Nikon Coolpix L12 7MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom
by Nikon
Our Price: $159.99
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: NikonRelease Date: 2007-03-26
Model: 25562
Product features:
- 7.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for for photo-quality 16 x 20-inch prints
- 3x optical zoom through a quality Zoom-Nikkor lens (zoom is equivalent to 38-114mm in a 35mm camera)
- 2.5-inch LCD display; exclusive Nikon In-Camera Red-Eye Fix
- Face-Priority AF automatically focuses on faces
- Powered by AA-size batteries; stores images on SD memory cards
- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Upgrade [Old Version]
- Serif PhotoPlus X3
- Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]
- Aperture 3
- Targus TG-CH5000 AC/DC Rapid Charger with 4 - 2700 mAh AA Batteries
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Nikon Coolpix L12 7MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom
Customer Review: A nice, user friendly camera, especially for it's price range
Summary: 4 Stars
Wanted a new digicam to replace my Nikon Coolpix 880 which was given as a gift. It worked well, but my main issue was it barely fit even in a large front pocket. I wanted something compact, <200 dollars, preferably cheaper. I decided to stick with Nikon since my 880 worked and held up pretty well, had a nice interface, and to continue using SD cards from my other electronic gadgets (PDA, GPS device, etc.). Nikon's L series has several Coolpix models to choose from that fit the bill. After some research, I've determined...... the L6 is old and inferior overall in specs, L10's 2" LCD could be bigger, and the L12 had the following over the L11:
-2.5" LCD vs 2.4"
-7.1MP vs 6MP
-21MB internal RAM vs 7MB
-automatic ISO of up to 1600 vs 800
-has Vibration Reduction (VR) mode (aka "no shakey" effect or Image Stabilization)
-one touch access to VR mode and Assisted Frame portrait mode (automatically recognizes faces and puts better focus on them)
-wider selection of image resolutions
-flash with range of 26 feet vs 11 feet
It appeared to be worth the extra money for those features.
As for the L12, for an advanced point & shoot camera, it's not too bad given its low price point (probably even lower since this review was written). My old camera had a plethora of manual controls and other features, but I never used them even when I did realize they existed, so the lack of manual controls doesn't particularly bother me. Navigating the menus and interface is quite intuitive, and you'll only need to consult the manual to find the few things that elude you or to check to if they're even there. The bulge on the side where you the 2 AA batteries go gives it more bulk when put in a smaller pocket, but it also gives it a better grip. Good when you want to take right-handed only shots. Battery life is above average. I got almost a month's use out of this camera on a pair of lithiums, and that's a month of rather heavy use, as that was a time period when I brought it with me everywhere to various parties and site seeing events while testing it. By my estimates, I took roughly 80 pictures a week and well over 3.5 hours of video for that month alone. I've also used the LCD screen a lot for exploring the menus, settings, and for photo/video playback. Granted less 2% of my shoots were without flash, but everything else, especially video recording are known to drain batteries quickly on a digital camera.
Some of the main features on the L12 include high automatic ISO settings, Vibration Reduction, larger LCD, and powerful flash.
The up to 1600 ISO setting sounds impressive, but without being able to set it manually to test it, it's kind of hard to tell if it's doing it's job well enough. You'll still want a tripod or to use the flash in quite dark conditions. It appears using Vibration Reduction, which is more or less image stabilization (done in the lens as opposed to software) does cause the camera to jack up the ISO. In medium lighting conditions, the VR does reduce blurriness found in photos when you think you held a steady shot, but then zoom in to find blurriness at 10x. In moderately-heavy dark situations, this is apparent since photos taken in this mode have noticeable grainy specks or noise to them, but they do appear crisp when zooming in. Another example, at night in a skyline view, most of what you see are lights for dots and some make of the building structure. Taking that same picture in a higher light situation will actually show the buildings and texture with more clarity. If pictures are still somewhat blurry, THEN VR would smoothen that out without compromising the overall picture. In short, VR is good to have, but it's not a "cure-all", especially in low light conditions.
While some compact cameras do have large as 3" screens, those won't be at available this price range, and that's usually possible at the cost of removing a lot of the hard buttons to make room for it, forcing you to do more stuff through the menus. The flash is quite powerful for a camera of this size. I can't measure if the range is indeed 26ft, but when used in an outdoor night setting, it does light up faraway objects with ease. However, using the flash causes the camera to "stall" for around 8 seconds, which you'll need to wait it through before you can take more pictures again or do anything else really.
In short, this camera has some nice ideas and features to it that set it a part from other cameras in its price range. However, their implementations could've been done better. If you take a lot of flash photography, the long flash recycle times will be a big letdown. If you want something that works well without flash in dark scenery, you'll want to look elsewhere, likely beyond an advanced point and shoot model. I'm not a big photo-nut. The majority of my shots are done in so-so to great lightning condition which shoots good photos most of the time, but still costed less than what many pay for even the better camera cell phones works for me.
More Nikon Coolpix L12 7MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom reviews:
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Description of Nikon Coolpix L12 7MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom
MD) CL) MU) NIK COOLPIX L12 DIG CAMDigital Cameras
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