August 29, 2007 9:01 PM PDT

Nikon's latest Wi-Fi slimcam

by Phil Ryan

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Nikon's new Coolpix S51c is the company's second ultracompact to include Wi-Fi connectivity.

Nikon's new Coolpix S51c is the company's newest ultracompact to include Wi-Fi connectivity.

(Credit: Nikon )

Nikon has been dabbling in Wi-Fi-equipped cameras for a few years now. Most recently, the company included Wi-Fi in its ultracompact 7-megapixel Coolpix S50c. The new Coolpix S51c continues this trend and includes an 8MP CCD sensor, a 3-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD, sensitivity of up to ISO 1,600, and optical image stabilization. This new model also includes Nikon's D-Lighting to compensate for imperfect exposures after the fact, as well as Face Priority AF to help make sure that the camera focuses on your friends' faces, instead of a tree or some national monument in the background. It also includes Nikon's usual compliment of in-camera editing features so you can fix problems, such as red-eye, after you snap a picture.

Much like last year's model, the S51c lets you e-mail images straight from the camera as long as you can connect to a compatible Wi-Fi hot spot. To help with this, the camera comes with six months of free access to T-Mobile hot spots, such as those found in Starbucks. Since the S51c won't include any way to accept the terms of service of many public Wi-Fi hot spots, you'll have to have access to a private wireless router if you're not near a T-Mobile hot spot--though the camera will let you enter a security code if the router you're using is secure. Nikon is also starting its own photo-sharing Web site called myPicturetown and will include 2GB of free storage space with the Coolpix S51c. Starting March 2008, you'll also be able to buy additional space on myPicturetown for a monthly rate of $2.99 for 20GB of space.

If Wi-Fi connectivity doesn't float your boat, Nikon is also introducing the S51, which has all the same specs as the S51c but doesn't include the Wi-Fi connectivity or the Wi-Fi associated freebies. Nikon expects the S51 and S51c to hit stores this September for about $280 and $330, respectively.