Nikon Coolpix S50c

Key corrections from research: the WiFi was more capable than the draft implied — it could transfer to a computer directly AND to Nikon's cloud service. However What Digital Camera notes it required dedicated software installed on the computer, limiting it to known computers rather than any hotspot. Also confirmed: available only in Gloss Silver (the S50c was silver-only per the DPReview announcement). Dimensions for S50 are 93 × 59 × 21mm at 125g — the S50c with WiFi antenna bulge is slightly larger/heavier. The draft's "just over 18mm thick" appears inaccurate — the S50 is 21mm and the S50c with WiFi bulge would be thicker. Dropping the specific thickness claim. Also the draft says Face-Priority AF detects "up to eight faces" — not confirmed anywhere, dropping that figure.

Nikon Coolpix S50c

Nikon's Coolpix S50c arrived in 2007 as the company's most connected compact — a wave-surface metal body with built-in IEEE 802.11b/g WiFi that could send photos straight from the camera to a computer or upload them to Nikon's Coolpix Connect cloud service for email sharing and remote storage. The "c" stood for connectivity, and the implementation was genuinely thoughtful for the era: automatic network detection, an in-camera address book, and a cloud service that let you back up an entire shoot wirelessly before leaving the location. The same camera without the antenna sold for £40 less. The wave-surface industrial design — launched with Kate Moss ads, to be clear about the target audience — made the whole thing feel like a luxury object.

NO FILTER: SHOT ON COOLPIX S50c

coming soon

THE LOOKS

The S50c is available in Gloss Silver only, and it wears the finish well. Smooth curves flow across the all-metal body, with a chrome antenna bulge on one side that's the only tell for the WiFi hardware inside. The 3-inch LCD dominates the back, leaving a minimal cluster of controls that are small but precisely placed. The grip sits on the thin side rather than the bulge, which gives the camera a slight tendency to feel like it's leaning away from your hand — a minor ergonomic trade-off for a genuinely striking silhouette.

THE SPECS

7.2-megapixel 1/2.5-inch CCD sensor, ISO 100–1600. Zoom-Nikkor ED 3× optical zoom, 38–114mm equivalent, VR optical image stabilization. 3-inch TFT LCD (230k dots), 170-degree viewing angle. Face-Priority AF, D-Lighting, automatic red-eye fix, Best Shot Selector. 15 scene modes. QuickTime video with sound at 30fps. IEEE 802.11b/g WiFi — Coolpix Connect 2 service for cloud storage, email transfer, and direct-to-computer wireless transfer via dedicated software. SD/SDHC storage plus 13MB internal memory.

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS

• All-metal wave-surface body with chrome WiFi bulge: The smooth curves and metallic finish made this one of the more genuinely premium-looking compacts of 2007 — the antenna housing reads as a design feature rather than an afterthought.
• 3-inch LCD with 170-degree viewing angle: Unusually wide even by later standards — the screen stayed readable from almost any angle, making it practical for sharing images in a group without passing the camera around.
• Dual-mode WiFi: cloud and direct transfer: Coolpix Connect 2 handled both remote cloud uploads and direct wireless transfers to a computer, making it more versatile than most proprietary WiFi implementations of the era.

THE VERDICT

The S50c is a fascinating artifact from the moment when camera manufacturers genuinely believed proprietary wireless services would define the future of photo sharing. The hardware is well-executed — all-metal body, optical VR, proper wide-view LCD — and the WiFi actually worked, which was more than could be said for most contemporaries. The AF was sluggish and the image quality modest, but as a design object and a time capsule of early connected photography, it holds up. The wave-surface silhouette in Gloss Silver still looks excellent today.