The camera takes absolutly fantastic pictures. Unfortunately it is very fragile. We had the camera fall about 1' and hit the floor. After whicht it was no longer functional (reports "Lens Error"). The Nikon repair shop wants $150 to repair it. A bit steep for a $175 camera.

At 125g, the S500 is the smallest, lightest camera we've seen that includes optical image stabilisation to reduce blur from camera shake. Its controls and menus are easy to operate and the brushed aluminium finish, 2in 230,000-pixel screen and five-way navigation pad that doubles as a wheel for...

The big noise (pardon the pun) in compact cameras at the moment is high ISO, which in plain English means the ability to avoid using flash in low-light settings. Nikon's boxy but stylish S500 is another high-ISO shooter, going up to ISO 2,000 while squeezing 7.1 megapixels onto a compact camera...

The Nikon Coolpix S500 delivers top-notch image quality. At $300, it may seem a little pricey for a compact camera with a relatively standard...

Optical image stabilization,

Pricey; No optical

In recent months Nikon has been rejuvenating its compact camera range, some parts of which had been looking a bit stale, with some interesting and adventurous new models. Perhaps the kindest thing I can say about them is that some have been more successful than others.

Nikon really shows off its style with its Coolpix S500, a sleek, compact camera that feels every bit as good as it looks. This little shooter has some of the nicest design points we've seen in a small shooter, plus a few handy features normally seen on higher-end cameras.

Small, light stainless steel body and click wheel interface are great design touches; optical image stabilization; fast burst shooting

Slow performance; way too much noise at high ISO settings

Nikon really shows off its style with its Coolpix S500, a sleek, compact camera that feels every bit as good as it looks. This little shooter has some of the nicest design points we've seen in a small shooter, plus a few handy features normally seen on higher-end cameras.

Small; light stainless steel body; Click wheel interface; Optical image stabilisation; Fast burst shooting

Slow performance; Way too much noise at high ISO settings

Nikon really shows off its style with its Coolpix S500, a sleek, compact camera that feels every bit as good as it looks. This little shooter has some of the nicest design points we've seen in a small shooter, plus a few handy features normally seen on higher-end cameras. Unfortunately, looks and tricks aren't everything, and the S500 simply doesn't live up to its potential.

The Nikon Coolpix S500 may look and feel pretty, but its slow performance and noisy high-ISO images hold it back.

Small, light stainless steel body; Click wheel interface; Optical image stabilisation; Fast burst shooting.

Slow performance; Way too much noise at high ISO settings.

The tiny Nikon Coolpix S500 compact camera includes the latest face-detection and image-stabilisation features for consistently top-quality photos.

The Nikon Coolpix S500 is a pocket sized digital camera. Apart from its size the main attraction is likely to be its simplicity as it is a straightforward, point and shoot digital camera. It has seven megapixels and a three times zoom lens.

Easy of use - build quality

Indoor shot lacked focus - macro photos - shutter lag