The Nikon Coolpix L4 is a very cheap digital camera and it has the poor performance to match. It is one of the slowest cameras available. It also has a very small ISO range which cannot be controlled by the user. This is a serious limitation which means the camera chooses the quality of images rather than the user. Given its weak flash, the camera frequently boosts ISO in low-light and therefore produces rather noisy images in such conditions. At the tele-end of the zoom, the L4's lens has an F4.9 aperture which also encourages it to boost the ISO setting. By ISO 200, images are already noisier than most of compact digital cameras and even ultra-compact ones.

With nothing going for it except for price, this camera is definitely not recommended. Even smaller cameras perform much better than the L4. Without considering price, the ideal alternative is the Fuji Finepix F30, followed by its lower cost siblings, the Fuji Finepix F20 and Fuji Finepix F10. In the same price range as the Nikon Coolpix L4, people should consider the Fuji Finepix A510 instead. Finally there is the Canon Powershot A530 to consider. It is priced halfway between the Nikon L4 and the Fuji F30 but features 4X optical zoom, 5 megapixel sensor and manual controls. The A530 is definitely a more capable and versatile camera compared to the Nikon Coolpix L4.