| The Good |
|---|
| Price, Size, Simplicity, Ease of Use, Completely Automatic Point and Shoot Camera, 10.0 Megapixel, 3” LCD, ISO Speeds up to 1600. |
| The Bad |
| 10.0 Megapixel, No Control Over Settings, Weight/Size, No Manual ISO Control. |
| Yay or Nay |
| For the money, this camera isn’t bad. However, saving for a few more months and getting a better camera with more options and fewer problems may be the best decision. Nevertheless, for a budget minded point and shoot photographer who is just looking for something play with, this is your camera. |
Overview
From the first time you pick up the Nikon Coolpix L20, you’ll notice that there this camera has a definite sense of go anywhere and do anything at any time. Some people enjoy this side of things, and allow the 3.6x built-in zoom and little trigger to do their jobs by setting everything up and having it all ready to go. However, if you’re more of the type of person who enjoys setting up all of the details and controlling every aspect of the camera, this is most definitely not what you want to buy.
Another consideration is that there have been customers who have recently had problems with the focusing and the zoom lens not moving after a certain point. On top of that, the motion detection system doesn’t adequately stabilize pictures to get rid of blur.
Snapshots
With the advertised ISO speed of 1600 and the Expeed image processor, getting quality results out of the L20 can be easy. There are a great deal of detection systems that aid in capturing the perfect moment, and reduce the delay in finding out that someone blinked. The facial recognition system can “recognize” up to twelve faces at a time, makes sure that at least a quarter of them are smiling, take the picture and then tell you if someone blinked. However, there is no continuous shot, which makes catching that perfect moment extremely difficult.
Video
Video can be shot in 640×480 or 320×240. This camera takes good videos, especially considering all of its other limitations. Because of memory and battery restraints, these videos are generally the length of something that you would want to upload to a social networking website.
Photo Quality and Extras
With the L20, the ISO speeds and processor are there to take great photographs of your friends, family or of a landscape that strikes your fancy. However, due to the automatic nature of the camera, there is little you can do in order to increase the quality of a photograph if you need to. Outside of the most basic of onboard editing tools, the L20 doesn’t have much in the way of post photograph features either.
The pre-photograph tools are almost completely chosen by the camera, with the exception of how to, when and where to take the picture. Adjustments for light, movement, red-eye, and other simple to work with options have all been relegated to the discretion of the camera.
Downside
The most obvious downside is the lack of focus, and the inability to keep the zoom lens functioning properly. Nikon has said that this is not a problem with the consumer, and is actually a problem with Nikon’s quality control and customer service. In any event, other issues are abound in this tiny, inexpensive camera.
Second to the two obvious issues above, there are many issues with the image adjustments and the lack of controls and features. This is not a camera that is worth anything to a budding photographer, and should be considered a “just-for-fun” camera only.
Conclusion
After reading through some bad customer reviews and trying to decide if it’s worth buying a camera that sells new for $80-$120, it must be said that it isn’t a bad choice. While there are many people who will complain about their camera, there are also plenty that will praise their camera. Because of this, if you’re looking for something to have fun with during your weekends away, go ahead and buy one. The worst that could happen is that the camera frustrates you, you break it and you’re out about $100.
