Overview
The Nikon Coolpix L2 is a six megapixel digital camera with a three times optical zoom lens. In terms of features this camera is fairly straightforward. Therefore you are likely to find the Coolpix L2 easy to use and in many ways it is a typical point and shoot model. One thing in its favour is it appears to have a better build quality then many cameras with a similar specification and price tag.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
6
3x
2 inches
91 x 60.5 x 26mm
120g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
10cm
No
No
AA
SD/MMC
Image Quality
Overall I would have to describe the photos I took with the Coolpix L2 as disappointing. There were a number of plus points, but eventually these were outweighed by the problems I found with the camera. This was especially true indoors.
When the Coolpix L2 is on form it is capable of producing very good photos. The best example of this was my first outdoor shot of boats on the river. Looking at the building in the background the brickwork is in sharp focus and the tiles on the roof are also handled better than a number of other cameras have managed. What I like most about this picture is the colour and lighting. The combination of those two factors helps to bring the photo to life.
The outdoor portrait shot is another situation the camera handles well. There is a warm feel to the photo. The lighting is again handled well and this helps to ensure there is plenty of detail to be seen in the face. The cloudy white balance setting was used for this picture as there were overcast conditions in place at the time.
Not surprisingly the test for colours also works well. The colours are strong, but in all the photos the colours retain a natural feel to them. No colour is dominant and they are well balanced in general.
Aside from those photos the Coolpix L2 tends to hit problems. In both the indoor shots the camera struggles to focus. This happens in both the indoor portrait and the shot of beer bottles taken in very low light. The one saving grace of these two shots is that there is virtually no red eye detectable in the portrait shot. Even so my indoor, lowlight tests prove to be disappointing.
There are some issues in the outdoor shots as well. Although focusing is sharp a good way from the centre of the photos as you get towards the edges there is a clear drop in quality. When zoom is not being used and the lens is at its widest angle images tend to be darker then I would like to see as you move away from the centre of the shot.
One area where I really struggled was with the macro shot. I tried to get a sharp image from a variety of different distances, but was defeated on each occasion. The camera should be able to focus from 10cm away from the subject. I ended up further away than this and was still out of luck.
My final test is normally for photos taken with high ISO settings. There is no feature allowing you to change the ISO setting on the Coolpix L2. Therefore I was unable to carry out this test.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I was able to take a single shot in 0.57 seconds and five shots in 9.79 seconds. The time taken to capture a single shot is slow. The time taken to capture five shots is average.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The three times optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 to 116mm in 35mm format. There is also a 4x digital zoom feature.
For composing photos there is a 2" LCD screen. This is made up of around 86,000 pixels. There is no viewfinder.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3m. This falls to around 1.75m when the zoom lens is in use. The flash modes available are Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction (In-Camera Red-Eye Fix), Flash Cancel, Anytime Flash and Slow sync.
There are a number of predefined scene modes. By selecting a scene mode you indicate to the camera the type of shot you are about to take. It will then use what it believes to be the optimum settings for the photo. The scene modes are Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close Up, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, Back Light and Panorama Assist.
A built in feature worth mentioning is the Face Priority Auto Focus. This automatically detects when faces are included in a photo and will adjust focusing accordingly.
If you would like to reel of a number of consecutive shots then there is a continuous shooting mode. This lets you capture images at a maximum speed of 1.7 frames per second. There is also a feature that builds 16 mini photos into a single image.
A best shot selector is also available. This allows you to take a number of photos and the camera selects what it considers to be the best one in terms of exposure to save.
There are not very many features you can get your hands on to influence the way a picture will look. The ones you can use are exposure compensation (+/-2 in 1/3 increments), white balance (auto, custom, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy and flash) and colour options (Vivid, black and white, sepia and cyanotype).
If you would like to appear in the picture yourself there is a self timer. This can be set to a ten second delay.
After a picture has been taken you have a number of options. These include adding up to twenty second of voice commentary to it. You can make a small copy of the photo. This could help if you would like to email a copy of the photo or publish it to the web. Images can also be cropped.
Another useful feature is that you can increase the brightness of an image if it looks too dark. This can help to save under exposed images.
TV quality movies can be recorded. The maximum resolution is 640 x 480 pixels. Movies can be recorded at a top speed of thirty frames per second. You can use optical zoom to zoom in and out before recording starts. Once you have started filming digital zoom becomes available. Sound can be captured with each movie.
Nikon supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the Coolpix L2 to a television set, computer and PictBridge compatible printer.
Ease of Use
With a set of features that focuses on the essentials the Coolpix L2 gets off to a good start when it comes to easy of use. The menu system is very simple and I also found it easy to read. Help text is available to explain any features you are not sure about. Menu options can be displayed as either text or icons.
Cost
You can pick up a Nikon Coolpix L2 for around £145. This compares to around £120 for a Sony DSC S600, £125 for an Olympus FE-140 and £130 for a Kodak EasyShare C663.
As you can see when it comes to six megapixel, point and shoot digital cameras you do have a fair amount of choice and the Coolpix L2 is not the cheapest one around. In terms of build and style it is one of the better models, but I would like to have seen greater image quality if the camera was going to be able to justify the premium in its price.
Style
The Coolpix L2 is a very neat and tidy camera. As I have stated above it also appears to have a better build quality then other similar digital cameras. Colour wise it is a grey colour rather than the more standard silver. This helps it to stand out against its competitors.
With dimensions of 91 x 60.5 x 26mm it almost qualifies as a pocket sized camera. It weighs 120g.
Batteries and Memory Cards
Power is supplied by two AA batteries. Nikon estimates you should be able to take around 180 shots with the alkaline batteries provided before they need to be changed.
Nikon have built 23mb of storage into the Coolpix L2. I was able to take 26 images before the memory was full. Although this is enough to get you started you will probably need to include a high capacity memory card in your budget. The camera is compatible with SD cards.
Click here to save money on SD cards..
Points I like:
Ease of use
Build quality
No red eye in test shot
Where it is not so hot:
Indoor shots
Shutter lag
Summary
Owing to problems with picture quality in some instances and also shutter lag I find it hard for me to recommend the Nikon Coolpix L2. It is a shame because the camera appears to be well made, but at the end of the day it is the quality of the pictures a camera can take that is the most important factor.
Nikon Coolpix L2 Front View
Nikon Coolpix L2 Back View
Nikon Coolpix L2 Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Nikon Coolpix L2 Review Nikon Coolpix L2 Specification Nikon Coolpix L2 Sample Images
Review Date
July 2006
