Nikon Coolpix L4 Digital Camera

I got what I paid for

By Grig  Mar 4, 2007 | 1 out of 1 found this Nikon Coolpix L4 Digital Camera review helpful

Pros: Small, easy to fit in pocket, cheap, nice outdoor shots

Cons: Real slow, movies don't have audio, lens developed spots

I got this camera when I went to Sweden, and my previous digital camera was dying. I had a very strict budget, and I got this at Best Buy for $109. I can honestly say that it is a $109 camera. Outdoor shots are great. Except when I use the zoom. Af...ter having this camera for only a few weeks, a dark spot started to appear in my shots whenever I use the zoom. I thought it was my LCD screen, but it showed up much clearer in my pictures. It started out light, and now when I zoom to the max, it's a solid dark spot. Recently, a second spot has shown up. The spots come and go, but they only appear in daylight photos when I tilt the camera upwards and use the zoom. So I am thinking some lint or dust got under the focus ring because I have cleaned the lens with proper camera cleaner, and it does nothing to remove it. Indoor shots are hit and miss. The first thing you notice is that if you use the flash, it takes 1-3 seconds for the camera to decide to actually shoot. When the batteries start to drain halfway, this becomes intolerably longer (often 3-8 seconds from pressing the shutter to actual shot). This makes action shots nearly impossible. I have used both high-energy digital camera batteries and regular alkaline. A set of 2 AA's will last you about 90 pictures, slightly less with rechargeable. Sometimes you can coax more battery life by turning the camera off and on and disabling the boot screen. The red-eye-reducing flash doesn't seem to work very well, either. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I haven't been able to duplicate when it does or doesn't. Sometimes the memory of last settings "forgets." I had to turn my flash off for courtesy reasons in museums, but sometimes when I turn the camera back on, it resets to default flash. Filing anything indoor without the flash results in SERIOUS motion blur, even if your subject keeps still, simply the shaking of your own pulse will blur the picture. It completely needs the flash indoors, even if it's relatively bright, it will do blur without the flash. The flash is bright and harsh, and will often cause the camera to focus/white balance on the wrong thing. Like taking a picture of a kid blowing out birthday candles in a dim room? Forget it. You'll get a washed out picture of the frosting on the cake, and dark crescent of the kid's face. But... maybe I ask too much from a $109 camera. But when I can afford a better one, I am giving this camera to a small child. Read more Less