Nikon Coolpix L23 review
A seriously low price, but with disappointing automatic exposures and no way to adjust settings, you get what you pay for.
Specifications
1/2.9in 10.0-megapixel sensor, 5.0x zoom (28-140mm equivalent), 170g
Photos taken in bright light had their fair share of troubles, too. There was a noisy fuzz hovering around high-contrast lines, which we put down to excessive digital sharpening that accentuated noise as well as details. Noise permeated darker areas of photos too, although the camera’s reluctance to venture beyond ISO 200 meant that noise was rarely disastrous.
Excessive digital sharpnening add a noisy fuzz around high contrast lines, losing some detail in the process
Wide-angle shots exhibited barrel distortion, which is particularly disappointing considering that the camera evidently uses digital processing to remove this distortion (it’s applied for live previews too, but not while zooming). Weirdly, parallel lines looked straighter in videos than in photos. Videos’ picture and sound quality were both up to scratch and the 22-minute clip length is better than usual, but the basic VGA resolution keeps a lid on this camera’s abilities for video.
It’s unfair to be too critical at this price, but the Canon PowerShot A800 costs just a few pounds more and takes much better photos.
Basic Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Rating | *** |
| CCD effective megapixels | 10.0 megapixels |
| CCD size | 1/2.9in |
| Viewfinder | none |
| Viewfinder magnification, coverage | N/A |
| LCD screen size | 2.7in |
| LCD screen resolution | 230,000 pixels |
| Articulated screen | No |
| Live view | Yes |
| Optical zoom | 5.0x |
| Zoom 35mm equivalent | 28-140mm |
| Image stabilisation | none |
| Maximum image resolution | 3,648×2,736 |
| Maximum movie resolution | 640×480 |
| Movie frame rate at max quality | 30fps |
| File formats | JPEG; AVI (M-JPEG) |
Physical | |
| Memory slot | SDXC |
| Mermory supplied | 22MB internal |
| Battery type | 2x AA |
| Battery Life (tested) | 220 shots |
| Connectivity | USB, AV |
| HDMI output resolution | N/A |
| Body material | plastic |
| Lens mount | N/A |
| Focal length multiplier | N/A |
| Kit lens model name | N/A |
| Accessories | USB cable |
| Weight | 170g |
| Size | 60x97x29mm |
Buying Information | |
| Warranty | one-year RTB |
| Price | £62 |
| Supplier | http://www.amazon.co.uk |
| Details | www.nikon.co.uk |
Camera Controls | |
| Exposure modes | auto |
| Shutter speed | auto |
| Aperture range | f/2.7 (wide), f/6.8 (tele) |
| ISO range (at full resolution) | 80 to 1600 |
| Exposure compensation | +/-2 EV |
| White balance | auto, 5 presets, manual |
| Additional image controls | none |
| Manual focus | No |
| Closest macro focus | 3cm |
| Auto-focus modes | centre, face detect |
| Metering modes | multi, face detect |
| Flash | auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, red-eye reduction |
| Drive modes | single, continuous, self-timer |
