The Nikon Coolpix L20 is an incredibly simple digital camera. It is aimed at anyone looking for a simple point and shoot camera who wants a relatively cheap camera. It has 10 megapixels, a 3.6x optical zoom lens and a large 3inch LCD screen.

Digital cameras do not come any more straightforward than the Coolpix L20. It is also one of the cheaper models from a recognised brand. It takes a decent photo and is good value for money.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
A small amount of detail is lost where the sun catches the lighter areas of the shot and there is too much brightness for the pixels to cope with. Overall the Coolpix L20 manages to produce a sharp shot that compares well with cameras in this price bracket. The colours and lighting the camera packs into the shot help to give it a vivid look.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
As I have seen from other cheaper Nikon digital cameras there is a tendency for darkness to show in the corners of this photo. This is likely to be an issue with this type of shot when the zoom lens is not being used. Sharpness is good at the centre of photo, but it does slide as you move out towards the edges.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
The result with the zoom fully extended is much better. The shot is sharper all round and most of it is retained towards the edges.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Overall I am happy with the sharpness of the photos. The only weak spot out of my scenic shots is the distant scene where the zoom is not being used. I find with Nikon digital cameras it is a good idea to use the Landscape scene mode when shooting outdoor scenes. This helps to produce much sharper photos.

Outdoor Portrait
This is about as much as you can ask for from this type of camera. The shot is in sharp focus, the colours are warm and you should be able to take plenty of pleasing portrait shots.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
I like this portrait shot too. The lighting is evenly distributed. Colours are natural and the level of flash light is kept low enough to ensure there is minimum light bouncing back off the face.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
There is noise showing up in this picture. It is still an acceptable effort, but you are likely to have to revert to flash whenever the light is less than perfect.

Colours
The colours are one of the big plus points for the Coolpix L20. They help to add life to the photographs. I also like the way Nikon seems to be able to add a bit of extra brightness to their photos.

Macro
The level of detail the Coolpix L20 manages to bring out is very impressive. For a cheaper camera this is a good macro shot. If you do take close up shots of shiny objects you may notice a small amount of purple fringing in places.

Overall
The Coolpix L20 performs very well for a cheaper compact digital camera. Many of the photos I produced with it are above average.

I found the Coolpix L20 could be slow to respond if you were taking more than one photo at a time. Times were 0.34 seconds for one photo without flash and 0.55 seconds for one photo with flash. For five photos it took 13.85 seconds without flash and 26.86 seconds with flash on.

To turn the camera on and take the first photo took 3.9 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The Coolpix L19 has the larger size and plastic body that you would normally associate with this type of camera. When I say larger size this is when compared to pocket cameras. There is a raised, grip area on the front.

96.5 x 61 x 29 mm

135g

Two AA batteries. Nikon estimates you should be able to take up to 240 shots in between charges.

20mb of storage has been built into the camera by Nikon. This is enough for roughly 6 shots. The camera is also compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Excellent. I cannot think of any digital cameras that are easier to use than this one.

Ease of use - colours - picture quality

Darkness can creep into corners when the lens is zoomed out

For a similar price you can pick up the Canon Powershot A480. This is another cheaper digital camera offering excellent value.

If you are looking for a cheaper digital camera that takes a good picture and is extremely easy to use then you cannot go far wrong with the Nikon Coolpix L20.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	10 megapixels and a 3.6x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	10
Features:	6
Colour:	9
Macro:	8
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	8
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	81
Verdict:	This camera is likely to appeal to anyone looking for a cheaper digital camera that is very easy to operate. It can take a good picture and looking at its price tag it is good value for money.
Review Date:	April 2009
Related Pages:	Nikon Coolpix L20 Specification Nikon Coolpix L20 Sample Images Nikon Coolpix L20 Features
Comparisons:	Canon Powershot A480 vs Nikon Coolpix L20

	GBP 69.99
	GBP 76
	GBP 88.99
	GBP 129
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Canon Powershot A2100 IS	83
Canon Powershot A1100 IS	83
Fuji Finepix J250	82
Fuji Finepix Z35	82
Panasonic DMC LS85	82
Canon Powershot A480	82
Nikon Coolpix L20	81
Nikon Coolpix L19	81

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Nikon Coolpix L20