Customer Reviews

Nikon Coolpix L11 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

There are some things that Nikon did right with this camera, but mostly they got it wrong. Although I love my Nikon Coolpix 3100 (3 megapixels), some may want to avoid the Nikon Coolpix L11.

First, the good. It takes great pictures and fits into your pocket. OK for snapshots under normal conditions. I also have had some professional quality pics with good color saturation then the light is good. The camera remembers your settings (eg, exposure compensation) after being turned off, meaning you don't need to reset them each time you power up/down.

Now the bad:

1. As one reviewer noted, it does not have a viewfinder, only an LCD monitor. First, powering the LCD screen makes it eat batteries. Next, the LCD screen is useless in bright light because you can't see what's on the screen.

2. Once the camera alerts you that it's turning off after a certain period of non-use (eg, 60 seconds), it takes a long time to actually turn off. And in the meantime, there's nothing you can do to stop it from turning off. Not good it you want to get that great shot.

3. The cycling time between pics is very long. It takes about 1.5 - 2 seconds to recycle and get ready for the next shot.

4. The "multi-selector" (the large round dial in the back that lets you select flash, timer, exposure, and macro settings) is prone to operator error (meaning it's too small and you will select the wrong setting a lot (eg, exposure instead of timer). This means you need to scroll out of the wrong setting, back into the correct setting. Again, a time waster.

5. It can be very noisy (the pictures look grainy) in night pics.


The price isn't bad for 6 megapixles, but I suspect the low price is indicative of how much some people don't like this camera. Still, I think it's a three star.

This is a great camera. I have used and owned several cameras, including three Canons (all great), a Panasonic (not so great), and now this one. This is what I wanted in a camera, things I think all of us are looking for:
1) Price - I was looking for a camera around $[...]. This narrows the field considerably.
2) Picture quality - Obviously, this is why you buy a camera. I would never buy a camera from a company that isn't famous for them, such as Samsung. I compared the Nikon L11 to the Canon A550/560 since these two are really the best budget buys out there.
3) Size, AA batteries, SD card - all these features make for a great an inexpensive camera to use. The Canon is too bulky too comfortably put in your pant pockets.
4) Speed - this is also essential. Nothing is more annoying than a snapshot camera without the "snap".

This is a great camera that I would recommend to anyone. Go to [...] for an expert opinion.
Thanks,

I bought this camera after returning the camera called Lumix by panasonic, because the Lumix didnt have audio during video, which is very important to me. Anyways, this camera is awesome with all the features including zoom during video, audio, crisp pictures, etc. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because during video recording you can hear a low buzzing noise during playback. The picture quality is excellant but the underlying buzz noise is kinda a drag. Also, you need to read your manual and reset some settings if you want to use flash or not during auto mode. Its the BSS ON/OFF setting. I added some pics if you wanna see them. Good batter life for a digital camera. Buy rechargeables of course.

Having had another Nikon digital camera for the past few years I knew I liked the operation and durability of their products. When it came time to get multiple units for work I went with the L11 unit. It is small, light, has a large view screen and lense protector, and it runs well on regular AA batteries. My employees have had them for two months now and they are working great so far. For the price this camera is a real deal!

I bought Nikon Coolpix L11 for my daughter from Bestbuy 2 days ago. In the evening it showed " Lens Error" and would not operate. Took it back and got an exchange got in the car and the second one had the same "Lens Error" and would not operate. Next day had another exchange and now the 3rd one working ok. In spite of its 6MP the images are not comparable to a 6MP digital SLR but for the value it's pretty decent. It is a point and shoot camera and has very little controls. The one I really miss is able to control the ISO speed. I like the fact that it goes all the way to 800 ISO but you can't control it. I really like the "Face Recognition" feature that locate the face and determine the exposure accordingly. It's sleek design is appealing, the LCD is decent size but would like to have little more controls in terms of ISO speed and contrast. Overall my daughter think its cool camera and that's all it matters.

I am a big fan of Nikon cameras. I have D70 that I really love. But this camera left me with a lot more to desire.

Good:
- Takes very good pictures in good lighting
- Nice options including face priority
- D Light feature seems to be really working
- Supports SDHC card
- Very cheap (less than 100)

Bad:
- Takes not very good picture in low light or shade
- Flash is not powerful enough to go over 5 feet
- Shutter lag time sometimes can be long. Not sure why, but it could be related to battery power. That causes more shake and blurry pictures. Especially if you let someone else take the picture who is not aware of the lag.

Overall, I think coughing up a bit more money for L14 (which I believe has optical stabilizer) maybe worth it.

I've owned a sequence of the Coolpix cameras and they just get better and better. This one's great!

I have a Coolpix 5600 (??) that I took to Iraq last year -- and loaned it to a co-worker for her own deployment to Iraq. She won't be back before I go again -- therefore I bought this little gem. I couldn't believe the price for a six-megapixel camera. It takes great pictures, I really like the Coolpix size and shape, the LCD screen is bigger and brighter -- and the titanium colored body is simple and elegant.

I'm on the border of giving this 2 stars, but have opted for 3 stars since the pictures are decent for the price of the camera. Gripe #1: the boot-up speed; when turning the camera on, it takes 4 seconds before it is ready to take a picture. Gripe #2: processing speed between photos; another 3 seconds in between pictures. There is a setting which allows for taking rapid photos, but I believe you lose image quality in this mode. Grip #3: the provided computer cable (for downloading the pictures) is a micro USB connection (unlike most camera's mini USB connector (e.g. Canon digital cameras)). The only reason this bothers me is I'm short on USB ports, and I already have a mini-USB hooked up for my Logitech remote control. Now I have to take up another port for this camera. Gripe #4: power-save mode is confusing. The camera shuts itself off after a certain length of time, and getting it back on was a bit confusing. There were at least 2 occasions during the first weekend of use where it went into sleep-mode, and I tried waking it up by pushing the power button. I don't know if the camera was just slow to respond, and so I hit the power button again, but all of a sudden the camera is turning off (the lens goes back in). Whatever the case was, I was fiddling with the camera for 15 seconds before it was ready to take the picture (which I ended up missing because of the delay).

I'm returning it today, and buying the Canon PowerShot A550. The price is equivalent, and Canon has not let me down (especially with the boot-up and in-between processing times).

I purchased the L11 just prior to a family vacation so I could get some nice snapshots. I was very disappointed. The vast majority of the pics we have taken have been blurry, under or overexposed, grainy or have had some other problem. The two biggest problems with this camera is the delay when you press the shutter button (to take a pic) and the poor focus control. Although this camera was relatively inexpensive, it didn't perform even at the minimum standards I would expect. I would NOT recommend getting this camera. After all, what's the point of getting a "bargain" if it doesn't do what it's designed to do?!

I have a Nikon D200 which I love, with the exception of when I have to lug my camera bag on a trip with limited opportunities to use it, or when I want to shoot a fleeting photo-op. This has excellent resolution (better than my DX2 did for $2600 four years ago) and color rendition, a sharp lens, and requires no set-up. Quality, ease of use, without frills. Nice LCD, too.