Here are a few images that accurately reflect the abilities
of any given camera model. The images are altered only in
terms of size and sharpness after reduction and by the JPEG
compression used. Unless otherwise mentioned, assume that
any marbling or artifacts visible in the images are due to
the compression required to display them here. We feel however,
that they still faithfully represent the results we experienced.
STILL LIFE PHOTO
This subject is photographed in a room that has
a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not
brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light.
The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.
To capture this image, the Coolpix L1 is left to its default
settings. At this distance the flash produces homogeneous
lighting that lights the subject evenly, without any light
falloff in the corners of the frame. However, with this wide
field of view, the auto white balance yields colours that
reflect the influence of the ambient light, and the image
has a slight yellow cast.
Photo
Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f2.9
Exposure:
Auto
Shutter Speed:
1/32 sec.
Resolution:
2816 x 2112
Flash:
On
Quality:
6M*
ISO:
50
File
Size:
2.26 MB
Focal Length:
38 mm (35mm Eq.)
Although the sensitivity is controlled
by the camera, the L1 is designed to give preference to a low
ISO settings so as to minimize noise. And, at 50 ISO as is the
case here, noise is undetectable. Sharpness, on the other hand,
is a touch soft when the zoom is at its widest angle and the
image is captured at the widest aperture.
ZOOM PHOTO
Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent
is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum
setting. The camera remains at the same distance as with the
preceding photo.
At the full telephoto setting, the maximum aperture available
to the L1 is f5 and the camera must increase the sensitivity
to capture an acceptably bright image. The sensitivity increase
is very gradual and in this case the L1 pushes sensitivity
to 59 ISO, a level that is still noise-free.
Worth noting, with a much more restricted field of view,
the Auto white balance yields an image that has no colour
cast.
Photo
Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f5
Exposure:
Auto
Shutter Speed:
1/115 sec.
Resolution:
2816 x 2112
Flash:
On
Quality:
6M*
ISO:
59
File Size:
2.32 MB
Focal Length:
190 mm (35mm Eq.)
We can also note that while the
image sharpness is quite good, some loss of of the finer details
appears to be attributable to the compression.
Aperture: f2.9, shutter speed: 1/17 sec.,
50 ISO.
MACRO PHOTO
When the Coolpix L1 is set to the Macro mode, the best
focal length is indicated by the Macro icon changing to a
green colour. This occurs near the wide angle end, at which
point the L1 is able to focus on a subject that is 4 cm (1.6
in.) from the front element of the lens.
At this distance, the L1 captures a field of view measuring
3.5 cm (1.4 in.) horizontally. The depth of field however
is very shallow — 3 to 5 mm (0.12 to 0.2 in.) —
as the camera tends to use the largest aperture.
BUILDING PHOTO
This image is our outdoor test. The architecture
of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately
show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also
often reveal the quality of the exposure.
The excellent 256-segment Matrix metering pattern of the
Coolpix L1 yields consistently good exposures. This exposure
is typical, and shows an excellent balance between areas that
are directly lit by the sun, and those that are in shadow.
At the wide end of the zoom, sharpness tends to be a touch
softer than with other focal lengths.
Photo
Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f2.9
Exposure:
Auto
Shutter Speed:
1/720 sec.
Resolution:
2816 x 2112
Flash:
Off
Quality:
6M*
ISO:
50
File
Size:
2.46 MB
Focal Length:
38 mm (35mm Eq.)
With this subject, lit by a low
winter sun, deep shadows appear under the beams that form the
building's canopy, and a faint purple fringe — a chromatic
aberration engendered by the strong contrast — can be
detected. However, no barrel distortion is visible.
ZOOM PHOTO
Zooming in on the entrance of the building, the shadowed entrance takes on a greater importance for the metering and can cause an overexposure of sections that are directly lit.
As soon as the zoom moves past the widest angle, the image
the L1 produces is perfectly sharp. This is the case with
this photo, captured at the maximum telephoto setting.
Once again the metering proves to be very accurate, and the
photo reveals details in both the shadow areas — including
showing details inside the building — and in the foreground
which is more brightly lit.
Photo
Information
Format:
JPEG
Aperture:
f5
Exposure:
Auto
Shutter Speed:
1/60 sec.
Resolution:
2816 x 2112
Flash:
Off
Quality:
6M*
ISO:
50
File Size:
2.67 MB
Focal Length:
190 mm (35mm Eq.)
Worth noting, the Coolpix L1 zoom
is much less bright at the telephoto end (f5) than at the wide
end (f2.9), but instead of increasing sensitivity to maintain
a high shutter speed, the camera captures the image at 1/60
second and at 50 ISO. The resulting image shows little noise,
no chromatic aberration, and no distortion.
NIGHT PHOTO
Since this camera offers a long exposure, a
photo taken at night is included here.
Aperture: f4; shutter speed: 2 sec, 200 ISO.
The Coolpix L1 is completely automatic, controlling aperture,
shutter speed, and sensitivity. So any night time photography
relies on using one of 2 Scene modes that offer the longest
exposure time: Night Landscape with a maximum 2-second exposure,
or Fireworks with a maximum of 4 seconds. In either case,
when photographing this subject, the camera boosts sensitivity
to its maximum of 200 ISO.
With the Fireworks mode, the camera closes down the aperture
to f6.8 when capturing a 4-second exposure, producing a darker
image than can be had with the Night Landscape mode and its
2-second exposure at f4.
Whatever the Scene mode, the Coolpix L1 does
not offer any control over white balance, and here, not being
able to select an Incandescent setting results in an
exposure with a noticeably yellow colour cast caused by the
artificial light.
Although the L1 is equipped with a dark-frame noise reduction
system, the image it produces remains visibly noisy which
gives it a grainy appearance.
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Test Photos
