Nikon Coolpix L2

Reviewed April 2006

Ergonomics

The Nikon Coolpix L2 is another in Nikon's line-up of simple compact cameras. This one is equipped with a 6 megapixel CCD, a 3X optical zoom and a 2-inch LCD monitor, positioning it as an entry-level model.

The 2-stage shutter release, a textured round metallic button, is placed on the right side of the top, and nearby is the Power Switch with a small LED that glows green when the camera is active.

The Zoom Control is embedded directly below the shutter release, in the top right corner of the L2's back, placing it exactly where the right thumb rests when the camera is in use.

The Zoom control also allows parts of an image to be magnified up to 10X () when the camera is in playback, or display an index screen () with either 4 or 9 thumbnails per screen.

In addition, the zoom control, when pressed towards also activates the Help function when a menu is on screen.

The Help function can display a short text explanation for any of the options of the menus when the option is highlighted with the cursor, or any of the L2's multiple Scene modes (see further).

More controls are grouped on the right side of the Coolpix L2's 86,000 pixel 2-inch monitor, starting with the MENU button, which displays the menu for the current camera mode.

The Multi Selector is next. The Multi Selector is a 4-direction control which has a round OK button at its centre. Primarily, the Multi Selector serves to move around on the menu screens, and move from one image to another in playback, while the OK button serves to confirm some selections.

The OK button, as do 3 of the 4 directions of the Multi Selector, also serves additional functions:

	Pressing the Multi Selector downwards when the camera is set to a shooting mode displays the Macro mode option. Set to the Macro mode, the L2 is able to focus on a subject that is 10 cm (3.9 in) from the front element of the lens when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and the icon indicating the Macro mode changes to green as the zoom is used.
	Pressing the Multi Selector to the left when the camera is set to a shooting mode displays the Self-timer option which inserts a 10 second delay before the camera captures the image after the shutter release has been pressed.
	Pressing the Multi Selector towards the top when the camera is set to a shooting mode displays the Flash's modes: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off, Forced On (Fill-in) and Slow Synch. A small reddish LED below the right side of the monitor indicates when the flash is charging.

Three more controls are positioned below the Multi Selector: two buttons, one to start the Playback mode () and one to Delete unwanted photos () are directly below, and the Mode Selector.

The Mode Selector has three positions, and the first, starting on the left, is the basic shooting mode:

Auto Mode is an automatic "point and shoot" mode designed to work for most photo subjects. The camera establishes both aperture and shutter speed, but allows the user to adjust a few parameters such as the white balance and the exposure using exposure compensation.

The middle position of the Mode Selector is for the Scene modes.

The Coolpix L2 offers 12 Scene modes and 4 Assist modes. The Assist modes are much like Scene modes, but are enhanced with further assistance by way of outlines, or guide lines, overlaid on the monitor to help place subjects into a better composition. Each of these 4 modes offers different types of assistance, and each also provides an access to the image quality setting: Portrait: is one of the 4 Assist modes. The assistance provides outlines which can be used to improve the composition by placing the subject inside the outline. In addition, Face-Priority AF automatically focuses on the face. Other alternatives include: Portrait Left, Portrait Right, Portrait Close-up, Portrait Couple, Portrait Figure.

Sports is the third Assist mode, and it can capture a series of images at 1.7 fps when set to the largest image size and highest image quality, adjusting focus for each frame. Two Assists are available besides the basic Sports mode: Sport Spectator, which has the same frame rate but which limits the focus zone from 6 m (19.7 ft) to infinity to improve the shutter response; and Sport Composite, which captures a burst of 16 images in approximately 2 seconds and saves them into a single 1600 x 1200 pixel image. Night Portrait: is intended to capture portraits against a backdrop of night time scenery. The flash mode is automatically set to Red-eye Reduction, and noise reduction is applied to the image post-capture. The framing assistance available is similar to what is offered with the Portrait mode. The other 12 Scene modes are more standard, and in fact the last mode is not really a Scene mode, but a sound recording mode. As always, the Scene modes preset the camera to obtain the best image possible of a specific subject type: Party Indoor: is intended to capture photos using artificial light. The flash is automatically set to Red-eye Reduction auto, but can be set to any other mode. Beach/Snow: allows the camera to automatically compensate the exposure to offset the brightness of water or snow and capture a bright image. The flash mode is automatically set to Auto, but can be changed. Sunset: the flash is forced off, and colours associated with sunset are accentuated. Dusk Dawn: this mode captures the warm colours of dusk or dawn and cancels the flash. Noise reduction (for exposures up to 2 seconds) is automatically applied and focus is set to infinity. Night Landscape: offers a slow shutter speed of 2 seconds to capture night scenery. The focus is set to infinity, the flash is forced off, and noise reduction is applied to the image. Close up: allows the camera to focus on a subject 4 cm (1.6 in) distant when the flower icon on the monitor turns green. Museum: forces the flash to off and turns off the focus assist lamp while activating the Best Shot Selector (BSS). Fireworks Show: uses a slow shutter speed, up to 4 seconds, while forcing off the flash and the AF assist lamp and locking the focus at infinity. Copy: captures images in black and white with a strong contrast to improve detail in the image. Although the flash mode is set to Forced off by default, it can be modified. Back Light: intended for use when the subject is against the light, the flash is Forced On to add light. Panorama Assist: serves to capture a series of images that will be stitched together later on a computer using software included with the L2. Photographic parameters are set at the first image, and maintained for the entire series, and once the first photo is captured, the camera displays it on the monitor so the next shot can be aligned to it. Voice Recording: turns the Coolpix L2 into a digital voice recorder with a maximum recording time of 5 hours depending on the memory card in use.

The third position of the Mode Selector is to capture movies:

The Movie Mode allows capturing movies with mono sound in any one of three frame sizes and at either 15 or 30 frames per second (fps) for two of these: TV Movie 640 : captures a 640 x 480 pixel frame size at 30 fps. TV Movie 640: captures a 640 x 480 pixel frame size at 15 fps. Small Size 320 : captures a 320 x 240 pixel frame size at 30 fps. Small Size 320: captures a 320 x 240 pixel frame size at 15 fps. Smaller Size 160: captures a 160 x 120 pixel frame size at 15 fps. The length of the movie is determined by the capacity and free space in the memory. Auto focus can be set to Single AF mode which has the advantage of not capturing the sound of the AF motor, or to Full-time AF, which adjusts the focus continuously. The zoom position is locked at the first frame but the exposure is adjusted as the recording progresses.

The Coolpix L2 is above all else a comparatively inexpensive point and shoot camera, optimized for simple operation. It is not especially fast, and there is occasionally a noticeable shutter lag as the camera looks for a focus point. And, while its controls are generally well-positioned, and easy to manipulate accurately, the coarse resolution of the monitor however makes it hard to see any detail if the subject is a bit distant.