Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix L1 6.2MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you are reading a review is probably because you are new on the digital camera world or you want to upgrade your camera. If the previous line is true for you, this review can be helpful for you.

This is a digital camera to take pictures without worrying about the technical aspects of photography. You have plenty of scenes modes that will automatic adjust the appropriate settings for the picture, so it is an automatic digital camera, there are a few settings that you can adjust manually but those ones aren't the key ones of professional photography.

Almost every Nikon's camera I used have great quality, this one is a better and more interesting model because it is from a new generation of Nikon's digital cameras, so on the Nikon's learning curve, this one of the latest state of the art consumer digital camera (September 2005).

So I give you a few tips in order to help you on the decision of buying this product:

1. Great photo quality, read the entire manual before and after you first shoots (Don't complaint about quality if you fail to do so). Get a tripod if you can.
2. It is automatic, great for a person that only wants to get decent, great pictures and from time to time take wonderful ones without being experts on the technical world of photography; I if you find yourself falling in love with photography, take some curses and then buy a pro or an almost professional camera.
3. Great photo quality! Nikon has it! The best way to notice this fact it is looking at the "view shared images from other users" on the models and brands you want to choose from. Let your eyes make the decision.
4. Visit web sites where you can find information about megapixels, autofocus, composing pictures with autofocus, multi area focus, memory cards, and rechargeable batteries. You will find this information helpful on the future and on your buying decision.
5. L1 has a 5x zoom lenses, a close up from 1.6 inches. This optical combo is hard to find on the market. 6.2 Megapixels, excellent definition.

Cons:

1. Multi Area Focus, great new feature on L1. Bad explain it on the manual. I recommend you get the default setting to Auto Focus Center and then take a tour on the internet in order to fully understand what Multi Are Focus is and how you can take advantage of this feature.
2. Be aware on buying mini tripods, this digital camera has the tripod adapter on the left side of it, making the camera not well weighted; try mini tripods before buying one. You won't have problems with normal tripods.

I used other brands, I keep Nikon. I hope your had find this review helpful for you.

I have had this camera for almost 6 months and have never had any complaints. It is a really universal camera that will take beautiful pictures in a wide range of settings.

I saw that some people left reviews about the camera being having blurry pictures and I have not had this issue at all, even without a tripod. (They must have mistakenly reset some of the settings) The colors come out beautifully. The settings are logical and easy to use, but I still recommend reading the instructions. With this camera, and knowing how it works, you can take beautiful, professional-looking photographs.

I do recommend investing in a good pair of batteries, but this is true with all digital cameras these days. As the cameras get more powerful they need more power and I have not seen any new camera out there that you can get more than 30-40 pictures on a regular pair of alkaline batteries. And the type of memory card you use makes a BIG difference in the time between shots, again this is true of all cameras.

Overall, I will never buy another camera except Nikon. This camera helped me capture perfectly come of the most important moments of my life and I could not be more pleased.

Excellent pictures, easy, intuitive interface, and a great 5X zoom that really makes the difference compared to 3X or even 3.5X are all the things I really like about this camera. There are some negative reviews on this product but I would counter with this: accept the fact that AA Lithiums are the only way to go and spring for a solid, dependable, ultra-high speed SD card and you'll be fine and happy. The LCD screen is the view finder and I have no problems with it-- I live in Phoenix and it is very, very, bright here to say the least. I have taken over 200 pictures with the camera on one set of batteries, so far, and it's been four days since I've had the camera. I use the Energizer Lithium AA's (are there any others?). For an SD card I use the SanDisk Ultra II 1 Gig (currently like $50 on Amazon) and the card is significantly faster than the Lexar I bought at Sam's. Yes, with the flash, you still have to wait-- but the faster the memory, the less you will have to wait. Without the flash, even on the 6mp + setting, it still only takes a second or two to write to the card. I like the fact that the camera has a tiny bit of bulk to it making it more "grippy" for my hands. Using AA's for me is great because I really hope to do a lot of travelling and hiking and I know that I can pack one pair of spare AA lithium batteris that weigh nothing and be fine for a whole week of solid picture-taking. I also know what can happen on 100 foot escparments and accidents with a $1000 digital SLR, so given the current street price, the outstanding quality of the pictures, the street price, the zoom, the street price, and the fact that I use the camera for travel, this camera was a great buy for me. Also, I think the shortcomings are manageable, in my opinion. What are they? Lithium batteries are the most expensive kind so if you plan on using the camera 24X7 365 days a year, then probably you should look at a different kind of power supply! The camera doesn't offer the sheer speed of an SLR in picture capture, so if you are going to be bouncing around in a jeep on an African safari, then you might want to go with an SLR or Nikon's P3 or P4 with "vibration reduction." But for me, I bought this camera for five things: 5X digital zoom, great pictures, SD card memory-type, double AA battery power, and ease of use.

-May 29th update dumped camera inside makeshift vinyl case into a fast moving creek. went running downstream after something else, then noticed my Nikon bobbing through my ankles. Picked it up, took the batteries out immediately, took the memory out, let everything dry for 48 hours, put the batteries back in..... the camera still works fine. Kids do not try this at home.

I am a good photographer and have participated in quite a few exhibitions/publications too. Thus, I know a bit about photography. I purchased this camera for my wife - who had the following criteria (A)
Construction - solid and sturdy. Combination of plastic and metal.

Lens - VERY, VERY sharp.

Caveats - VERY, VERY BAD battery life + NO manual controls whatsoever.

FLASH QUALITY - Good. (As expected from a P&S)

After a year, I've decided I hate this camera. It takes terrible pictures when there is low light. I have fiddled with all the settings and read detailed guides on how to get the best out of the settings and I have had no luck.

I got this camera for Decembaer last year as a gift for myself, and i'm very please with what i got.

the camera is very user friendly, actualy i first bought a Sony DSC-S90 but when i met at a firends home for diner at night with my wife and we took some pics, me with my Sony and my friend with his Nikon 4600, the results spoke for themselve, his photos where more bright and accurate in the same conditions than mine, and i took the same picture with both cameras, making use of the same "ignorance / knowledge" in this matter of digital photography and the results with the Nikon overuled the Sony. For this reason mainly i decided the next bussines day go back to the store and change the Sony for a Nikon and i bought the Coolpix L1. i have taken very nice pictures in all posible conditions, at the beach, sunsets, indoors, outdoors, at night, noon, etc and all great.

read the manual in order to take the best out of this camera, but if you don't read it, still will get nice pics.

the only thing i regret is the lack of a AF light, which definitly would make AF in low light easyer and faster, other than that, very nice

July 11 2006 UPDATE

After several month using my Nikon, i decided to change it because the time it takes to focus on most indoor conditions is too long most of the times. i looked imn the market and decided to go for Sony again but this time i bought the DSC-W50, and the change is amazing, better AF speed and accuracy, not to mentiont the better flash power in night conditions.

i dislike the quiality of the Nikon's pics at night, but i'm very satisfied with the results with the DSC-W50.

I cannot say the Nikon is a bad camera, but for sure there are better options for the price range.

i took my time to research and went for the Sony over Samsung and equally priced Panasonics, not to mention Cannon (i was afraid with so many comments regarding some misterius lense error a lot of people complains about)

If i could i'd lower the stars for this camera to 3 instead of the 4 i gave it a whyle ago.

this camera is great. Granted, I've only had it for a week, but I still love it. sometimes it takes awhile to focus but it does fine in the end. I love all the image modes. They are very handy. the camera is smaller than it looks, but a bit on the chunky side. It looks very good. the picture quality is amazing. The zoom is awesome, one of the main reasons I bought it. Another reason to buy is the screen. it is giant and extremely bright. YOu can always change the brightness if you want it brighter. THe controls are easy and straightforward so I barely had to read the manual. On thing you should know is that it doesn't have a big or comfortable grip. Still I would definetly recomend it.

My first digital camera was a Nikon coolpix 3700. I *loved* that camera. It was fast, light, compact, very durable, and took excellent qaulity photos. It's fatal flaw was it's custom battery is charged by a charger that is no longer in production. Damage the charger, and the camera is pretty much useless.

This camera has none of these qualities. Being brand loyal, all the while remembering my lession from my experience above, I searched for a Nikon camera with more standard batteries, and finally settled on the L1. What a mistake. The camera is heavier, bulky, poorly constructed, s-l-o-w, and the pictures it takes leave everything to be desired.

Some specific complaints:

- Delamination: almost immediately, the protective coating (?) began flaking off, making it look ugly.
- Eats batteries: My original PUNY 128MB SD memory card cosistantly outlasts regular AA batteries. And this thing is a 6 megapixel camera! Do the math...
- Slow reponse time: There is a unacceptably long delay between pressing the button and when the camera actually takes the picture... at least a second, longer with the flash. Makes taking an action shot or pictures of kids impossible.
- Slow recovery time: There is a infurating long delay between when the camera takes a picture and when the camera is ready to take another picture. I've tried high-quality batteries, and fast memory cards, to no avail.
- Inability to Focus: I've all but given up on trying to take a photo that is in focus. This camera takes forever to focus, and 9 times out of 10 fails to focus correctly. I mean, this isn't rocket science...
- Battery/Memory Card Access Door: First, how stupid to put them in the same place. If you want to change the memory stick, you end up removing power from the camera. Bad design. Also, the access door is held in place by a miniscule piece of plastic that (at least in my case) breaks quickly.

Look elsewhere... Nikon is a good brand, but they failed with this one. Bigtime.

This is a great camera! So great I decided to write a review!

First of all, I have to say this is for Beginner or Intermediate photographers who want an easy to use camera. If you're wanting a lot of flexibility such as setting fstops, shutter speed, adding lenses, etc... This camera is not for you. This is a easy to use no thinking fun camera.

Not only is it easy to use, but it has a lot of easy options when you set it in the different modes. At first it seems intimidating as there are a lot of options, but if you play with it for awhile, you'll soon learn to mostly use a few of the many options available. I think the picture quality is great. This camera also has a macro mode that lets you take good close up pictures that are clear. This camera also has a 5X zoom which is much better when compared to the average 3X zoom offered on other cameras.

I've read some reviews that say this is a blurry camera, and I must say, there is some slowness in the focus, and it does not take great pictures if you turn off the flash. But if you're willing to take mostly flash or outdoor pictures, most pictures should come out great!

Unfortunately the required flash really wears down the batteries. I reccomend picking up some rechargables, and also picking up the Nikon EH-62B AC Adapter so you can plug your camera in when reviewing pictures or transfering them to your computer. This will save you tons on your batteries.

I also love the video mode on this camera. It looks great for a still photography digital camera. I use to think this was a lame feature offered in order for camera makers could offer it as a feature, but when I use to see this on older cameras, it was mostly useless because the audio was bad, and the video was choppy and looked terrible, but on this camera, it looks not all that bad. It actually looks pretty decent. I'm definitely going to use it lots more than I ever thought I'd ever use it. It's just so great to have a mini video camera in such a small package. Althought if you must use this camera as a video recorder, I reccomend picking up an SD card that can write at least 20 M/Sec. I would use the Sandisk Extreme 3 card or the ATP 150X card. Depending on how much video you want to shoot, get a large card. I have a 2 gig card, and it will record about 53 minutes of video at 320X240 mode. This camera also has a 640X480 mode, but the quality is terrible in that mode and it's very choppy and films at only 15 frames/second while the other modes shoot at 30 frames/second. I read a review trashing the video on this camera, but that reviewer seemed to want a video camera. His complaints are valid, but this camera isn't meant to be a video camera, so I don't get why he's complaining. This is just a bonus feature that works well IMO.

In conclusion, I think this camera is a great deal for the casual photographer. The video is really fun for capturing little moments. I wouldn't reccomend this camera for artistic or advanced photographers who want to really fine tune the controls or for people who want to shoot in low light conditions without a flash.

I bought this camera about two weeks ago, and the first place I used it was in Seattle, WA. I read the instructions on the flight over to Seattle, and when I got there and took some pics I was amazed. We had a perfect view of the Space Needle from our room in the hotel, so needless to say I took a few pictures of it. The pictures turned out great, several pics I took throughout the city almost look professional.

If you are considering buying this camera and are on a tight budget (like i was), definitely get it. But, be prepared to read the instructions, buy some rechargeable batteries, and I would recommend buying a small tripod.

I cannot say it enough, if you read the instructions and don't freak out when you get unsatisfactory results, then you will be VERY happy with this camera