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Features
Play, Edit and Print Functions
Battery Information
Inputs and Outputs Notes
Supplied Software

Recording Features

3" LCD Monitor: The Nikon Coolpix S8100 has a 3" TFT LCD monitor featuring approximately 921,000 dots, an anti-reflective coating and a five-level brightness adjustment. The LCD monitor has approximately 97% horizontal and vertical coverage in the shooting mode and approximately 100% horizontal and vertical coverage in playback mode. There is no separate viewfinder on the camera.

Image Sensor/Processor: The Coolpix S8100 features a 1/2.3", high-density CMOS image sensor with a total pixel count of approximately 12.75-million pixels. The effective pixel count is 12.1-million. The EXPEED C2 Image Processing engine delivers high-quality, natural-looking pictures with stunning color and sharpness.

Optics: The Coolpix S8100 digital camera uses a Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens for superb image quality. Every aspect of the lens manufacturing process is controlled by Nikon. The Zoom-Nikkor lens is designed for the specific camera and CCD combination. The Coolpix S8100 uses a 10x wide-angle optical zoom lens, that is equivalent to a 30-300mm lens in 35mm photography. Coupled with the 4x digital zoom, the camera's total zoom capability is 40x. The angle of view is equivalent to that of approximately 1200mm lens (35mm format).

4-Way VR (Vibration Reduction) Stabilization: The Nikon Coolpix S8100 offers a 4-Way Vibration Reduction (VR) Stabilization System:

• Hybrid VR Image Stabilization: Nikon's Hybrid VR Image Stabilization uses a combination of optical (lens shift) and electronic vibration reduction to compensate for the effects of camera shake. This produces clearer, sharper results in lower lighting or unsteady conditions.
• Motion Detection: Motion Detection automatically detects moving subjects and adjusts the shutter speed and the ISO setting to compensate for camera shake and subject movement.
• High ISO 3200: High ISO up to 3200 capability gives you sharper results when shooting in low light or capturing fast-moving subjects. This creates new opportunities to take sharper, more natural-looking photos in lower light conditions.
• Best Shot Selector (BSS): Nikon's Best Shot Selector (BSS) automatically takes up to 10 shots while the shutter is pressed and then saves the sharpest image.

File Formats: The Coolpix S8100 records still images in JPEG format. HD and SD movies are recorded in MOV format (Video: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, Audio: AAC stereo). You have a choice of eight still image size options and five movie options (see chart below).

Built-in Memory: The camera has a built-in 102 MB internal memory for storing still images and movies with sound.

Recording Media: In addition to the built-in memory, images can be recorded onto SD, SDHC, or SDXC Memory cards. When an SD Memory card is inserted in the camera, the images are automatically recorded onto the card. When no card is inserted, the images automatically record to the internal memory. The camera can support 2 GB SD cards, SDHC cards from 4 GB to 32 GB, and SDXC cards over 32GB. The capacity of the internal memory and optional memory cards is as follows:

Shooting Modes: Using the top-mounted Mode Dial, you can choose one of the following shooting modes:

• Auto Mode: A "point-and-shoot" mode with some user adjustments in brightness, hue, and vividness.
• Continuous Shooting: In the continuous shooting mode, you can select in the menu from the following options:
  • Continuous H: Takes up to 5 pictures at 10 frames per second while the shutter button is held down.
  • Continuous L: Takes up to 26 pictures at 1.8 frames per second while the shutter button is held down.
  • Pre-shooting Cache: The camera stores images while the shutter is pressed halfway, then saves a total of 5 images--two before and three after the shutter is pressed fully.
  • Sport Continuous: 54 frames are captured at about 1/120 second or faster each time the shutter button is pressed. Image size is set to 1280 x 960 pixels.
  • Best Shot Selector: Camera captures up to 5 images while the shutter release is held down, and the sharpest image in the series is selected and saved.
  • Multi-shot 16: Camera takes 16 shots at about 30 fps and arranges them in a single image of 2560 x 1920.
• Subject Tracking Mode: For taking pictures of moving subjects. The camera moves the focus area automatically to track the registered subject within the frame.
• Night Landscape: A slow shutter speed is used to produce stunning night landscapes.
• Night Portrait: For shots that provide natural balance between the main subject and the background when shooting portraits under low lighting.
• Backlighting: Use when light is coming from behind your subject or when your subject is in the shade but the background is brightly lit. You can use the HDR (high dynamic range) function when a bright backlight cause dark shadows on the subject.
• Scene Auto Selector: The camera automatically judges the type of subject (scene mode) when you frame the picture so that you can more easily take a picture suited for the scene. The mode will automatically be changed to one of the following scene modes: Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Landscape, Night Portrait, Close-up, and Back Light.
• Scene Mode: You can manually or automatically select a scene mode with settings optimized for the shooting situation:
  • Portrait: Useful for photographs where you want the main subject to stand out clearly from the background.
  • Landscape: For vivid landscape shots that enhance outlines, colors, and contrast in such subjects as forests and skyscrapers.
  • Party/Indoor: Shots include details of the background behind the main subject, or to capture the effects of candlelight and other indoor background lighting.
  • Snow: Vividly captures the brightness of subjects such as snow fields.
  • Beach: Vividly captures the brightness of subjects such as beaches or sunlit expanses of water.
  • Sunset: Preserves deep hues seen in sunsets and sunrises.
  • Dusk/Dawn: Preserves the colors seen in the weak natural light before sunrise and after sunset.
  • Close Up: Used to capture vivid colors in close-up shots of flowers, insects and other small objects, with the background artistically blurred.
  • Food: Used when shooting cuisines.
  • Museum: Use indoors where flash photography is prohibited or in other settings in which you do not want to use flash.
  • Fireworks Show: Slow shutter speeds are used to capture the expanding burst of light from fireworks.
  • Copy: Provides clear pictures of text or drawings on a white board, business card or in other printed matter.
  • Panorama Assist: Use to take a series of photographs that you will later join to form a single panoramic scene.
• Movies: Shooting HD and SD movies at 30 frames per second.

Self-timer: The camera is equipped with a 10 second and 2 second timer for self-portraits. In addition, the camera can use face detection to detect human faces, and automatically release the shutter when a smile is detected (Smile Timer).

AF Area Mode: You can select between the following AF Area Modes to determine where the camera focuses.

• Face Priority: When the camera recognizes a face (front view only), the camera will focus on the face automatically. The camera can recognize up to 3 or 12 faces depending on shooting and exposure mode. This is the default setting.
• Auto: The camera automatically selects the focus area (up to 9) containing the subject closest to the camera.
• Center: The camera focuses on the subject in the center of the frame.
• Manual: You can manually select one of 99 focus areas in the monitor. This method is handy when the intended subject is not positioned in the center of the frame, and is relatively still.

Macro Mode: Macro mode is used for taking pictures of objects as close as 0.8". The flash may be unable to light entire subject at distances less than 1 feet 8 inches.

Focus Lock: The Focus Lock feature is used to focus on off-centered subjects in the frame while shooting in Center AF mode.

AF-Assist Illuminator: If lighting is poor, the AF-assist illuminator may light to assist the focus operation when the shutter-release button is pressed halfway. The illuminator has a range of about 26' at the maximum wide-angle position and 13' at the maximum telephoto position. You can turn this function on or off.

Blink Warning Function: The Blink Warning function is available when you are shooting in Face Priority mode. When the camera detects that one or more human subjects may have blinked, the blink warning screen is displayed. The subject is framed by a yellow border, allowing you to check the picture and decide whether or not to take another picture.

Exposure Compensation: You can alter the exposure from the value suggested by the camera, making pictures brighter or darker. You can adjust the exposure from -2.0 to +2.0 EV in 1/3 EV steps.

ISO Settings: Sensitivity is the measure of how quickly the camera reacts to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light needed to make an exposure. The camera features the following ISO settings:

• Auto: Sensitivity is set to ISO 160 when there is sufficient lighting, and raises the sensitivity to a maximum of ISO 800 when lighting is dim.
• Fixed Range Auto: Select from two ranges in which the camera automatically sets the sensitivity: ISO 160-400.
• Manual: Sensitivity is locked at the set value: ISO 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, or 3200.

White Balance: You can set the White Balance to Auto, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, or Flash. You can also choose Preset White Balance and use a neutral-colored object as a reference to set the white balance under unusual lighting conditions.

Built-in Flash: The Coolpix S8100 has a built-in flash with a range of 1'-8" to 13' (Wide angle) and 1'-8" to 8'-2" (Telephoto). You can choose from the following flash modes:

• Auto: Flash fires automatically when lighting is poor.
• Auto with Red-eye Reduction: Pre-flash fires before main flash to reduce red-eye effect.
• Flash Off: Flash will not fire, even when lighting is poor.
• Fill Flash: Flash will fire whenever a picture is taken.
• Slow Sync: Auto flash combined with slow shutter speeds.

In-Camera Red-Eye Fix: If the camera detects red-eye after the pre-flash has fired, advanced red-eye reduction processing is used to further reduce red-eye, slightly increasing the time required before the next picture can be taken.

AF Modes: When shooting still images or movies you can choose between two auto-focus modes:

• Single AF: The camera focuses when the shutter-release button is pressed halfway and locks at this position during recording.
• Full-time AF: The camera constantly adjusts focus, even when the shutter-release button is not pressed.

Voice Recording: Audio voice memos for pictures can be recorded over the camera's built-in microphone and played back over the unit's built-in speaker. Memos can be up to 20 seconds in length.

Play, Edit and Print Functions

Auto Sort Mode: Pictures and movies will automatically be sorted in any of the following folder names after shooting them for convenient playback: Smile, Portraits, Food, Landscape, Dusk to Dawn, Close-Ups, Movie, Retouched Copies, Other Scenes.

Copy: You can internally copy images and voice recordings between the camera's internal memory and an inserted SD-card.

Slide Show Playback: View pictures in the internal memory or on the memory card in an automatic slide show with 2, 3, 5, or 10 seconds between pictures. If desired, you can loop the slideshow so it will continuously play. Maximum slide show duration is 30 minutes without operation.

Thumbnail Playback: During playback, you can view multiple thumbnail images (4, 9, or 16) at a time. While these "contact sheets" are displayed, you can use the multi-selector to highlight individual pictures. Highlighted pictures can be deleted, if desired.

Calendar Display: This feature displays a calendar allowing you to select and view pictures taken on the same date.

Playback Zoom: During playback, you can enlarge a still image up to 10x. Once the image is zoomed, you can use the multi-selector to scroll around to non-visible portions of the image. You can record a new picture of the cropped image by pressing the shutter button.

Rotate Image: Recorded pictures can be rotated 90-degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise on the unit's LCD screen.

Editing Picture: You can use the Coolpix S8100 to edit recorded pictures in-camera and store them as separate files. You can choose from the following editing functions:

• Quick Retouch: Quick Retouch can be used to easily create retouched copies in which contrast and saturation have been enhanced.
• D-Lighting: D-Lighting can be used to brighten dark or backlit subjects. While playing back an image, you can select the D-Lighting function, apply it, and save the corrected image without harming the properly exposed areas of the image.
• Skin Softening: The camera recognizes faces in pictures and creates a copy with softer facial skin tones.
• Resizing Pictures (Small Picture): You can create a small copy of a recorded image. The copy will be stored as a JPEG file with a compression ratio of 1:16. You can choose from the following sizes: 640 x 480 (suited to television playback), 320 x 240 (suited to display on web pages), or 160 x 120 (suitable for email attachments).
• Cropping: Create a copy containing only the portion visible in the monitor.

Multi-Language Menu: You can choose from 24 different menu display languages including English, Spanish or French.

Printing Pictures: You can print pictures stored in the internal memory or on the memory card by using the Print Set option in the playback menu. Using DPOF (Digital Print Order Form), you can designate which images to print, and how many copies to print. Pictures can be printed as followed:

• Printer or Photo Lab: insert the memory card into a printer, or take the memory card to a digital photo lab (images stored in the internal memory need to be transferred to a memory card prior to printing).
• PictBridge-compatible Printer: connect the camera to a PictBridge-compatible printer via USB cable
• Transferring to Computer: transfer the images to a computer before printing them via USB

Battery Information

Power Requirements: The Coolpix S8100 is powered by a supplied rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery (EN-EL12). The battery is charged in the camera using the supplied  EH-68P AC adapter and UC-E6 USB cable. The supplied rechargeable battery will last up to approximately 210 shots or 1 hour 20 minutes of HD movie recording on one charge. A fully-exhausted battery charges in about 3 hours 50 minutes.

Auto Off: When the camera is operated on battery power, the Auto Off mode will automatically turn off the monitor to reduce the drain on the batteries if no operations are performed for the length of time specified in the Auto Off menu. The time limit for the Auto Off mode can be set to 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes or 30 minutes.

Inputs and Outputs Notes

HDMI: The Coolpix S8100 is equipped with a mini-HDMI (Type C) output, allowing you to connect the camera to an HDTV. An optional mini-HDMI-to-HDMI cable is required. The camera's HDMI output can be set to Auto, 480p, 720p or 1080i.

USB/Audio-Video Output: The camera features a single proprietary jack on the bottom of the camera for connecting the supplied AV or USB cable. This one output allows you to download your photos to your computer or printer via USB using the supplied USB cable, or view your photos on a TV using the supplied AV cable. The USB interface is USB 2.0 Hi-Speed compatible. The video output is NTSC or PAL compatible.

Supplied Software

Software Suite CD-ROM: The supplied ViewNX 2 CD-ROM contains Nikon Transfer 2, ViewNX 2, and Panorama Maker 5. Nikon Transfer 2 is used to copy (transfer) pictures from the camera to the computer and ViewNX 2 is used for viewing your images and movies on the computer. Panorama Maker 5 is used for creating panoramic images from the camera's recorded still images.

System Requirements: The supplied software will work with Windows and Macintosh. Your computer will need to meet the following system requirements: