Nikon Coolpix L12 7.1 Megapixel Compact Camera

Nikon Coolpix L12

Strengths: Pocket size, vibration reduction, easy to use

Weakness: Slow, flash takes a lot of time, battery operated

I bought this camera as a compact back up for my D50. Also I thought that it would be quite convenient to use the same memory card in my both cameras. The thing I really like about this camera is the vibration reduction. The pictures come out very descent. Overall it's a good camera for the price. It will satisfy someone who is on the go and wants to just take occasional shots. Professional...
Read Full Review

I bought this camera as a compact back up for my D50. Also I thought that it would be quite convenient to use the same memory card in my both cameras.
The thing I really like about this camera is the vibration reduction. The pictures come out very descent.
Overall it's a good camera for the price. It will satisfy someone who is on the go and wants to just take occasional shots. Professional photographer might need to look for something more advanced.

By cattom - Aug 1, 2007

good camera but slow

Strengths: compact, easy to use, AA batteries, good pictures, vibration reduction

Weakness: slow, slow, slow

I bought this camera for picture my 4 month baby. Size is right as compact. outshape is nice. Pictures are very good. Vibration reduction is good to catch my baby. However, the time between pictures are a little bit long, especially after flash the elongation is notable. Batteries life time is not long, especially when using flash, but it is easy to find AA batteries. Anyhow, it is the right...
Read Full Review

I bought this camera for picture my 4 month baby. Size is right as compact. outshape is nice. Pictures are very good. Vibration reduction is good to catch my baby. However, the time between pictures are a little bit long, especially after flash the elongation is notable. Batteries life time is not long, especially when using flash, but it is easy to find AA batteries. Anyhow, it is the right camera I want.

By riverlike - Jun 15, 2007

Nikon L12

Strengths: open source connectors and batteries, easy operation, compact, great pictures, good quality movie mode

Weakness: hard on batteries, no optical view-finder

If given the option, i would have given it 4.5 stars. I have been very impressed with this camera so far after two weeks. The L12 does a great job of selecting an appropriate setting when in automatic mode, and though the manual controls (such as they are) in "scene mode" are limited, you won't find many other camera's in its form-factor and price range that offer more manual settings. If a more...
Read Full Review

If given the option, i would have given it 4.5 stars.

I have been very impressed with this camera so far after two weeks. The L12 does a great job of selecting an appropriate setting when in automatic mode, and though the manual controls (such as they are) in "scene mode" are limited, you won't find many other camera's in its form-factor and price range that offer more manual settings. If a more extensive range of manual control settings are desired, it would be better to step up to a DSLR, or one of the mid-line camera's meant to be a bridge between compact point and shooters and DSLR's, like the canon A630, which will be larger, heavier, take more batteries, and be more expensive. So, for a compact point and shoot camera like the L12, I think it has a great mix of features, in a low-weight small form factor, and at a great price point. Image stabilization works well, and the zoom is neither pokey nor hyper-sensitive, and the indicator clearly tells you whether you are still in optical zoom or using digital zoom.

It can connect using a standard mini USB port, and comes with a dock adaptor for those home photo printers that connect directly to the camera. It also takes two standard AA batteries, which seem to account for the bulk of the weight. Honestly, it is very lightweight, and in the Nikon 5611 belt/shoulder pouch (which it fits perfectly) you can easily forget it is there.

It is a bit large for a shirt pocket or jeans pocket (look for an ultra-compact if that is what you want), but for a coat pocket or slacks it fits nicely, and as previously mentioned it is very lightweight.

The only real downside is that it seems a bit hard on batteries. It seems to drink them fairly quickly, especially if using the flash a lot. Once the camera decides the batteries are done, the camera refuses to work, though it seems to have plenty of juice to keep the LCD brightly lit and the speakers beeping to tell you that your batteries are shot. After pulling the batteries out and testing them with a multimeter, they still had some juice left, still measuring about 1.35-1.38 volts, which in my experience is a battery that still has some life left, albeit still on its way out. The flash does seem pretty powerful, and it probably takes a good charge to get it going though, so maybe that is why the harsh line. One note on that point, when the flash fires, the camera takes a little while to recover, blanking out the LCD screen for a few seconds. This can be disconcerting at first, but you get used to it. Back to batteries though, considering the ubiquity, cost, and size of AA's, it's easy to carry a spare set in the case, or pick some up while you are out and about taking pictures. Grab a good set of 4 high capacity rechargeables (2 for the camera, 2 more for the spares), and you won't have to worry about running out of juice much or spending lots of dough on batteries, so it's not that big an issue it seems like.

Some reviews I have read have talked about the camera being a tad slow between shots, but if you pop for a good high speed SD card, like the Sandisk Extreme III, I have found it quite responsive. Remember, the camera can't write to the card faster than the card can handle. I don't have empirical figures, just anecdotal comparison from using other camera's and trying slower cards in the camera. So, if you get a good fast card to pop in, I find it's speed quite good.

By khanmech - Jun 13, 2007

For Budget Buyers!!

Strengths: Quality pictures and easy to get spare batteries. Compact and light weight. VR works pretty good. Can Zoom when recording video mode.

Weakness: 8 seconds wait for flash shots and 2 seconds for non flash. No flash on continuous shooting but works well.

Best value for its price. You will need 2GB SD memory with 40x (4mb/secs) or better to have no lag on non flash pictures. Crucial SD works nicely even on multi shots. If price wasn't right this would be only a three star rating.

By azinfellow - Jul 17, 2007

CoolPix L12 Silver Digital Camera

Strengths: Slim size with a nice 2.5" monitor. It also has 7.1MP of digital resolution.

Weakness: It does not come with memory card

I would strongly recommend this product; very good value for the price and all the features that comes with it; easy to carry camera, excellent for use at night and nice size of monitor to see pictures in more details.

By enriquelay - Sep 18, 2007