Nikon Coolpix L5

Reviewed February 2007

Characteristics

The Coolpix L5 is equipped with a 1/2.5-inch CCD composed of 7.41 million pixels of which 7.2 million are effective when capturing images. Five image sizes are available:

• 7M: 3072 x 2304 pixels
• 5M: 2592 x 1944 pixels
• 3M: 2048 x 1536 pixels
• PC: 1024 x 768 pixels
• TV: 640 x 480 pixels.

All images are recorded in JPEG format, but only at the highest resolution is a choice of compression offered: High, which applies a compression of approximately 8:1, or Normal, the only compression level offered with other image sizes, that has a compression ratio of around 15:1.

CCD sensitivity is entirely under the control of the camera, irrespective of the capture mode in use, and ranges from 80 to 400 ISO, and the Coolpix L5 adjusts sensitivity according to the capture mode, available light, focal length in use, and whether or not the flash is used.

The stabilized 5X Zoom Nikkor lens is composed of 9 elements in 7 groups, and offers a focal length range of 6.3 to 31.4 mm, the equivalent of a 38 to 190 mm. At the wide angle end, apertures start at f2.9, while at the telephoto end they start at f5.0.

As with all recent Nikon compact cameras, the Coolpix L5 is equipped with a digital zoom, in this case a 4X. The digital zoom is constantly active — there is no means of turning it off in the menu — and takes over from the optical zoom once it reaches its maximum magnification. The digital zoom crops the centre section of the full size image and interpolates it to the currently selected image size, causing a progressive degradation of the image quality.

The Coolpix L5 has a shutter speed range that covers from 1/2000 to 4 seconds maximum, but some restrictions apply depending on the mode in use. As with the aperture or the sensitivity, the shutter speed is controlled by the camera.

Beyond the settings that can be made using the external buttons, some additional settings can be made using the menu when the camera is set to the Auto mode ():

• Setup: is the access to the Setup menus which serves to perform the basic configuration of the Coolpix L5 (the options of the Setup menu are detailed in the Interface and Software section of the review).
• Image Mode: serves to select the image size and quality, as explained above.
• White Balance: Auto, White Balance Preset (serves to set the white balance using a neutral coloured object under ambient light), Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Flash.

• Metering serves to select the metering pattern:
  • Matrix: evaluates a number of areas in the frame to determine the ideal exposure parameters.
  • Centre-Weighted: evaluates the entire frame, but gives greater importance to the reading obtained in the middle of the frame, an area indicated on the monitor.

• Continuous selects the capture rate:
  • Single: captures one image each time the shutter release is pressed.
  • Continuous: captures images at 0.7 frames per second when the image size/quality is set to 7M Normal.
  • Multi-shot 16: captures 16 images at 5 frames per second, then records them into a single 3072 x 2304 pixel image using the Normal quality setting.

• Best Shot Selector: allows the Coolpix L5 to capture up to 10 images while the shutter release is kept pressed. Only the image showing the highest sharpness is saved. The flash cannot be used.
• Colour Options decides how colours are recorded by the camera:
  • Standard Colour default setting, captures natural colours.
  • Vivid Colour accentuates colour saturation.
  • Black and White.
  • Sepia.
  • Cyanotype records images in a cyan-blue monochrome.
• AF Area Mode:
  • Auto: allows the camera to make use of its five AF areas and select the focus point.
  • Centre: only focuses using the centre AF point.

The Movie menu only offers two options beyond the access to the Setup menu:

• Movie Options serves to select the movie type (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more details):
  • TV Movie 640
  • Small Size 320
  • Smaller Size 160
• Mode AF:
  • Single AF: sets the focus at the beginning of the recording.
  • Continuous AF: adjusts focus continuously as the recording progresses.

When the Coolpix L5 is set to the Playback mode, the menu starts with an access to the Setup menu as well, followed by:

• Print Set: serves to create a print order using DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) so that photos can then be printed to a DPOF compatible printer or service. The number of copies to make of each photo to be printed can be set, as well as whether or not the date, time, or even shooting data should be printed as well. The Coolpix is compatible with PictBridge.

• Slide Show: starts an automatic slide show with a 3-second on-screen time for each image. The show can be made to loop back to the beginning if desired.
• Delete allows deleting selected images, or all images.
• Protect serves to prevent images from being accidentally deleted.
• Transfer Marking allows selecting the images to be transferred automatically to a computer running the software supplied with the camera (PictureProject) when the OK button is pressed and the camera is connected to the computer.

• Small Pic serves to make a smaller copy of an image under review. Three image sizes are possible: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, or 160 x 120 pixels.
• Copy: serves to copy images or movies from the internal memory to a memory card, or vice-versa.

Still in the Playback mode, but without having to access the menu, it is possible to record a voice annotation (20 seconds maximum) that will be associated with the image under review by pressing the shutter release. And, if the image has been zoomed, the shutter release can be used to capture the visible portion as a new image. Finally, when the button is pressed, D-lighting is applied to the image under review (see the Ergonomics section of the review for an explanation of D-Lightning).

The Coolpix L5 has a small built-in 8 MB internal memory and is equipped with an SD (Secure Digital) memory card slot. The camera is sold without a memory card. The memory card slot is located next to the battery compartment, underneath the body, and a solid latching door covers both. The batteries can easily be slid out when the door is opened, so care must be exercised when the memory card is accessed.

The chart below provides approximate capacities for both photos and movies using the internal memory, and an optional 1 GB memory card:

The Coolpix L5 is powered by two AA-size, rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. In Canada the camera is retailed with two Nikon brand Ni-MH batteries (EN-MH1) and a dedicated charger (MH-71) that takes approximately 2.5 hours to recharge fully depleted batteries. Moreover, the charger is equipped with an option that makes it possible to fully discharge the batteries before recharging them, increasing their life span. Discharging the batteries takes approximately 5 hours.

An optional AC adapter (H-65A) is available for the Coolpix L5, making it possible to power the camera from household current.