Nikon Coolpix L2

Reviewed April 2006

Image Quality

Very easy to use, the Coolpix L2 is a good first point and shoot digital, and a good introduction to digital photography. Once the batteries are inserted, the camera is instantly ready to shoot as it has 23MB of internal memory.

Furthermore, the external controls are easy to figure out, and even the menu options are simple to master, offering only the possibility of adjusting the white balance, or of compensating the exposure should the subject the camera is capturing turn out a bit too bright or too dark.

The Coolpix L2 is designed to operate automatically, but it appears that Nikon has given it strict parameters that ensure the image quality is not compromised by noise. Although the sensitivity of the CCD is regulated by the camera, its range extends from only from 50 to 200 ISO, avoiding sensitivities that would lead to noisy images. Moreover, the camera tends to stick steadfastly to the lower part of its range — usually at 50 or below 100 ISO — to avoid noise, even if the shutter speed drops to a level where camera shake can become a problem.

The downside to this otherwise laudable design is that the camera often displays a camera-shake warning, or indicates post-capture that the image is blurred, offering a choice of keeping the image, or deleting it. And moreover, as the blur warning system is only partially effective, blurred images can still be captured without the user being aware of it, in part due to the low resolution (86,000 pixels) of the 2-inch LCD monitor which has a limited capability to show detail unless the image is magnified.

In addition, the L2 has a zoom lens that is not especially fast at the telephoto end. While at the wide angle end the maximum aperture is a reasonably bright f3.2, at the telephoto end the maximum aperture available to the camera is only f5.3, which demands more light.

The upshot is that when shooting with the zoom at full magnification, and in combination with the L2's tendency to use low ISO settings, an image blurred by camera shake is possible unless the subject is brightly lit, or the camera is very stable.

On the positive side, however, the lens yields images that are sharp from edge to edge, and which show no sign of either distortion anywhere throughout the focal length range, or reveal any chromatic aberration.

The other areas where the Coolpix L2 stands out are with the quality of metering, the absence of noise in the images, and a compression that, while being comparatively strong, still retains details.

As with a number of other Nikon models, the L2's very precise metering system makes it possible to capture excellent exposures that take high and low light areas into account. Moreover, with the camera maintaining the CCD sensitivity as close to the minimum as possible, images are generally completely noise-free.

With the L2, all images are recorded using JPEG compression, and it is only when the 6-megapixel image size is used that the compression level can be selected.

The High setting, indicated in the image size selection with a star (), provides the best image quality. Interestingly, while the images are compressed at a ratio of 7 to 8:1, aside from a slight bit of marbling in areas of blue sky, photos retain a very good level of detail, a level that is comparable to what is produced at lower compression ratios. Furthermore, Images captured using the alternative compression level of Normal, turn out to be quite acceptable and effectively artefact-free even though the compression is in the 17:1 range.

Used to capture subjects indoors, the performance of the Coolpix L2 is not as good as when photographing outdoor subjects. The auto focus can have trouble attaining focus under standard illumination levels, and often requires being presented with a clearly defined contrast zone such as the hard vertical edge of a piece of furniture to focus. In addition, unless exposure compensation is used, the combination of a small and somewhat anaemic flash and the L2's preference for low ISO values tends to yield fairly dark images as soon as the subject is more than 2m (6 ft) away.

Still, in its intended role as a simple to use entry-level camera, the Coolpix L2 should satisfy the requirements of many users. This is a camera that is particularly adept when subjects are well-lit by outdoor light, or when the flash is used to add extra light. Moreover, it produces images that are noise-free and sharp, making them ideal for printing.