Nikon Coolpix L14 review

Nikon's Coolpix range is divided into cameras with P, S and L prefixes, which stand for Performance, Style and Life. It's little surprise that the L14 isn't particularly advanced - especially at this price - and it's not much of a looker, either.

Like most budget cameras, it uses AA batteries, which you'll need to buy separately when the supplied alkaline ones run out. Battery life is excellent, though, managing 779 shots with our 2,700mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries.

Performance is pedestrian: the L4 took almost four seconds to switch on and take a picture, and 2.5 seconds between subsequent shots. The controls won't slow you down, though, as there are hardly any to worry about. Manual ISO speed, metering and focus options are all absent. Exposure compensation and white balance presets are included, though, and give you just enough control to produce pleasing exposures in most conditions.

Our image tests revealed dependable colour reproduction and, save for the odd auto-focus error, respectable detail. You can't adjust the ISO speed manually, but by examining the EXIF data from our test shots we were able to find out how well the camera performed at different ISO speeds. Sadly, the answer was poorly. Nikon states that the automatic ISO varies between 64 and 1000, but in our tests it never rose above 400. Often this wasn't fast enough for blur-free shots indoors, and it still resulted in noisier photos than most other cameras produce at ISO 400.

Still, if you're happy to use the flash indoors and a makeshift tripod outdoors at dusk, the L14 is capable of respectable photos. It's worth spending £18 more on the Fujifilm F20 for a big jump in quality and features, but if your budget is strictly limited, the L14 is a decent choice.

Author: Ben Pitt