Nikon Coolpix S2900: Behind the purple beauty

Overview
Released in 2015, the Nikon Coolpix S2900 purple edition is a stunning and unique digital camera with a floral design printed on the back. The camera is comfortable to hold thanks to its smooth edges. Its compact size makes it easy to carry around.

Specs
20.1 megapixels
5x zoom

Hardware
Battery: EN-EL19 lithium ion. The battery life is pretty good - this camera lasts days on a single charge even with frequent use.
Memory card: Standard SD card
Charger: this camera can be charged directly without removing the battery using an 8 pin usb cable. The battery can also be charged externally with an adapter.

Photos
Without flash
The photo quality without flash is not the best in my opinion. It's usually fine outdoors if it's sunny, but otherwise does not produce a very detailed or vibrant photo.

With flash
The photo quality with flash improves drastically and produces beautiful photos with bright colors and nice depth. While this is great for indoor or nighttime photography, relying on the flash isn't ideal for daytime outdoor photography. Also, the flash can only be set to AUTO or OFF. This camera lacks the setting to keep flash on regardless of lighting conditions.

Zoom strength

The zoom capability on the Nikon Coolpix S2900 is reasonably strong both during photography and on the finished photo

This photo of a magpie was first taken while zoomed in on it, around 15 meters away from it. The second photo was further zoomed in after the photo was taken. While very blurry, the camera was still able to capture the blue feathers on the magpie despite the distance.

Here is another example. The photo below was taken with no zoom, but the photo resolution was high enough to make the bumblebee appear clearly when zooming in on the photo afterwards, despite being nearly indistinguishable in the original photo. I was particularly impressed with this photo because the bee was walking around and my hands were not very stable, yet a clear photo was still captured.

More photos taken with the Nikon Coolpix S2900

I do plan on testing this camera is more varied environments as I pretty much only photographed greenery this time.

My personal thoughts

This camera is almost a decade old and despite being used by several family members before me, it has remained in excellent condition without a single visible scratch. I am a huge fan of the style and hardware design of this digicam. But my main issue with it is how long it takes to capture a photo. When I press the capture button, it takes several seconds before processing that I've clicked the button. Sometimes it recognizes that I've clicked, and then it doesn't even take a photo. It also doesn't let me take several photos right after one another as it takes a while to regain its ability to capture photos every time. Overall, this makes it unreliable for photographing moving objects.

PROS		CONS
Compact and ergonomic		Slow photo capture speed
Beautiful exterior		Limited flash options (only AUTO and OFF)
Excellent battery life		Blurry low light photos
Allows date and clock timestamp		Not the best at capturing moving objects

The Nikon Coolpix S2900 works best in slow-paced environments where quick captures aren't needed. Still, it's a beautiful and compact camera that's comfortable to carry around. Its very long battery life makes it reliable in the sense that you can take it on long trips without having to constantly charge it. To me, that's very convenient as I don't enjoy having to carry dozens of cables everywhere I go.

Thank you for reading!

iPod Touch (2nd Gen)

Overview 

The iPod Touch (2nd gen) was released in 2008. The iPod series was discontinued in 2022. 

Software and Apps 

The iPod Touch ran the same software as the iPhones at the time. However, prior to iOS 4, iPod users were required to purchase any software update that came out, unlike iPhone users who received all updates for free. It was only after the release of iOS 4 that software updates became free to both iPhone and iPod users. The version I am reviewing in this blogpost is iOS 4.2.1.

 

iOS 4 on the iPod came with a variety of stock wallpapers - the same ones that came with any iPhone running the same iOS version.

The notes app has the well-known pre-iOS7 3D look and feel to it. Though opinions vary, this look was certainly iconic at the time and was frequently replicated by many (unofficial) app-makers on other operating systems. This iPod running iOS 4.2.1 did not have an emoji keyboard.

The ability to surf the web on the iPod 2 is limited, but there. Google searches can be made, even loading the images most times. However, bigger sites like YouTube or Internet Archive do not load.

Apple Maps still works on this iPod in 2024, though I have not tested its accuracy and reliability.

Charger

The iPod 2 uses a 30-pin connector charging cable. To unplug the phone, the connector must be pushed from both sides to unclasp the locking mechanism that prevents the iPod from getting pulled off unintentionally.

Bush radio alarm clock 917/3196

Are you tired of hearing your phone's alarm clock every morning? Does the WEEEEE WOOOOOO WEEEE WOOOOOO of your smart phone alarm make you contemplate death? Does hearing your alarm tune as someone else's ringtone make you shiver and shake in fear? Then, dear reader, a radio alarm clock might be your solution. 

The BUSH 917/3196 radio alarm clock is a small device that can fit next to your bed no matter the available space. Its wire antenna means it doesn't need to be exposed on a top shelf or near a window, as you can hang the antenna in whatever position reaches the best signal without having to openly display the clock. 

The clock has a plug that needs to be connected to a mains socket to work. Despite having space for two AAA batteries, the clock won't turn on without its mains cable.

Screen 

The clock features an always-on LCD screen set at a comfortable brightness: clear during the day, but not too bright during the night. The red light will likely not bother you even if you prefer to sleep in total darkness (like myself). On-screen indicators show whether the time is AM or PM, as well as whether your alarm will ring as a tune or radio, or if you don't have an alarm set at all. 

Alarm

The clock allows you to set two alarms within a span of 24 hours. Alarms will activate daily unless manually disabled. The radio alarm will play the channel and volume you last had playing. There is no way to set a specific station as the alarm outside of playing it as the last channel before going to sleep. 

Radio

You can toggle between radio stations, or long-press the toggle button to let the clock automatically search for available signals, saving you testing each station.

 

Overall, this is a simple, compact radio alarm clock that does the job. I'm not sure when this model was released, but I got it for £1 off someone at a carboot sale, so I got good value for money.