Nikon COOLPIX L3
By: Sandy Berger Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-04-12 20:22:00-04:00
With its COOLPIX L series of digital cameras, Nikon has made some serious and very welcomed headway in the ease-of-use category. Except for their megapixel count and price, the Nikon COOLPIX L2, L3, and L4 cameras have only minor differences between them. I took a look at the 5.1 megapixel L3 model. At approximately 3.6 x 2.4 x 1.0 inches, this COOLPIX is streamlined enough to fit into a shirt pocket, yet the slightly curved grip makes it comfortable to hold and offers some shooting stability.
The buttons and menu systems are easy to understand and navigate. To delete a photo you press the button that is clearly marked with a trashcan. To view the photos in the camera you press the button with the arrow that looks just like the traditional play button on a music player. A 4-way scroll-type wheel is used for navigating menus and selecting flash, macro, and self-timer modes. And Nikon provides one more valuable tool. When in any menu, you can press the button with the question mark to get an on-screen explanation of what that choice does. Not only is this a wonderful feature, but text on the bright two-inch color LCD screen is large enough to read quite easily. Nikon also incorporated a new color scheme that makes it easier to see and identify icons.
The camera has 15 different Scene modes that are easy to access by sliding the mode-selector lever to the clearly-marked Scene mode and pressing the Menu button. Not only do you see the icons for each mode, but there is an on-screen explanation of each mode. Scene modes include Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Dusk/Dawn, and Night Landscape. The one I found the most useful is called Back Light and it performed just as you would expect from the name.
The L3 has no viewfinder, but given the viewing capability of the screen, this will not be a drawback for most users. What it does have is a ton of great features. When in the playback mode, the zoom lens control buttons serve as the magnify buttons. You can go from small thumbprints of the photos to magnify any area of any photo. It has a 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor lens, built-in flash, date imprint, self-timer, and it can take video clips. The macro mode lets you get as close as 1.6 inches. You can even add voice recordings to your photos.
This camera uses the popular SD memory cards and easy-to-obtain AA batteries. It is PictBridge compatible, so if you have a PictBridge printer you can transfer your photos directly to the printer without using a computer. There is even an audio/video out cable to hook the camera directly up to a television. And, most importantly, the picture quality is excellent.
The COOLPIX L series includes exclusive technology that can improve images during and after the capture. The In-Camera Red-Eye Fix function finds and corrects red-eye as you take the photo. The Face-priority AF function automatically detects and focuses on people's faces for better portraits. The D-Lighting function lets you add backlight to a photo while it's still in the camera.
There are a lot of features included in this small camera, and a lot to like.
Specifications
Product: Nikon COOLPIX L3
Manufacturer: Nikon
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