I have had a Nikon Coolpix S600 for 5-6 years now and it has been my go to camera to have around because of it's handy size and it has never let me down, except that recently the zoom function is intermittently working. So, I decided to replace it with the S9500 and just got it this past week and really wanted to put it through the paces a bit to see how functional it would be around town and in the field.The wi-if transfer is really handy when your out and about and want to transfer photos to a cell phone or tablet that has data capability so they can be uploaded to a website or to just back them up on another device. I used my iPad and the free app from Nikon called Wireless Mobile Utility (WMU) which can be found in the App Store, it's really quick and easy to use. It also allows you to setup your camera and remotely take pictures with the app, I found that I could only be about 30 feet away from the camera with my iPad before the wi-if signal was lost so it has range limitations.
The 22x zoom is fantastic for this size of a camera, it takes really nice clear photos even zoomed all the way out. The anti vibration works well also if you al moving about and taking action shots.
One big complaint I have so far is the placement of the record button for starting video recording. I have hit this button numerous times on accident and there is no way to disable the video record function, it's always at the ready when you are in photo mode.
I originally went in to buy the Nikon P510 because I heard that was great in low light and has amazing zoom, but it was just too big for me at this time. Maybe down the road I'll go toward that size, but it's not for me right now and was informed the S9500 had really good zoom and low light qualities as well.
Two reasons for the 4 stars are:
You have to charge the battery IN the camera. The camera doesn't come with an external battery charger. I had to buy an external charger (another $20) that plugs directly into the wall without the cord to charge the battery outside of the camera. Nikon does sell an external batter charger for this but it's a charger that has a 4 ft cord that plugs into the wall case that came with the camera, again, not very functional unless you don't mind a long cord to charge your battery. The cord for me would have sufficed if I couldn't find a different charger, but I did. This comes in a few days so if it works, great! If not, then I will go back and get the corded charger.
The second reason is the WiFi. Not a deal breaker for me, but it seems to be a bit finicky and doesn't stay connected very long. The app needed for the WiFi isn't the greatest and the functions are very limited and you will need to set the settings on your camera to where they need to be before connecting WiFi because once WiFi is on, you cannot change settings on your camera (unless I'm missing something), only through your phone and those functions are limited to zooming in and out and is not quick at all. It also took me some time to get the WiFi to connect, but I think this was because the instructions on it weren't the clearest.
Overall, great camera for what I will use it for and the WiFi and battery aren't deal breakers for me. I will update later once I put it to test in a concert setting.
Update 4/28/13: I took this camera to a concert last night and was rather impressed. It took great pictures in the low light and the zoom is awesome! I didn't zoom to the fullest as it wasn't needed, but am impressed. And my battery was hardly used at all and I took about 100 pictures within a matter of a few hours.
Buy Nikon COOLPIX S9500 Wi-Fi Digital Camera with 22x Zoom and GPS (Black) Now
In the couple of weeks I've had the camera, I've really enjoyed it. In good light, it takes great pictures with vibrant colors and the flash works very well. The menu system is well designed which provides easy access to all of the camera's functions. I especially like the GPS features and panorama and 3D modes. Of course, the 22x zoom is great.One big problem however is the cameras operation in even moderately low light situations. There are times when it refuses to focus even in normal indoor lighting especially when the zoom is being used. This prevents even taking a flash photo. It's especially frustrating since it seems to start out with a good focus and then veers away from it when it locks in. I'm hoping this is just a bug that could be fixed in firmware. My son's camera from a competitor works perfectly every time in identical situations.
The omission of an AC adaptor that allows operation of the camera (in addition to charging) is baffling. The cumbersome battery substitute adaptor is a poor alternative to this obvious feature. Not a deal breaker though.
Most importantly, certain basic functions are missing from the firmware. It's as if a marketing guy told the engineers to get rid of every extra item that could confuse a user rather than sensibly tucking them away into a separate area for when the user gains more experience. Here is a list of seemingly simple changes that I hope find their way into a firmware update before I have to decide whether to return the camera:
1. Get rid of the GPS log warning when powering down or at least let the user dismiss it. Waiting 10 seconds before you can put it back in your pocket gets annoying very quickly.
2. Provide basic shutter and aperture priority modes. The camera often makes wrong decisions, especially in dim light, and this would provide a fallback.
3. Provide additional focus modes for infinity (without having to be limited to a landscape scene) and maybe a distance focus control for situations where the automatic modes don't work. This may not be necessary if the engineers can get the low light focusing to work properly.
4. Allow control over how long the preview shows after taking a picture.
5. Allow edited images (zoomed, softened, etc) to be transferred via wifi. The instructions don't say they can't be transferred but they are disabled with an X through them on my iPhone with the Nikon app.
6. Allow full res images to be transferred to a smart phone via wifi.
There are probably more missing basic features but these are the ones I noticed right away. The first three especially are reason enough to return the camera if they are not fixed. It would be a shame for such a great camera to be hobbled by substandard firmware. Since I generally enjoy using the camera, I really hope Nikon is listening and has the technical skills to fix the problems.
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I was excited to get this camera as I'd had earlier versions of this Coolpix series and overall they are great cameras. It takes a good photo and is easy to use. But after using it for about 2 weeks, it started freezing after taking a few shots. I'd have to take the battery out to reboot and after that it would work for a few shots. The problem is getting progressively worse and I'm sending it back today for repair. For it's class this is a relatively expensive camera and it's disappointing to find this problem with the Nikon. Now in surfing the net I see that this is a more systemic problem than a one off outlier as I see others are reporting this too.Want Nikon COOLPIX S9500 Wi-Fi Digital Camera with 22x Zoom and GPS (Black) Discount?
The Nikon S9500's wide angle and premium zoom were excellent features that worked well. I had the camera for one day when the battery, after a couple dozen shots needed to be recharged. It charged for several hours but the error message was only ever "battery exhausted." I was exhausted trying to get it to charge. This camera seemed to have a lot of potential but didn't want the headache of dealing with something that didn't work well right out of the box so I took it back.Save 15% Off
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