the camera off.

The type of scene you’re shooting may correspond to one of the camera’s 12 selectable scene modes. All of the scenes are standards like Portrait and Landscape, and there is a Panorama Assist for lining up a series of shots that can be stitched together with the bundled software. Nikon’s Smart Portrait System, used in either Portrait or Night Portrait modes, combines blink detection, smile-activated shutter release, red-eye fix, skin softening, and Face Priority AF features into one mode.

There are, as mentioned earlier, multishot modes for improving low-light photos as well as an HDR (high dynamic range) mode that combines photos taken at different exposures to help bring out highlight and shadow detail. The high-speed performance of the CMOS sensor gets put to use in burst modes, too. The best one is the Continuous H setting, which lets you shoot at up to 10fps for five photos. The Continuous L mode drops to approximately 1.8fps, but can capture up to 26 photos. The camera also has a 120fps burst capturing up to 54 frames at a press of the shutter release. The images are only 1-megapixel resolution and there’s a substantial wait while the camera stores all those photos, but if you’re trying to capture a specific moment in time, this is your best bet with this camera.

The last of the shooting modes is Subject Tracking, and the name pretty much says it all. Place the focus area box at the center of the frame on your subject, hit OK, and the camera will move the box with the subject. If the subject moves out of frame, the camera will do its best to pick up the subject when it reenters the frame. The camera can be set to focus once or continuously and it can prioritize tracking faces, but otherwise everything else is handled automatically. The mode mostly works as promised, but it should really just be an AF area option instead of a whole mode.

If you like to shoot close-ups, the S8100 has a few ways to enter Macro mode. It will automatically switch to it if you’re using the Scene Auto Selector mode. You can also select a Close-up mode from the camera’s Scene options. And if you’re in Auto mode, you can switch to macro focus via the control pad. You can focus as close as 0.4 inch from your subject and the results are very good.

As for shooting performance, the S8100 is one of the fastest compact megazooms I’ve tested. It goes from off to first shot in just over 1 second with a typical shot-to-shot time of 1.5 seconds. Using the flash only bumps that up to 1.8 seconds. Shutter lag is low in both bright and dim lighting, 0.4 and 0.7 second, respectively. Lastly, its full-resolution high-speed continuous mode is capable of 10fps, but again only for five shots.

Aside from all the features and performance, the camera is nice-looking and easy to use, too. Available in black, red, and gold, the S8100 is compact given its 10x zoom lens, and it’s one of the slimmest in its class. That’s likely because of the smoothly flared lens surround, which is somewhat out of step with the camera’s otherwise boxy design. It’s attractive, though, and will fit easily in a pants pocket or small handbag. The metal casing makes it feel high-quality, but I wish there was more than a slight ridge on the front of the camera to help with your grip. If there is one big problem with the design it’s the flash. It pops up from the left side, so it’s easily blocked by fingers when it rises and then leaves you little room to grip the camera once it’s up. Fortunately, it only pops up when needed.

The controls and menu system are fairly uncomplicated, so out-of-the-box shooting shouldn’t be much of a problem. The menu system is broken into three tabs: Shooting, Movie, and Setup. The layout keeps you from doing too much hunting through settings. And thanks to the high-resolution screen, menus are nice-looking, sharp, and easy to read. The LCD gets reasonably bright as well, so you shouldn’t struggle too much when framing shots in bright direct light. It’s great for playback to boot.

A mode dial sits on top for quickly changing your shooting mode. On the back, a large thumb rest separates the screen from a record button for movies; there is no standalone movie mode you have to switch to in order to shoot video. Below that is a playback button and a four-way control pad/wheel with an OK button in its center (Nikon calls it a Rotary Multi Selector), and then there are Menu and Delete buttons at the very bottom. The control pad is used for menu and image navigation as well as setting the self-timer, adjusting flash and exposure compensation, and turning on macro focus. Should you want to move more quickly through menus, images, and videos, you can spin the wheel instead of doing single presses with underlying control pad. Although it moves easily, you can feel stops.

The S8100 is powered by a lithium ion rechargeable pack that is rated for a measly 210 shots; this was supported in testing, though it was a mix of stills and movies. Plus, the camera doesn’t give you a battery life reading until it needs to be recharged. The battery is charged in the camera by connecting via USB to a computer or the included wall adapter. The battery and card compartment are on the bottom behind a locking door. Next to it is a Mini-USB/AV port. A covered Mini-HDMI port is on the right side of the camera for connecting to an HDTV or monitor; you’ll need to buy a cable, though.

In the end, I’m considerably more impressed by the S8100 than I was by its predecessor, the S8000. It’s very competitive in price, features, and performance with other compact megazooms with BSI CMOS sensors, and its low-light photo quality is much improved over the S8000–even if these improvements rely on some high-speed shooting and digital manipulation.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot  

Typical shot-to-shot time  

Shutter lag (dim)  

Shutter lag (typical)  

Find out more about how we test digital cameras.

Hide Review

The Coolpix S8100 compact megazoom is Nikon’s follow-up to the Coolpix S8000. That camera didn’t offer much more than what you could get from other manufacturers–if anything–and produced average photos and had average shooting performance. Its design was really the only thing that made it above average. Nikon quickly moved forward with the S8100, keeping the prior model’s design for the most part, but adding a high-speed backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor.

These sensors generally allow for faster shooting performance and better low-light photo quality, and this is the case with the S8100. For the same price as its predecessor you get a lot more camera, better photos, and burst shooting capable of up to 10 frames per second, among other performance gains. There’s still room for improvement, but overall the S8100 is one of the better compact megazooms I’ve tested at its price.

Overall photo quality from the S8100 is very good, on par or above other cameras in its class. Though its sensitivity settings run from ISO 160 to ISO 3,200, the S8100 produces the best results at ISO 200. Photos on either side of this sensitivity look soft and benefit from sharpening with photo-editing software. There’s a Fixed Range Auto option that will limit you to ISO 160-400, which is nice since this is where it performs best. On the other hand, the regular Auto ISO setting only goes up to ISO 800 and since the S8100 does OK there, too, it’s fairly safe to use. The two highest ISOs–1,600 and 3,200–should probably only be used in emergencies, mainly because the colors get very washed out and the noise reduction makes subjects appear smeary.

Sample photos:
Nikon Coolpix S8100

Like most cameras with BSI CMOS sensors, the S8100 has multishot modes for improving low-light photos of landscapes and portraits. At a single press of the shutter release, the camera takes several photos and then combines them to improve blur from hand shake and reduce noise and correct exposure. In general, the Night Landscape mode is successful, though at full size you will see chroma noise. The Night Portrait mode takes shots with and without flash and combines them into nicely exposed shots. However, because of the nature of how these images are produced, these modes cannot be used with moving subjects.

Nikon does an excellent job of controlling both barrel distortion at the wide end and pincushioning at the telephoto end of the lens. The lens is fairly sharp in the center, but there is noticeable softness at the sides and in the corners when photos are viewed at their full resolution.

Colors produced by the S8100 are good up to ISO 800, if not altogether accurate (though that’s average for midrange point-and-shoots). Exposure is consistently good, too, and if you need some help, Nikon’s D-Lighting feature can be used in Playback mode. The auto white balance under unnatural light tends to be a little too warm, so it’s best to use the manual white-balance option whenever possible (the presets turned out a little green under unnatural lights in my tests).

Despite its 1080p movie capture being a main selling point, video quality is merely on par with a good HD pocket video camera; good enough for Web use and nondiscriminating TV viewing. If you plan to do a lot of panning from side to side or shooting fast-moving subjects, there is a lot of judder. That’s fairly common for point-and-shoots, but it’s really noticeable on the 1080p movies. Also, while the zoom does work when recording, the movement is picked up by the mics on top so you will hear it in your movies. If you use the zoom while recording you’ll want to keep the autofocus set to full time, but unfortunately you will hear the lens focusing in your movies, too. It basically sounds like a constant clicking sound.

There are two Auto modes on this camera. One is Nikon’s Scene Auto Selector. It adjusts settings appropriately based on six common scene types. If the scene doesn’t match any of those, it defaults to a general-use Auto. Then there is an Auto mode, which is like the program AE modes on other point-and-shoots. You can change ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation as well as light metering, autofocus area and mode, and continuous shooting modes. For the S8100, Nikon adds some extra control over hue (color tone) and vividness (saturation), with adjustable sliders. They’re not revolutionary, but if you like to experiment they’ll be welcomed. (Then again, so would semimanual or manual controls.) The slider settings get stored in the camera’s memory for the Auto mode, so they stay even if you power the camera off.

The type of scene you’re shooting may correspond to one of the camera’s 12 selectable scene modes. All of the scenes are standards like Portrait and Landscape, and there is a Panorama Assist for lining up a series of shots that can be stitched together with the bundled software. Nikon’s Smart Portrait System, used in either Portrait or Night Portrait modes, combines blink detection, smile-activated shutter release, red-eye fix, skin softening, and Face Priority AF features into one mode.

There are, as mentioned earlier, multishot modes for improving low-light photos as well as an HDR (high dynamic range) mode that combines photos taken at different exposures to help bring out highlight and shadow detail. The high-speed performance of the CMOS sensor gets put to use in burst modes, too. The best one is the Continuous H setting, which lets you shoot at up to 10fps for five photos. The Continuous L mode drops to approximately 1.8fps, but can capture up to 26 photos. The camera also has a 120fps burst capturing up to 54 frames at a press of the shutter release. The images are only 1-megapixel resolution and there’s a substantial wait while the camera stores all those photos, but if you’re trying to capture a specific moment in time, this is your best bet with this camera.

The last of the shooting modes is Subject Tracking, and the name pretty much says it all. Place the focus area box at the center of the frame on your subject, hit OK, and the camera will move the box with the subject. If the subject moves out of frame, the camera will do its best to pick up the subject when it reenters the frame. The camera can be set to focus once or continuously and it can prioritize tracking faces, but otherwise everything else is handled automatically. The mode mostly works as promised, but it should really just be an AF area option instead of a whole mode.

If you like to shoot close-ups, the S8100 has a few ways to enter Macro mode. It will automatically switch to it if you’re using the Scene Auto Selector mode. You can also select a Close-up mode from the camera’s Scene options. And if you’re in Auto mode, you can switch to macro focus via the control pad. You can focus as close as 0.4 inch from your subject and the results are very good.

As for shooting performance, the S8100 is one of the fastest compact megazooms I’ve tested. It goes from off to first shot in just over 1 second with a typical shot-to-shot time of 1.5 seconds. Using the flash only bumps that up to 1.8 seconds. Shutter lag is low in both bright and dim lighting, 0.4 and 0.7 second, respectively. Lastly, its full-resolution high-speed continuous mode is capable of 10fps, but again only for five shots.

Aside from all the features and performance, the camera is nice-looking and easy to use, too. Available in black, red, and gold, the S8100 is compact given its 10x zoom lens, and it’s one of the slimmest in its class. That’s likely because of the smoothly flared lens surround, which is somewhat out of step with the camera’s otherwise boxy design. It’s attractive, though, and will fit easily in a pants pocket or small handbag. The metal casing makes it feel high-quality, but I wish there was more than a slight ridge on the front of the camera to help with your grip. If there is one big problem with the design it’s the flash. It pops up from the left side, so it’s easily blocked by fingers when it rises and then leaves you little room to grip the camera once it’s up. Fortunately, it only pops up when needed.

The controls and menu system are fairly uncomplicated, so out-of-the-box shooting shouldn’t be much of a problem. The menu system is broken into three tabs: Shooting, Movie, and Setup. The layout keeps you from doing too much hunting through settings. And thanks to the high-resolution screen, menus are nice-looking, sharp, and easy to read. The LCD gets reasonably bright as well, so you shouldn’t struggle too much when framing shots in bright direct light. It’s great for playback to boot.

A mode dial sits on top for quickly changing your shooting mode. On the back, a large thumb rest separates the screen from a record button for movies; there is no standalone movie mode you have to switch to in order to shoot video. Below that is a playback button and a four-way control pad/wheel with an OK button in its center (Nikon calls it a Rotary Multi Selector), and then there are Menu and Delete buttons at the very bottom. The control pad is used for menu and image navigation as well as setting the self-timer, adjusting flash and exposure compensation, and turning on macro focus. Should you want to move more quickly through menus, images, and videos, you can spin the wheel instead of doing single presses with underlying control pad. Although it moves easily, you can feel stops.

The S8100 is powered by a lithium ion rechargeable pack that is rated for a measly 210 shots; this was supported in testing, though it was a mix of stills and movies. Plus, the camera doesn’t give you a battery life reading until it needs to be recharged. The battery is charged in the camera by connecting via USB to a computer or the included wall adapter. The battery and card compartment are on the bottom behind a locking door. Next to it is a Mini-USB/AV port. A covered Mini-HDMI port is on the right side of the camera for connecting to an HDTV or monitor; you’ll need to buy a cable, though.

In the end, I’m considerably more impressed by the S8100 than I was by its predecessor, the S8000. It’s very competitive in price, features, and performance with other compact megazooms with BSI CMOS sensors, and its low-light photo quality is much improved over the S8000–even if these improvements rely on some high-speed shooting and digital manipulation.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot  

Typical shot-to-shot time  

Shutter lag (dim)  

Shutter lag (typical)  

Find out more about how we test digital cameras.

Hide Review

The Coolpix S8100 compact megazoom is Nikon’s follow-up to the Coolpix S8000. That camera didn’t offer much more than what you could get from other manufacturers–if anything–and produced average photos and had average shooting performance. Its design was really the only thing that made it above average. Nikon quickly moved forward with the S8100, keeping the prior model’s design for the most part, but adding a high-speed backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor.

These sensors generally allow for faster shooting performance and better low-light photo quality, and this is the case with the S8100. For the same price as its predecessor you get a lot more camera, better photos, and burst shooting capable of up to 10 frames per second, among other performance gains. There’s still room for improvement, but overall the S8100 is one of the better compact megazooms I’ve tested at its price.

Overall photo quality from the S8100 is very good, on par or above other cameras in its class. Though its sensitivity settings run from ISO 160 to ISO 3,200, the S8100 produces the best results at ISO 200. Photos on either side of this sensitivity look soft and benefit from sharpening with photo-editing software. There’s a Fixed Range Auto option that will limit you to ISO 160-400, which is nice since this is where it performs best. On the other hand, the regular Auto ISO setting only goes up to ISO 800 and since the S8100 does OK there, too, it’s fairly safe to use. The two highest ISOs–1,600 and 3,200–should probably only be used in emergencies, mainly because the colors get very washed out and the noise reduction makes subjects appear smeary.

Sample photos:
Nikon Coolpix S8100

Like most cameras with BSI CMOS sensors, the S8100 has multishot modes for improving low-light photos of landscapes and portraits. At a single press of the shutter release, the camera takes several photos and then combines them to improve blur from hand shake and reduce noise and correct exposure. In general, the Night Landscape mode is successful, though at full size you will see chroma noise. The Night Portrait mode takes shots with and without flash and combines them into nicely exposed shots. However, because of the nature of how these images are produced, these modes cannot be used with moving subjects.

Nikon does an excellent job of controlling both barrel distortion at the wide end and pincushioning at the telephoto end of the lens. The lens is fairly sharp in the center, but there is noticeable softness at the sides and in the corners when photos are viewed at their full resolution.

Colors produced by the S8100 are good up to ISO 800, if not altogether accurate (though that’s average for midrange point-and-shoots). Exposure is consistently good, too, and if you need some help, Nikon’s D-Lighting feature can be used in Playback mode. The auto white balance under unnatural light tends to be a little too warm, so it’s best to use the manual white-balance option whenever possible (the presets turned out a little green under unnatural lights in my tests).

Despite its 1080p movie capture being a main selling point, video quality is merely on par with a good HD pocket video camera; good enough for Web use and nondiscriminating TV viewing. If you plan to do a lot of panning from side to side or shooting fast-moving subjects, there is a lot of judder. That’s fairly common for point-and-shoots, but it’s really noticeable on the 1080p movies. Also, while the zoom does work when recording, the movement is picked up by the mics on top so you will hear it in your movies. If you use the zoom while recording you’ll want to keep the autofocus set to full time, but unfortunately you will hear the lens focusing in your movies, too. It basically sounds like a constant clicking sound.

There are two Auto modes on this camera. One is Nikon’s Scene Auto Selector. It adjusts settings appropriately based on six common scene types. If the scene doesn’t match any of those, it defaults to a general-use Auto. Then there is an Auto mode, which is like the program AE modes on other point-and-shoots. You can change ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation as well as light metering, autofocus area and mode, and continuous shooting modes. For the S8100, Nikon adds some extra control over hue (color tone) and vividness (saturation), with adjustable sliders. They’re not revolutionary, but if you like to experiment they’ll be welcomed. (Then again, so would semimanual or manual controls.) The slider settings get stored in the camera’s memory for the Auto mode, so they stay even if you power the camera off.

The type of scene you’re shooting may correspond to one of the camera’s 12 selectable scene modes. All of the scenes are standards like Portrait and Landscape, and there is a Panorama Assist for lining up a series of shots that can be stitched together with the bundled software. Nikon’s Smart Portrait System, used in either Portrait or Night Portrait modes, combines blink detection, smile-activated shutter release, red-eye fix, skin softening, and Face Priority AF features into one mode.

There are, as mentioned earlier, multishot modes for improving low-light photos as well as an HDR (high dynamic range) mode that combines photos taken at different exposures to help bring out highlight and shadow detail. The high-speed performance of the CMOS sensor gets put to use in burst modes, too. The best one is the Continuous H setting, which lets you shoot at up to 10fps for five photos. The Continuous L mode drops to approximately 1.8fps, but can capture up to 26 photos. The camera also has a 120fps burst capturing up to 54 frames at a press of the shutter release. The images are only 1-megapixel resolution and there’s a substantial wait while the camera stores all those photos, but if you’re trying to capture a specific moment in time, this is your best bet with this camera.

The last of the shooting modes is Subject Tracking, and the name pretty much says it all. Place the focus area box at the center of the frame on your subject, hit OK, and the camera will move the box with the subject. If the subject moves out of frame, the camera will do its best to pick up the subject when it reenters the frame. The camera can be set to focus once or continuously and it can prioritize tracking faces, but otherwise everything else is handled automatically. The mode mostly works as promised, but it should really just be an AF area option instead of a whole mode.

If you like to shoot close-ups, the S8100 has a few ways to enter Macro mode. It will automatically switch to it if you’re using the Scene Auto Selector mode. You can also select a Close-up mode from the camera’s Scene options. And if you’re in Auto mode, you can switch to macro focus via the control pad. You can focus as close as 0.4 inch from your subject and the results are very good.

As for shooting performance, the S8100 is one of the fastest compact megazooms I’ve tested. It goes from off to first shot in just over 1 second with a typical shot-to-shot time of 1.5 seconds. Using the flash only bumps that up to 1.8 seconds. Shutter lag is low in both bright and dim lighting, 0.4 and 0.7 second, respectively. Lastly, its full-resolution high-speed continuous mode is capable of 10fps, but again only for five shots.

Aside from all the features and performance, the camera is nice-looking and easy to use, too. Available in black, red, and gold, the S8100 is compact given its 10x zoom lens, and it’s one of the slimmest in its class. That’s likely because of the smoothly flared lens surround, which is somewhat out of step with the camera’s otherwise boxy design. It’s attractive, though, and will fit easily in a pants pocket or small handbag. The metal casing makes it feel high-quality, but I wish there was more than a slight ridge on the front of the camera to help with your grip. If there is one big problem with the design it’s the flash. It pops up from the left side, so it’s easily blocked by fingers when it rises and then leaves you little room to grip the camera once it’s up. Fortunately, it only pops up when needed.

The controls and menu system are fairly uncomplicated, so out-of-the-box shooting shouldn’t be much of a problem. The menu system is broken into three tabs: Shooting, Movie, and Setup. The layout keeps you from doing too much hunting through settings. And thanks to the high-resolution screen, menus are nice-looking, sharp, and easy to read. The LCD gets reasonably bright as well, so you shouldn’t struggle too much when framing shots in bright direct light. It’s great for playback to boot.

A mode dial sits on top for quickly changing your shooting mode. On the back, a large thumb rest separates the screen from a record button for movies; there is no standalone movie mode you have to switch to in order to shoot video. Below that is a playback button and a four-way control pad/wheel with an OK button in its center (Nikon calls it a Rotary Multi Selector), and then there are Menu and Delete buttons at the very bottom. The control pad is used for menu and image navigation as well as setting the self-timer, adjusting flash and exposure compensation, and turning on macro focus. Should you want to move more quickly through menus, images, and videos, you can spin the wheel instead of doing single presses with underlying control pad. Although it moves easily, you can feel stops.

The S8100 is powered by a lithium ion rechargeable pack that is rated for a measly 210 shots; this was supported in testing, though it was a mix of stills and movies. Plus, the camera doesn’t give you a battery life reading until it needs to be recharged. The battery is charged in the camera by connecting via USB to a computer or the included wall adapter. The battery and card compartment are on the bottom behind a locking door. Next to it is a Mini-USB/AV port. A covered Mini-HDMI port is on the right side of the camera for connecting to an HDTV or monitor; you’ll need to buy a cable, though.

In the end, I’m considerably more impressed by the S8100 than I was by its predecessor, the S8000. It’s very competitive in price, features, and performance with other compact megazooms with BSI CMOS sensors, and its low-light photo quality is much improved over the S8000–even if these improvements rely on some high-speed shooting and digital manipulation.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot  

Typical shot-to-shot time  

Shutter lag (dim)  

Shutter lag (typical)  

Find out more about how we test digital cameras.

Hide Review

Square 1 Burgers and Bar always seemed like a chain waiting to happen. Now, it finally has.

Owners Joanie Corneil and Bill Shumate, who opened Bella’s Italian Cafe in South Tampa 25 years ago, opened a second Square 1 in Sarasota this week. A third is planned for February, also in Sarasota.

Square 1 opened in February 2008 with a concept as simple as its name – gourmet burgers in a modern but casual cocktail lounge.

Then the economy tanked. The restaurant has proven popular, and the prices seem right for these times. But expansion had to wait.

“We would like to have opened another one a year and a half ago but that would have been foolish,” says Corneil, 60, “so we just bided our time.”

Why Sarasota instead of Tampa? “We just felt Tampa has not rebounded enough, and Sarasota has,” she explained.

The first Sarsota location is 1737 Tamiami Trail, across from Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The second will be on University Parkway at Honore Avenue.

The menu is pretty much the same, though six new burgers have been added and the interior design, Corneil says, is more “edgy bar atmosphere” than the original location, 3701 N. Henderson Blvd. (down the street from the original Outback Steakhouse).

I love it when it gets “cold” here. Seeing people bundle up to within an inch of their lives to survive temperatures in the 50s just makes me all warm inside. That aside, it is also the one time of year I look forward to soup. I like soup, but have a hard time getting excited about it around here in June. I’m reminded of this, because I was on Twitter today and saw that NoHo Bistro in Tampa has shrimp and corn chowder as a special this week. That got me thinking about some of the other soups I’ve had around here lately, and here are my faves: 

– The French onion soup at Chouinard’s Cuisine in St. Petersburg, and also at Stone Soup Co. in Ybor City. Both are sweet, tart and rich. Chouinard’s floats an apple crostini in there.

– The mushroom bisque at Cafe Ponte in Clearwater (pictured). Smooth, creamy and comforting. Even when it comes in a tiny cup as an amuse bouche, it brings a smile. Maybe because of the truffle cream.

– The chicken and corn chowder at China Yuan in Tampa. Silky chowder, nice bites of chicken.

When it’s too cold to go out, my fallback is a pot of chili. Here is a story we ran back in February about that, with recipes.

Your turn. tell us where to get good soup around here …

This week’s review is of Casanova (811 Cleveland St., Clearwater; 727-733-5449). It is the new kitchen for Ciro Mancini, who had a loyal following in Dunedin’s Bellini before it closed over the summer. Here is the link.

Some would call it a role-playing game with an emphasis on its shooting action; others would call it a third-person shooter with RPG elements. Whatever you might call it, Mass Effect 2 was one of 2010′s finest games–an elegant mixture of exciting battles, sharply written characters, and stunning visual art. PlayStation 3 owners should rightfully be excited to finally see their own version of this excellent game, though series hero Shepard hasn’t received the VIP treatment the character deserved. Some frame rate troubles and other technical flaws specific to this new iteration keep it from being the go-to version of a game released without such troubles a year ago. The flaws aren’t what you notice most when you play this escapade across the galaxy, however; rather, what stands out is how each element of the game works together to draw you into a universe you don’t want to leave. The addition of content released as downloadable add-ons for previous versions makes the newest release an excellent value. This content includes the shrugworthy Mass Effect 2: Kasumi – Stolen Memory mission pack, as well as the entirely wonderful Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker missions. If you haven’t yet been able to play Mass Effect 2, this is your latest chance to take to the stars and discover the mysteries of the Milky Way.

6286291Your squadmates aren’t always the brightest bulbs, but they come through when you need them most.None

On the Xbox 360 and PC, one of Mass Effect 2′s most interesting features was that it allowed you to import your Mass Effect character and save file. Certain plot points in the sequel then played out according to decisions you made in the original. PlayStation 3 owners don’t get to experience this delight because the original did not appear on the platform. To help fill in the necessary gaps, you can download a free interactive comic using the one-use code included in the retail packaging. It looks great, and the narration is emotive and dignified. The comic prompts you to make the same significant decisions you could make in the original Mass Effect, using the radial dialogue wheel seen in the rest of the game. It’s unfortunate that some players will either miss or have to pay $15 extra for the only content unique to this version because it isn’t included on the disc. Luckily, the packaged code gives you access to other free content that was also released for other platforms, such as the short Firewalker mission pack.

Mass Effect 2 begins with dire events that foreshadow the game’s dark tone–an attack that leaves your ship in pieces and the fate of protagonist Shepard temporarily unclear. Never fear: Shepard returns, thanks to the efforts of the controversial pro-human organization called Cerberus and under the watchful eye of its chain-smoking overseer, The Illusive Man. Entire human colonies are disappearing without a trace, and Cerberus needs you, as Shepard, to investigate and confront the vicious forces behind the mystery. Whether you make your contempt for the organization’s questionable methods clear or espouse its manipulations, you owe The Illusive Man your life. Like it or loathe it, he casts his shadow on every action you take.

Beauty is only armor-deep.

A race of locustlike beings known as the Collectors cast an even larger shadow, and the threat they pose is greater than it may first appear. Cerberus wants you to assemble a formidable team to assist and provides you with two human officers of its own. First, there is the sexy and detached Miranda. Then, there is Jacob, who seems initially reticent but allows his emotional fire to burn more brightly as the journey progresses. One by one, you build up your crew of specialists, which represent a number of the fascinating alien races that inhabit the galaxy. Among them are a stoic blue-skinned Asari named Samara, whose ethical code is as unforgiving as it is inflexible, and Thane, a brooding assassin who belongs to the reptilian Drell race. These are great characters, as are other members of your team, though the Salarian scientist Mordin Solus is possibly the finest character in Mass Effect 2 and is among the most interesting in any modern RPG. His ultracaffeinated, ultralogical delivery is often hysterical and always entertaining (his romantic advice will have you in stitches), but his moral misgivings and humaneness make him more than just comic relief. First-class dialogue, outstanding facial animations, and expressive voice acting lead you to care about your crewmates. The main plot is typical science fiction, but most of these fantastic characters keep you emotionally invested in your space trek from beginning to end.

One of Mass Effect 2′s finest features is how its mission structure and character development are intertwined. After their initial recruitment, each of your comrades offers a quest of his or her own to undertake, and these missions give you a lot of insight into your crew members–even those, like Jacob, who seems rather boring initially. Not all of these missions involve combat, which doesn’t always work in the game’s favor; one in which you follow your target from a walkway overhead is one of Mass Effect 2′s weaker moments. But even the rare missions that are light on thrills are still heavy on character development. Familial relationships are a common theme in these missions, but the gameplay variety and story specifics keep this repeated subject from wearing out its welcome. One such mission is particularly haunting because a decision you make at its conclusion has a lasting effect on the composition of your crew. The weak link in this otherwise superior setup is Kasumi, the master thief added to last year’s versions as part of the Stolen Memory downloadable content. While you get to know your other teammates during the course of two full acts, Kasumi joins you on the Normandy SR-2 after a too-brief introduction. As a result, she never fits in with her more fully developed cohorts.

In the case of rampaging Krogans, it’s best to shoot first–and just keep shooting.

Conversations commonly present you with a number of responses that affect the meters representing two sides of an ethical spectrum: paragon and renegade. These meters are handled separately and do not represent sides of a single gauge. This structure makes a simple but important point: Morality isn’t an either/or, good/bad attribute, but it allows for shades of gray in which to maneuver. As these meters fill, new conversation options open, giving you additional ways to solve dilemmas. These choices don’t lead to the complexity and flexibility you see in RPGs like Fallout: New Vegas or Dragon Age: Origins, but they result in some electric moments, particularly during the final hours. One of the interactive dialogue’s most interesting aspects is that of interrupt triggers. In certain cases, you may get a prompt allowing you to interrupt the scene. This may involve pulling a gun on an unsavory mercenary (a renegade action) or interrupting an old friend to offer a word of affection (a paragon action). These instances have a nice feeling of immediacy and inspire you to pay attention to conversations as they unfold.

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Photo gallery:
Parrot Minikit Smart

Parrot, and the many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to which it supplies, likes to call itself the leader in Bluetooth hands-free technology. After testing a few of its products, including the Minikit Slim, we’re prepared to at least admit that it’s among the best where audio quality is concerned. However, every new product is a new opportunity to fall from grace, so we’re turning a critical eye on the new Parrot MiniKit Smart.

Bonding the internals of the previously mentioned (and previously reviewed) MiniKit Slim, the Smart is a windshield- or dashboard-mounted universal smartphone cradle and Bluetooth speakerphone.

Design and construction
Opening the Minikit Smart’s box, we’re immediately greeted by the Smart unit itself. The unit features a spring-loaded arm with foam pads that holds most average-size smartphones or mobile devices in place with friction. Handsets up to about 2.7 inches wide can be accommodated, so anything from the massive Motorola Droid X to an iPhone in a case should fit. The Smart’s chassis is a mix of metallic finishes and panels coated in a soft-touch material.

Just below the dock are the Minikit Smart’s physical controls, which again mirror those of the Minikit Slim. A central knob can be twisted to make selections and pressed like a button to confirm choices. This knob is flanked by a pair of buttons which are primarily used to accept and end calls. On the unit’s right side are connections for mini-USB and full-size USB for charging the Minikit Smart and its paired device, respectively.

On the left side is a microphone that can be popped out of its indentation and relocated to the vehicle’s sun visor, maintaining its connection to the Minikit’s chassis with a 2-foot retractable wire. The idea here is that the user has the option to improve audio quality in a louder vehicle by moving the microphone closer to their head. We didn’t have to use this feature in our loudish test car, but we can see how this could be useful in, for example, a convertible. Enterprising users could probably fashion some sort of lapel clip for maximum closeness, but we’d be concerned about forgetting we were connected and yanking the entire kit off of the glass.

Out back is a loudspeaker and the connection point for the mounting arm that connects securely to the Smart’s chassis with a magnet and a friction clip. The speaker is quite loud, but it also is very clear for understanding human speech. We wouldn’t listen to music through the tinny output, but in a pinch we were able to enjoy a podcast or two. More importantly, spoken turn-by-turn directions given by a running navigation app rang out loud and clear over road noise and playing music.

The mounting arm features a single ball-jointed point of articulation–which can be locked into position with an included Allen wrench–and attaches to the glass with a lever-actuated suction cup. Thanks to its ball-jointed neck, the cradle can be positioned in the portrait or landscape orientation, or any angle in between. We noticed that the suction cup requires very clean glass and a careful application, otherwise the Minikit Smart (and your cradled smartphone) will go tumbling across the cabin.

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All things considered, you can’t help but feel a bit sorry for the Motorola Cliq 2. Though it offers a sleek design and an exceptional keyboard, it made its debut at CES 2011 alongside the more glamorous Atrix 4G and Droid Bionic. With their dual-core processors and 4G support, Moto’s other handsets quickly grabbed the spotlight while relegating their poor sibling to a supporting role. T-Mobile did its best to boast of the Cliq 2′s merits, but the competition proved too fierce.

We admit we also got swept up in the hubris at the time, but now we’re eager to judge the Cliq 2 on its own merits. And for the most part we like what we see. It’s slimmer than the original Cliq while sporting a larger and more vibrant display than the most recent Cliq, the Cliq XT. We also enjoyed decent performance and we appreciate that it offers Froyo (Android OS 2.2) out of the box. The continued inclusion of Motoblur wasn’t as welcome, and we were hoping for a few more features over the previous models, but the Cliq 2 does its job as a midrange Android device. Pricing details are still to come, but we expect T-Mobile to offer it for about $129 with service.

Design
Though it shows a design evolution from the original Cliq, the Cliq 2 has a lot in common with that device. You’ll notice the same basic shape, a slider keyboard, and a similar placement of external buttons and peripheral ports. Yet, Moto made changes where it counts. The rounded edges give the phone a slimmer feel and the darker color around the display gives it a more professional look. At 4.56 inches long by 2.34 inches wide by 0.57 inch wide the Cliq 2 is about halfway between the Cliq and Cliq XT in size, but it’s heavier than either model (6.17 ounces). That’s more bulk than we like in cell phone, but the trade-off is a sturdy feel and a solid slider construction. We also like the textured soft-touch material on the back cover.

The 3.7-inch display makes great use of the phone’s real estate and offers a vibrant resolution that shows 854×480 pixels. That’s a big improvement from the previous two Cliq models, so we weren’t disappointed. The touch interface is quite responsive and we welcome the ambient light sensor, accelerometer, and proximity sensor. Just like on other Android phones, you can change the backlighting time and the brightness.

Below the display are four touch controls (menu, back, search, and home). They are rather small, but they’re still responsive and easy to use. And, in any case, we wouldn’t advocate shrinking the display just to get larger controls. On the home screen itself you’ll find additional touch controls for accessing the dial pad, calling menu, main menu, and your phone book.

One of the Cliq 2′s best features is its physical keyboard. Though the design may be arresting at first–some people see a spiderweb while others see reptile scales–we loved almost everything about it. Not only are the individual keys quite large, but they’re covered in a comfortable rubbery material. We were able to type quickly with few mistakes. What’s more, the large space bar is located conveniently in the middle of the bottom row and there’s plenty of space at the top edge and on either side. Our only beef with the keyboard is that we’d prefer more shortcut and function buttons beyond the dedicated search control and the navigation arrows.

The Cliq 2 also offers the revamped Android virtual keyboard that came with Froyo. You can access it only when the phone is closed, but it has a spacious layout and the benefit of the Swype feature. Even with Swype, however, we usually stuck with the physical leys. The virtual dial pad is almost unchanged from other Android phones; expect large buttons and shortcuts to various calling features.

The camera lens and flash sit on the top of the phone’s rear side. Unfortunately, there’s no mirror for taking vanity shots. You’ll have to remove the battery cover to access the microSD card slot, which isn’t ideal, but at least you don’t have to remove the battery as well. The power control and 3.5-millimeter headset jack sit on the Cliq 2′s top just around the corner from the Micro-USB and charger port on the left side. The right side holds the volume rocker, ring silencer switch, and camera shutter. It’s worth noting that most cell phones put the volume rocker on the left side, but the switch on the Cliq 2 made no impact on usability.

Interface
As mentioned, the Cliq 2 runs Froyo so you’ll get all the new offerings that the OS update brings. Voice dialing over Bluetooth is one of the highlights, of course, but Froyo also brings the ability to store apps on the memory card. The Android interface is intuitive as ever and the main menu shows the standard icon-based design

The Cliq 2 has seven home screens that you can program with the usual widgets and app folders. You’ll also find shortcuts to connectivity options like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the usual Google search bar, a music player widget, and an area for programming one-touch access to your favorite contacts. Accessibility features include voice readout (text to speech) and a menu zoom, though the latter option slows down the phone somewhat.

Motorola continues to put Motoblur on its T-Mobile Android phones. We’re fans of a stock Android experience, so Motoblur wouldn’t be our first choice. Also, we don’t like that you have to register for an account before you can use the phone. Still, that’s not to say the interface doesn’t have its strong points. The social media (such as Facebook and Twitter), news, and weather widgets can put useful information up front and the universal inbox effectively gathers all your communications into one place. We’re also grateful that Motorola made some much-needed tweaks to the interface in its last round of updates (see our Moto Flipout review for more information). Fortunately, Motorola allows you to use Motoblur as much or as little as you wish, so we advise you to consider your options carefully.

Features
The Cliq 2′s phone book size is limited by the available memory, with each contact holding phone numbers and e-mail addresses, street addresses, an instant-messaging handle, a company name, a birthday and anniversary, a nickname, a URL, and notes. You can save contacts to groups and pair them with a photo and one of 55 polyphonic ringtones for caller ID. Keep in mind that Motoblur dumps people you follow on Twitter into the main contact list. So don’t be surprised if you see a celebrity’s name listed above your mom’s cell number. Fortunately, you can change the view to show only people for whom you actually have entries in your phonebook.

Organizer features include a calendar, a calculator, an alarm clock, a timer, and a task list. The Cliq 2 also syncs with your Google calendar and any other calendars that you keep with POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts. For higher-end options, the handset has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Microsoft Quickoffice, PC syncing, USB mass storage, voice search, speaker-independent voice dialing and commands, T-Mobile’s visual voice mail, and Assisted GPS. And, best of all, the Cliq 2 can function as a 3G mobile hot spot and even has a T-Mobile app for Wi-Fi calling. Both worked as expected.

When you’re not talking, you can send text and multimedia messages or use the Cliq 2′s integrated instant-messaging application. For the more creative, the handset also lets you send an audio postcard with a phone and a recorded message. E-mail support is just what you’d expect. Beyond the full syncing with Google mail, you also can add a Yahoo e-mail account and corporate sync through Outlook without Access (OWA).

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Our latest Cheap Thrills suggestion is a Largo sandwich shop called ‘Big’ Jim’s Famous. As you can tell from the photo, the sanwiches tend to be of the large, overstuffed variety. Since owner Jim Reeves had a cheese steak place in native Philadelphia, it’s probably not surprising how good those are, but the Cuban (pictured) is pretty good, too, though my Tampa friends might take issue (it’s not really Cuban bread and it has white American cheese instead of Swiss, and there’s a garlicky sauce that’s delicious but not something you find on a traditional Cuban.

If you have any Cheap Thrills to suggest, please leave them in the comments below.