Nikon Ratings and Reviews

Customer Reviews for Nikon Inc. COOLPIX S9500

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Nikon Inc. COOLPIX S9500

With a super-telephoto 22x zoom, an 18.1-megapixel low-light CMOS image sensor, built-in Wi-Fi® and GPS all in a slim, stylish design—this compact camera was born to travel. Capture the sights and sounds of your trips, then track and share them easier and faster than ever.
Average Customer Rating:
3.5 out of 5
3.5
 out of 
5
(6 Reviews) 6
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating Snapshot 6 reviews
5 stars
2
4 stars
1
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2
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4 out of 6(67%)customers recommend this product.
Customer Reviews for COOLPIX S9500
Review 1 for COOLPIX S9500
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Great camera would highly recommend.

PostedMay 9, 2013
Sledguy733
Location Alberta, Canada
Age 35-44
Favorite Subject Sports
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
(click to see the video)
User submitted video
This is a great camera. Compact and shoots pictures and video very clear. Would recommend it to every one. Just check out my video for your self.
+1point
Review 2 for COOLPIX S9500
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

SO happy I bought a second 9500!

PostedApril 29, 2013
Lash
Location Austin, Tx
Age 45-54
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience Less than a month
Role Professional photographer
My wife saw how awesome the photos I took of the band Rush in concert with the 550 zoom. The images are simply amazing from such a small camera at such a long way from the stage. The video look excellent as well. WiFi problems....eeehh so what, wireless is a small matter compared to the quality of the images. Would rather have good wireless on my D800E.
+3points
Review 3 for COOLPIX S9500
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

Very difficult to see subject in bright sunlight

PostedMay 13, 2013
SAB
Location HB, CA
Age Over 65
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience Less than a month
Role Semi-professional photographer
So far I really like the camera, however this is my most difficult Coolpix to see your subject in the viewfinder - monitor while in sunshine. My S8200 was my favorite, but the long zoom makes the S9500 better even though it is more difficult to shot pictures outside.
Simply put make the S9500 monitor easier to see in the sun or my like of this camera will fade very rapidly. This was a rather expensive camera to have this big of a flaw!
+1point
Review 4 for COOLPIX S9500
Overall rating 
3 / 5
3 / 5

Could be great for traveling

PostedMarch 24, 2013
Marcther
Age Over 65
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 11-20 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Professional photographer
I bought this little camera as an addition item to my Nikon's gadget bag because of is wi-fi capability with my Android tablets. I also teach to retirees on travel photography.
The software need's fine tuning fast, as it is not very reliable compared with others I have tried. (Canon, Samsung) The camera itself feels good in your hands and is small enough. Please buy a hardshell case and do not use forced air to clean it as you may get dust inside and on your CCD.
I teach using (4) P7000 and now I want to upgrade to smaller Wi-Fi cameras and tablets for my traveling students. Please Nikon developers, upgrade the software fast if you want to stay in the Wi-Fi small quality camera rating. The zoom is perfect, the body very good but lack dust protection, the battery is the worst part. I use it for bird watching with control from my tablets but battery life is very (very) short in Wi-Fi mode.
I will need 4 more soon and I'm waiting to see what software upgrade is coming, otherwise I will buy some other brand.
+45points
Review 5 for COOLPIX S9500
Overall rating 
2 / 5
2 / 5

Firmware update could make this camera great!

PostedMay 18, 2013
Vinoh
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 11-20 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Occasional user, memory keeper
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.
0points
Review 6 for COOLPIX S9500
Overall rating 
2 / 5
2 / 5

Problem?

PostedMarch 30, 2013
EK
Location Livingston, NJ
Age 35-44
Favorite Subject Family & Friends
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Occasional user, memory keeper
The camera is great in almost every way. It takes beautiful pictures from very far away in low light, etc... The problem is that the WiFi stops working after a little while. I bought one and had to return it two weeks later because the WiFi stopped working. I exchanged it for another one. Now 3 weeks later the same exact problem happened again. I am hoping the store exchanges it again as it is more than 30 days since the original purchase.
+26points