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Nikon Coolpix L120 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £210
inc VAT

An odd mixture of cut-price and highly capable features, but solid image quality and a competitive price add up to an attractive deal.

Specifications

1/2.3in 14.0-megapixel sensor, 21.0x zoom (25-525mm equivalent), 431g

http://www.amazon.co.uk

Nikon’s Coolpix cameras are split into three categories: P for Performance, S for Style and L for Life. Past experience has taught us that Life is a euphemism for “cheap”, but in the case of the L120 it’s less clear cut. The budget approach is demonstrated by the use of AA batteries, which are bulkier and more cumbersome than a Li-ion battery and carry a hidden cost because rechargeable batteries aren’t supplied. The lack of an electronic viewfinder or manual exposure and focus controls also point towards this being a budget camera. The 3in, 921,000-pixel screen, HDMI output and 720p AVC video mode with stereo sound suggest otherwise, though. Ultra-zoom cameras are available for as little as £130 but the ones with these features tend to cost at least £250.

Nikon Coolpix L120 back

Photographic control certainly is basic. The lack of manual focus is forgivable but there isn’t even any way to adjust the autofocus point. An icon in the centre of the screen suggests there’s a single, centre AF point, but in use it seemed happy to focus anywhere in the frame. There’s no option to use face detection in Auto mode, either. Instead, the Portrait scene preset must be selected, which prohibits all other menus options. A Smart Portrait mode includes face detection too, but its efforts to capture a shot automatically when it detects a smiling face are little more than a gimmick. There’s no orientation sensor, so portrait-shaped photos must be rotated manually on the PC. At least white balance, ISO speed and exposure compensations are available, with a manual white balance option for calibrating the camera’s colours by pointing it at a white or grey object. The same, slightly clumsy menu system we saw on the disastrous Nikon S3100 is used here, but it’s much more responsive in this instance.

The L120 was quick to switch on, taking just 1.7 seconds between pressing the power button and capturing a shot. Shot-to-shot times were reasonable at 2.2 seconds on average, but using the flash slowed it to up to 10 seconds – a common complaint for AA battery-powered cameras. Autofocus times were quick at wide-angle settings and reasonable for telephoto shooting, but the lack of an adjustable autofocus point sometimes lead to focus errors, which were exaggerated at telephoto focal lengths. Capturing a handful of shots improved the chances of success, although the continuous mode didn’t help here with its slow 0.7fps performance and fixed focus for the duration of the burst. Ultimately, though, our attempts to capture wildlife at the full 21x zoom extension were generally successful (see below), with the camera’s automatic settings sensibly raising the ISO speed when necessary to avoid blur due to camera shake.

Nikon Coolpix L120 sample 2

The L120’s video mode is one of the better examples we’ve seen from an ultra-zoom camera. Autofocus was initially fixed for the duration of clips, but enabling full-time autofocus in the menu had no negative impact; neither the focus nor the zoom motor spoiled the high-quality stereo soundtrack. Videos used electronic stabilisation to reduce camera shake rather than the sensor-based optical stabilisation that’s used for photo capture. This wasn’t terribly successful at telephoto settings, replacing constant shakes with occasional violent jerks. Otherwise, though, picture quality was excellent, with lively colours, reasonably sharp details and restrained noise levels. The 29-minute maximum clip length and efficient AVC compression mean many people will be happy to use this instead of a dedicated video camera.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ****
CCD effective megapixels 14.0 megapixels
CCD size 1/2.3in
Viewfinder none
Viewfinder magnification, coverage N/A
LCD screen size 3.0in
LCD screen resolution 921,000 pixels
Articulated screen No
Live view Yes
Optical zoom 21.0x
Zoom 35mm equivalent 25-525mm
Image stabilisation optical, sensor shift
Maximum image resolution 4,320×3,240
Maximum movie resolution 1280×720
Movie frame rate at max quality 30fps
File formats JPEG; QuickTime (AVC)

Physical

Memory slot SDXC
Mermory supplied 102MB internal
Battery type 4x AA
Battery Life (tested) 520 shots
Connectivity USB, AV, mini HDMI, DC in
HDMI output resolution 1080i
Body material plastic
Lens mount N/A
Focal length multiplier N/A
Kit lens model name N/A
Accessories USB and AV cables, neck strap
Weight 431g
Size 77x110x78mm

Buying Information

Warranty two-year RTB
Price £210
Supplier http://www.amazon.co.uk
Details www.nikon.co.uk

Camera Controls

Exposure modes auto
Shutter speed auto
Aperture range f/3.1 (wide), f/5.8 (tele)
ISO range (at full resolution) 80 to 3200
Exposure compensation +/-2 EV
White balance auto, 5 presets, manual
Additional image controls none
Manual focus No
Closest macro focus 1cm
Auto-focus modes multi, face detect
Metering modes multi
Flash auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, red-eye reduction
Drive modes single, continuous, self-timer, smile detect

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