Nikon Coolpix L1

Reviewed February 2006

Characteristics

The Coolpix L1 is equipped with a 1/2.5 inch, 6.37 million pixel CCD of which 6.2 million pixels are effective to capture a maximum image size of 2816 x 2112 pixels.

The CCD sensitivity is under the control of the camera, whatever the capture mode. Sensitivity starts at 50 ISO, and the camera increases it as necessary up to 200 ISO, indicating the increase, and therefore the potential increase in noise in the image, by displaying ISO on the monitor.

A 5X Nikkor zoom, composed of 9 elements in 7 groups, which includes ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass, is used with the L1. It has a focal length range of 6.3 to 31.4 mm, the equivalent of a 38 to 190 mm on a 35 mm camera. Its apertures, controlled by the camera, start at f2.9 when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and f5.0 at the maximum telephoto position.

Shutter speeds — also entirely controlled by the L1 — normally cover from 1/2000 to 1 second, with the exception of the Night Landscape mode, which has a maximum exposure time of 2 seconds, and of the Fireworks mode, which can extend to 4 seconds.

A digital zoom is also available, activated when the zoom control is at the maximum telephoto setting and is held there for more than 2 seconds. The digital zoom crops the central portion of the full size image and interpolates it to the image size currently selected on the camera, causing a loss in image sharpness and detail.

Four image sizes are available with the Coolpix L1:

• 6M: 2816 x 2112 pixels;
• 3M: 2048 x 1536 pixels;
• PC: 1024 x 768 pixels; and
• TV: 640 x 480 pixels;

Only at the largest image size, 6M, is there a choice of compression:

• High, which has a compression ratio of approximately 6:1, and which yields the highest image quality.
• or Normal, which has a compression ratio of approximately 13:1.

The Coolpix L1 is a simple-to-use camera, and this fact is not only visible in its external controls, but also in the options in its menus. Only the Auto and Movie modes offer an options menu, but all provide an access to the Setup menu (the Setup menu is covered in the Interface and Software section of the review). The Auto mode's menu contains the following options:

• Setup: access to the Setup menu.
• Image Mode: to select the image size and quality, as explained above.
• White Balance: Auto, White Balance Preset (allows setting the white balance using a neutral or white surface under ambient light), Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Flash.

• Metering serves to select the metering pattern:
  • Matrix, the default, compares 256 measures made throughout the frame to an internal data bank of typical compositions, and then sets the optimal aperture and shutter speed.
  • Centre-weighted evaluates the centre of the frame and the periphery, but gives more importance to the reading obtained in the middle than to the rest of the frame when calculating the overall exposure parameters.

• Continuous controls the capture rate:
  • Single: captures one frame at a time.
  • Continuous: captures photos at 0.7 frames per second while the shutter release is pressed.
  • Multi-shot 16: captures 16 images at a rate of 3 frames per second and saves them as a mosaic in one 2816 x 2112 pixel image.
• Best Shot Selector: when active, this option allows the Coolpix L1 to capture up to 10 images while the shutter release is held down, and the image with the best overall sharpness is then saved. The mode does not allow the use of the flash.
• Colour Options serves to select the way colours are recorded by the camera:
  • Standard Colour records natural colours.
  • Vivid Colour accentuates colour saturation.
  • Black and White.
  • Sepia.
  • Cyanotype records images in blue-tinted monochrome.
• AF Area Mode serves to choose the way the auto focus operates:
  • Auto: allows the camera to select the focus point using 5 focus areas clustered near the middle of the frame.
  • Centre: uses only the centre AF point.
• Autofocus Mode:
  • C-AF (Continuous): the camera constantly adjusts the focus as the subject moves.
  • S-AF (Single): the camera only focuses when the shutter release is pressed halfway.

• Setup: is the access to the Setup menu.
• Movie Options allows selecting the type of movie to capture (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more information about the types of movies that can be recorded):
  • TV Movie 640.
  • Small Size 320.
  • Small Size 160.
• Autofocus Mode: S-AF (Single AF) or C-AF (Continuous AF).

• Setup: as with all other menus, is the access to the Setup menu.

• Print Set: allows selecting images for printing using Digital Print Order Format (DPOF), either while the camera is directly connected to a PictBridge compliant printer, or devices that support DPOF. The number of copies to make of each photo, and decide whether or not the shooting date, and or the aperture and shutter speed will be superimposed on the image.
• Slide Show: starts an automatic slide show of the images in memory using a 3-second interval.

• Delete serves to delete selected images or all images.
• Protect allows selecting images and making their file "read-only" so they cannot be accidentally deleted.
• Transfer Marking serves to select images for automatic transfer from the Coolpix L1 to a computer on which the Nikon software is running.
• Small Pic allows making a smaller size copy of an image already captured at any one of three image sizes: 640 x 480, 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 pixels.
• Copy: allows copying images stored in the internal memory to a memory card or vice-versa.

In addition, while the camera is in Playback mode and an image is magnified on the monitor, pressing the shutter release will record the portion of the image currently showing on the monitor as a new image at a smaller size than the original.

The Coolpix L1 has a 10 MB internal memory, and therefore a memory card is not included in the camera kit as it is sold in North America. The camera, however, is compatible with SD (Secure Digital) memory cards. The memory card slot is located underneath the camera, next to the batteries.

The chart below provides an idea of image capacity using the internal memory and an optional 256 MB SD memory card:

The Coolpix L1 is powered by two AA-size rechargeable Ni-MH (EN-MH1) batteries. A battery charger (MH-71) is included with the camera, and recharges the batteries in approximately 2 hours. The Coolpix L1 can also be powered using an optional AC-DC Adapter (EH-62B) that fits into the battery compartment, while a small flexible door allows its wire to exit.

The only external connection for the Coolpix L1 is on its left side and it supports both USB or A/V Out depending on the cable used. The USB connection is compatible 2.0 Hi-Speed, and its protocol can be set to be either PTP or Mass Storage; while the A/V Out (Audio/Video) signal can be configured to NTSC or PAL.