Swelling Nikon’s ‘Style’ series, the slender metallic chassis of the S9 follows on from the Wifi equipped S7c, though it boasts a million less pixels under the bonnet (a still respectable 6.1 megapixels). With width and height a fraction larger than a credit card, and an internal 3x optical zoom, the S9 glides into palm or pocket.

No mere boy racer, this lightweight compact features Nikon’s Face Priority AF whereby your subject remains sharp even if not central in the frame. It adds in-camera red eye fix, the ability to enhance detail in shadow and create frame-by-frame ‘stop motion’ clips.

Without an optical viewfinder for composition, the rear of the Nikon Coolpix S9 is dominated by a slightly grainy 2.5in screen.

Controls are kept to a minimum, with the on/off, one-touch portrait and shutter buttons squeezed along with the zoom lever into a narrow strip atop the camera.

The back of the S9 boasts a dual-function button for swapping neatly between image capture and playback, a mode button which features pre-optimised settings for 15 shooting scenarios, plus a familiar four-way dial with central ‘OK’ button. This is for selecting self-timer, flash options, close-ups, and tabbing though menu screen and captured images. Just below sits the self-explanatory menu button and another for despatching duff snaps.

The S9 fires up and focuses a shot in just over two seconds, while the zoom lever is commendably sensitive and swift to respond. As the camera’s shiny surface makes it awkward to grip, a recess at the back provides purchase for the thumb.

With the lens on the far right (if viewed from the front) stray finger tips do sometimes mess up a shot, and, as we’ve found with previous Nikon Coolpix’s, it takes a Herculean effort to avoid blurred images in less than perfect light when avoiding flash. Colours are cool, though lent needed warmth by a vivid option.

However, there's not much here to excite – nor out of the ordinary now many manufacturers have hopped on the face-recognition technology bandwagon – yet its lack of frills is disguised by attractive bodywork and entry-level price.

Budget extra for a decent capacity SD card to supplement the 24MB internal memory, though.

Vista capable: Yes

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