Nikon releases three L-series budget cameras
Posted on February 15, 2009 - Filed Under Digital, Photo, Reviews | Leave a Comment
Pre-PMA 2009: Nikon has announced the L100, L20 and L19 budget cameras. The L100 is a superzoom with 15x optical zoom (28-420mm equiv) and 10MP sensor. It includes features such as Image Stabilization, D-lighting and a Sports Continuous mode that allows shooting at up to 13 frames per second. The L19 and L20 are more conventional comapcts with 8MP and a 2.7" LCD and 10MP and a 3.0" LCD respectively. They share a 3.6X zoom lens.
Press Release:
Nikon announces new Coolpix cameras
Nikon UK announces three new affordable, exciting COOLPIX cameras: the L100, L20 and the L19. All three are packed with high-quality features that make taking photographs a joy, without stretching the budget.
With superb quality NIKKOR lenses, these cameras are both easy to carry and easy to use and include features such as Scene Auto selector, Smile Mode and Blink Warning – making great images possible for everyone.
Mark Pekelharing, Product Manager Consumer Products at Nikon Europe B.V: “Not everyone wants to spend a lot of money on a camera. With these three new cameras, you get the best of both worlds: quality imaging with many exciting features, and all at an affordable price.”
Enjoy your photography
The L100 boasts 10 effective megapixels, Nikon’s EXPEED digital image processing system for high performance and a 15x zoom NIKKOR lens covering a wide-angle 28mm to super-telephoto 420mm (35mm-format equivalent) – you know you’re going to capture almost any scene in detail. Put it in macro mode, and you can even capture objects from as close up as 1 cm. With four anti-blur features, including Image Sensor Shift VR image stabilisation, you can rest assured that it’s also going to be in focus.
You will also appreciate the L100 if you enjoy sports photography, as the L100’s Sports Continuous Mode allows up to 13 fps. Scene Auto Selector automatically adjusts the settings to suit the scene. Smile Mode takes the picture when your subject looks his or her best whilst Blink Warning warns you when your subjects have their eyes closed. Other features include In-Camera Red-Eye Fix for beautiful portraits, D-Lighting for in-camera image enhancement, 15 Scene Modes, movies with sound, and Active Zoom, amongst others.
With a sensitivity range up to ISO 3200, problems images in poor lighting are a thing of the past. This is further enhanced by the camera’s Motion Detection system, which detects camera shake or subject movement during shooting, automatically selecting a faster shutter speed and higher ISO sensitivity.
Easy does it
The L20 and L19 (10 and 8 effective MP respectively) have several features that ensure smooth and comfortable shooting, such as Full-Auto Mode, Scene Auto Selector, Smile Mode and Blink Warning. Power them with two AA-size batteries that are available anywhere, and you’ll never miss a shot. Large buttons and controls, and a 3-inch and 2.7-inch LCD monitor on the L20 and L19 respectively, improve operational ease.
Both cameras record movies and a special new feature for both is the Scene Auto Selector. This automatically judges a scene by its subject and surrounding conditions and chooses the best setting. Now you won’t have to worry about the mode-setting procedure and you will always be ready for speedy, smooth shooting. The L20 is available in black metallic and deep red, the L19 in bright silver or shiny pink.
Taking great pictures with a great looking camera is easy, and very affordable.
The L100, L20 and L19 come with a strap, AA-batteries, USB and audio/video cables, and the COOLPIX software suite. All cameras come with 2GB free online image storage at Nikon’s my Picturetown service on mypicturetown.
Nikon Coolpix L100 images
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Nikon Coolpix L20 images
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Nikon Coolpix L19 images
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Camera Review: Nikon Coolpix P5100
Posted on January 17, 2008 - Filed Under Cameras, Photo, Reviews | Leave a Comment
If Charles Dickens were alive today and writing for PopPhoto.com, he might preface his review of the Nikon Coolpix P5100 ($310, street) thusly: “It was the best of cameras, it was the worst of cameras.” To its credit, Nikon has added to this flagship of the Coolpix line, a 12.1-megapixel, 3.5x zoom compact camera, some of the slick features developed for its more sophisticated DSLRs. Unfortunately, there are other areas within the P5100′s operations that can best be described as a “work in progress.”
The P5100 features a 1/1.72″ RGB CCD that incorporates Nikon’s EXPEED processing system and improved hardware-based facial detection that Nikon claims can identify up to 12 faces in one frame. The EXPEED processing doesn’t refer to specific technologies within the P5100, but a digital image processing “concept” that is designed to improve image quality by reducing noise and improving signal-to-noise ratios, even at higher ISO settings.
Another facet of the Nikon image processing is “D-Lighting,” which takes backlit and underexposed images and makes them more usable. By selecting the D-lighting option while viewing an image, the camera reprocesses the image and saves a copy of the processed file while leaving the original untouched. This manipulation does have its limitations however, and the quality will never be as good as a well-exposed image, but it can make the difference between trashing the image or hanging it on a wall. The quality of the images made by the P5100 was very favorable when viewed on our computer screen. It’s class-competitive, and can hold its own against similar models from other manufacturers.