Nikon Coolpix S3100

The Coolpix S3100 arrived in February 2011 as an entry-level ultracompact built around one brief — slim, colorful, and easy enough that you never open a menu. Smart Portrait detected up to twelve faces, fired when someone smiled, flagged blinks, and softened skin automatically. Seven colors at launch, of which the turquoise blue is the most striking: a cool, saturated shade that looked more like an accessory than a camera from across the room.

THE LOOKS

The turquoise blue S3100 is a proper color — not a pale hint of blue but a saturated, cool-toned shade that reads clearly across a room. The aluminum body is 94 × 58 × 18.4mm and 118g, with the lens retracting fully flush when off. There’s no grip bump, no texture, just a clean slab that fits in any pocket. Also available in silver, black, red, purple, pink, and citrus yellow — but blue is the one that gets noticed.

THE SPECS

14-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD, ISO 80–3200. 5× Zoom-Nikkor 26–130mm equivalent, f/3.2–6.5, electronic VR image stabilization (4-way). EXPEED C2 processor. 2.7-inch LCD (230k dots). 720p HD video at 30fps, one-touch recording. Smart Portrait System: Smile Timer, Face-Priority AF (up to 12 faces), Blink Warning, Skin Softening. Best Shot Selector, 19 scene modes, filter effects including Miniature, Fisheye, and Selective Color. SD/SDHC/SDXC storage. 220 shots per charge.

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS

• 18.4mm aluminum body with a 5× zoom starting at 26mm: thinner than most 3× competitors from the same year, with a wider starting focal length — the S3100’s core practical achievement.
• Seven colors treated as a real product decision: silver and black for people who wanted a camera, turquoise, yellow, red, purple, and pink for people who wanted an accessory.
• Smart Portrait System firing on a detected smile: the shutter triggers automatically when the camera reads a genuine smile — useful at birthday parties, useless to argue with.

THE VERDICT

The S3100 is the entry-level compact done right — 18.4mm body, 5× zoom, seven colors, and enough automation to get out of your way completely. The CCD produces warm output at base ISO, EXPEED C2 keeps things honest, and the flash lights a group shot indoors without drama. Electronic VR has limits and noise climbs above ISO 400 — but for parties, daylight, and everything casual, it delivers. Turquoise blue is the color worth picking.