Nikon Coolpix L1

Reviewed February 2006

Image Quality

Clearly aimed at the point-and-shoot market, the Coolpix L1 does not offer any advanced shooting modes. Instead, 15 Scene programs are available, covering a range of common subjects and scenes which offer additional flexibility beyond what is offered by the Auto mode.

All other parameters are totally under the control of the camera, and in particular sensitivity, which can oscillate between a low of 50 ISO and a high of 200 ISO.

Still, the camera has a tendency to keep sensitivity as low as possible most of the time, and only increases sensitivity when absolutely necessary, and does so in tiny increments. At 50 ISO, noise is relatively well-controlled, only becoming detectable in dark image areas when the light for the shot is poor, while under good bright light, noise is absent.

At 100 ISO and beyond, noise becomes more noticeable, but remains mostly visible in areas of uniform colour and shadows.

The primary metering pattern of the Coolpix L1 is Nikon's Matrix system that evaluates 256 segments in the frame, and compares the readings to a database of common subjects so as to establish the best photographic parameters. The metering is very precise, and regularly yields excellent exposures even under difficult lighting conditions.

Worth noting, however, the metering tends to give preference to low-light areas of the frame so as to preserve details in the shadow areas. So, when the scene presents strong contrasts, a frequent occurrence when shooting in winter, highlights can loose some detail.

Generally, the auto white balance produces neutral, natural-looking colours that are not overly saturated. But, if more vibrant colours are preferred, saturation can be enhanced using the Vivid Colour option in the capture menu, which also produces excellent results.

On the optics side, the Coolpix L1's 5X zoom, more powerful than what is usually seen on a compact camera of this type, provides a reach that can be very useful.

At the widest angle images tend to be a touch soft-focus, particularly when the camera has used the widest aperture. And, since the camera tends to maximize the aperture to prevent camera shake, the widest aperture is generally what is used.

The rest of the focal length range of the zoom is tack sharp, and be it at the wide angle end or at the telephoto end, distortion is invisible.

The Coolpix L1 follows others in the current trend to limit the JPEG compression choices offered to the user, linking image size to a compression level. And only the largest image size, 2816 x 2112 pixels, is given the option of a lesser compression level in the range of 6:1.

The images obtained using the 6M* quality are generally very good, and show no trace of any compression artefact while retaining a high level of detail.

But, with flash photography, while the small built-in flash of the L1 is effective to provide fill-in light, it t does not have enough power to reach past 2 m (6.5 ft). To remedy this, the camera boosts sensitivity quickly when the subject is too far for the flash to be effective at the lowest sensitivity, or when the ambient light is too low, which in turn causes images to look quite grainy.

Overall the Nikon Coolpix L1 is a camera that should draw attention. While it is simple, and not particularly fast to start, it is well-conceived for its role as a high resolution point-and-shoot. It is a camera that offers good technical characteristics at an affordable price: a 6-megapixel resolution, a fast and reliable auto focus, a similarly reliable metering system, a large 2.5-inch monitor, and most importantly, a very good image quality when used at the highest resolution and least compression.