I just received my Nikon S9 a couple of days ago.

I am def. not disappointed in it (as of yet, that is).

PROS:
I like that the lens is NOT retractable (it's inside the camera). I've read lots of reviews on all brands of cameras where reviewers complained that the lens gets stuck while sticking half-way out. This is something I don't have to worry about with the S9.

I also like that it's durable. It's not made of plastic, it's very solid. I actually feel like I got what I paid for.

Picture quality is good. You need to hold the camera VERY still while shooting, since pictures tend to blur easily. I've been fooling around with it a lot, and I seem to be improving with my shots (where blur is concerned).

I also haven't experienced any red-eye! Woohoo! They red-eye reduction flash feature really works (so far)!

Pictures could be a little sharper, but the camera comes with a CD that allows you to edit the pictures on your computer, and change the brightness, sharpness, color, etc., of the pictures, and you can also rotate them. This is a plus for me.

The buttons are small, but there are very few of them, which makes it simple to use.

CONS:
Well, I gave this camera only 4 stars PRIMARILY because I bought it from Amazon for $249.99, and then about a week later the price was down to $222.94. I pre-ordered the camera. So 1 lesson I learned was: WAIT UNTIL THE CAMERA IS IN STOCK (AND NOT ON PRE-ORDER). DON'T BUY A CAMERA WHEN IT IS FIRST RELEASED, WAIT A COUPLE OF WEEKS, CHANCES ARE THE PRICE WILL DROP. I'M SO ANGRY ABOUT THIS!

Another con: You really need to play around with the camera if you want good pictures-- especilly where lighting is concerned. It's not a point-and-shoot camera-- for me, at least. The settings are definitely there for a reason (like the scenes, such as indoor, beach/snow, sunset, dusk/dawn, and so on . . . and the flash features as well).

Haven't tried the video or voice recording yet, so I can't really comment on that.

That's about it. In all, I don't regret buying it. Only had it for a few days and I'm liking it more and more (I was a bit intimidated and frustrated in the beginning while trying to find settings that would help me take a good picture).

I bought the Nikon Coolpix S9 as a replacement for my Canon PowerShot S410 because I wanted a lighter, less bulky ultra-compact camera with good picture quality. The S9 was the one of the lightest, and earlier versions of the Coolpix family received decent reviews.

While the camera is light and fits nicely in my pocket, I must say I was not pleased with the quality of the photos I took with the Nikon Coolpix S9. Most photos taken with flash in dark rooms came out blurry and washed out white, and often had lens flare. And photos taken with flash off did not come out as clear as they did with the Canon S410. Photos in normal lighting with flash on came out okay, but still did not match the quality of the Canon.

I'm returning the Nikon Coolpix to Amazon today and purchasing a Canon.

i did a lot of research before coming to the decision to buy this camera. i love the size, it is very compact. the picture clarity is great as well. i dont have one complaint about this camera yet!

This is my first review and I am only writing it because of the awful pictures this camera takes. Every picture that is taken in dark conditions looks very washed out. Beware.

I really liked this camera.........cool looking, easy to use, and it takes great photos with natural light.......... But when you turn out the lights and need to use the flash......well just like many people here will tell you(read reviews for coolpix s5, this camera has same issues).........

RANDOM. WHITE. SPOTS.

Sometimes 15 other times 1 or 2. For me it occured on about 90% of alll photos that require use of the flash. Now I bought this at best buy and I took it back and got another coolpix s9 ( I really like the camera) and the same thing happened. Of coarse the Best Buy "Digital experts" told me it was user error. I'm glad to see its not just me.

I have two other digital cameras, both Canons. Both are great cameras with great price/quality values. My wife was specifically looking for something she could keep in her purse for quick/easy family photos and also capture the kids playing tennis and rugby. The convenience factor and style of the S9 make it worth the extra dollars.

The Nikon S9 that I bought was delivered on time, even earlier than I expected, and at good quality. I'm totally happy with it.

I purchased this camera for my 15 year old for Christmas. She loved it. She is taking graphic arts and design in the Tech School and it is very relevant to her classes. I am very happy with this camera, it is "cool"

Great looking camera. The display on the camera is fantastic. Takes good pictures and is a very slim camera.

the quality of nikon is still no. 1. night shots with flash are ok. I like the non-protruding camera lens technology and just fits me. Good buy for me.

I have a Nikon D70 SLR, but I also wanted something small enough to stick in a pocket. This has great features, but I was not happy with the indoor picture quality; the lens is too small. I ended up trading it in for a Nikon P4, which has been absolutely outstanding.

I bought this camera for my teenage son. The only problem we have found so far is that the battery life is too short. Other than that, it is a good camera. The slim design is nice, and the camera is loaded with features.

this camera have a nice design,easy to handle,but don't take pictures at night ,you will be very dissapointed,no matter what you do it.I bought this camera trading from the S5 from Nikon ,a mistake.

Great pictures, fast response time. good resolution for a little ultra compact. Why pay for the sony T10, when this is so much less, and takes standard SD memory like my old camera. The memory stick change is the major reason why I wont change over to sony. nikon shines with this one.

I chose this camera specifically because of the advertised in-camera red-eye reduction fix. I have a new baby and like any proud parent, take loads of photos of him. It is a pain to have to fix the red-eye manually in Photoshop, but at the same time I don't want to lug around (or learn how to use) an SLR type camera. I thought the Coolpix S9 would be the solution to my problems. While the photos are very crisp and clear, the red-eye is worse than in my old Casio digital camera and the flash really washes out indoor photos taken at night. In fact the flash is so bright it makes my son turn away from the camera, so the pictures that didn't have red-eye were all of the back of his head! I returned this camera and am renewing my search for something that will meet my needs.

Fantastic camera! The Nikon legend lives on! Great bright screen, great pictures, video, and so much more. Amazon had the cheapest price anywhere.

I bougt this camera because I had had a Sony Coolpix 3, which took great pictures. With this camera, you can never get it adjusted right. If you use the flash the pictures are to light, if you dont they are too dark. It is a constant battle with this little cute camera. Worse camera purchase I ever made..

I purchased a Nikon for my first camera, I just loved how you can take it anywhere, fits handy in your pocket and perfect size. I couldn't wait to take pictures but soon realized that the picture quality was great but as soon as the battery hit low the camera refused to hold my photo's. For my birthday I took over 100 photo's with a fresh battery but as soon as the battery was low all of them were lost. I was so devistated. The video feature is a nice thing too but the quality is very grainy and distorts people's faces. My friend has the identical camera to mine and his camera can have a low battery and maintain all its photo's. So maybe I just got the short end of the stick...but this was my first camera so its okay for starters...but if you love to take photo's be full aware that on a LOW BATTERY that it just might not want to hold them. A major plus I do give this camera is the capasity of capturing a close up image! That I'll give 5 stars to...everything else I'd have to say 2 stars!

I have owned this camera for ~6 months and have finally deciced to replace it. I bought this camera to replace another Nikon CoolPix that was stolen from my house. But this one does not have a view finder to begin with and is way more complicated to use. I have always liked Nikon cameras but the S9 just doesn't make it. I can not use it outside because I can not see the LCD screen. Sorry Nikon but you blew it on this camera!!
So I replaced it with a Canon PowerShot A710. What a difference in ease of use and... it has a view finder. also my 1G memory card from rhe Nikon fots in the new Canon.

The people at the camera shop told my mother this would be a perfect camera for "a girl who likes to take pictures." I think they meant "for a person who doesn't care how horrible these pictures look," because this camera absolutely mutilates images. If my friends, with their Kodaks and Canons, and I take a photo of the exact same scene, their pictures will come out sharper, with more accurate colors, nearly every time.

Every single time I take a picture the "white balance" needs to be measured and changed. The daylight setting makes everything nauseatingly yellow, the flourescent and nightime settings make everything blue.

The flash is too powerful; it wipes out all the colors and makes everyone look ugly. Most point-and-shoot flashes aren't great but this is the worst I've seen.

Its advantage is how slim and cute it is. Several people have called this camera sexy. If only they knew the pain and suffering it has caused me!!!

I used to take beautiful pictures of my family and friends and now this camera ruins everything. It has made me absolutely lose my taste for photography.

I got this little guy a day before a vacation. I didn't have much time to look for cameras so I got this because I heard Nikons are pretty good.

Pros:
-SD card - My laptop has a built in SD slot so I loved this
-easy to use with one hand
-Big screen
-pretty fast picture storage (between shots)
-3X optical zoom (pretty good)
-good battery life (at least 2 days of picture taking, 80 shots, on one charge)
-good Mega pixels (after awhile mega pixels don't mean much)
-good price as a clearance item at Target (~$160)

Cons-
-The lack of manual adjustment is a real pain. you have to trick the camera into focusing on the right thing (center the object to focus on then half press the span button so it focuses then re-center on the scene you want). The auto focus is pretty decent. You have a few modes to play with but using these modes is almost as complicated as adjusting stuff yourself.
- The flash is too bright at night (washes out people's faces) and it's to dark in half light situations. This is the biggest problem. There is an option to use D-lighting once the picture is taken however this produces some bad color distortions.

Basically I would suggest not getting this guy even at $160 there are much better options

I purchased this camera several months ago, and I had long been debating between the Canon SD630 and this one. I should have stuck with my first impression and gotten the SD630, as I know Canon's quality. I am not a professional photographer, but I do know a thing or two about photography, and I definitely know enough about technology to make this review credible.

The S9 has quite a few problems that I haven't been able to come to terms with:
1) Tons of white spots. - I hate using the flash on this camera for any reason at all, as it always seems to result in white spots in my picture. Too difficult to remove in Lightroom, and it's very frustrating.
2) Poor menu layout. - It is such a hassle to switch from auto mode to a scene mode, then having to select one of the scene modes, and then a sub-scene mode (as seen in the Portrait menu). By the time you get it all straightened out, your shot is gone. Again, very frustrating.
3) Digital zoom only available in auto mode. - Can't use it in scene modes. Odd.
4) Terrible load and storage time. - Sometimes the lag between taking my shot, and being able to take another is up to 15 seconds. I have a very fast storage card, so I know that's not the problem. Once again, I usually miss the next shot while watching the red light flash while storing my pic.
5) Colors. - The colors in the photos from this camera are never, ever as vibrant or accurate as those from a Canon. My photos tend to look washed out when photographing people. Granted, there are few times that the pics do look quite impressive, the times that it looks terrible far outweigh the good.

This camera is small, lightweight, and really quite durable (as I've already dropped it several times, and it still looks brand new). It would function perfectly for someone just looking to capture moments outdoors, or with ample natural light. Even then though, it is very hard to hold this camera steady enough to not cause a blur. The S9 would be great for teenagers or moms on the go who just need a camera to snap quick shots, and can take a beating.

Overall, I'm not too thrilled with the results from this camera, and I will soon be purchasing the Canon SD630 after all. If you are looking for color accuracy and semi-professional photo quality, I suggest you look elsewhere. For a standard point and shoot, the CoolPix S9 might be great for you.

If you are looking for a point and shoot pocket size camera this is the one! It's got lots of cool features and has high quality pictures. Great zoom and various other options! Very user friendly.

Great day pictures (clear, good color).. decent action shots (not too blurry).. nice features (black and white..sepia tone.. portrait etc).. but terrible night shots (concerts.. going out... outside in evening)... Really frustrating. It's the only thing that's bad about this camera..other than that the interface is nice, battery's are strong and it takes pictures fast....

We bought this camera last year right before Christmas. It is okay outside, but terrible inside. If there is the slightest movement the pictures are blurry. We have tried all different settings with the same result and are very unhappy with the product.

CONS: I just dropped this camera ONCE and now when you push the ON button you can no longer see the image that you are about to take. This has been the only accident and there it goes, I can no longer see anything on the screen.
This camera also blurs very easily, but you can get use to it.

Very good price, I like it. At least, all the function I want I get from the camera.

I bought this camera a little over a year ago in the magenta color and I loved the way it looked and it had better reviews in the past. Unfortunately, I have discovered the bright color and design of the camera are the only positive things about this camera. The LCD screen scratches easily but the functions of the camera are the worst. The red eye reduction is inconsistent, the picture quality is low for night shots even when set to the correct setting, and the camera takes very blurry pictures--even when the focusing feature is on. I have learned over time to deal with this camera and how to take more focused pictures, but this becomes a problem whenever you have group shots and someone else is taking pictures--they always come out blurry! Therefore, I do not believe this is a user-friendly camera and there are much higher quality cameras compared to this one (such as Canon) available at similar prices. I am currently looking to buy a new camera even after spending $220+ on this camera just a year ago, and I will not be purchasing another Nikon in the future.

Good product. Only problem seems to be the lens position, you have very limited place to hold it with your left hand. Improvement could have been a port to charge the battery without removing it from the camera. Photo quality is not bad, not great either. My 4 year old fuji gives better pictures in low light.

I bought the Coolpix S9 in March of 2007--it lasted until June 2008. Just quit working and Nikon wanted $99.50 to repair. I bought a Canon Powershot and donated the Nikon to a camera shop.

I just want to start from saying that this is not $1000 or more DSLR camera so I did not expect to see high quality pictures when I first bought it. However after taking few images in full sun I was pleased with image quality taking into account small lens and price of the camera (I paid $56 for refurbished one with 90 day Nikon warranty). All pictures came out sharp with true colors. I did not see single one that was blurred. Macro worked fine too. In low light condition story is a little different. It appears that flash fires always with the same power so you need to keep approximately 5" to 6" from the subject all the time to avoid under or overexposed pictures. I got better results (in low light condition) using museum mode (BSS is on). There are lots of things I like about this camera: size, metal body, lens built inside, nice features like 4 assists modes, 15 scene modes, D-lighting, picture editing, voice recording, date imprint, color options, excellent movie modes and many, many more. Everything works as it should (I checked them all). It is easy to use without reading manual (may be to me becasue I own Coolpix 5700). I could wish only for manual mode. I read a lot of complaints about blurry pictures, noise etc. One can set ISO to low value and use tripod to get good pictures. Do not expect that tiny lens to pass enough light so camera sets low ISO and short exposure time avoiding blurry/noisy pictures. I do not think that you can show me better camera in that size and in this price. There is really nothing not to like about this camera, you just need to read manual and experiment with settings to get good results.