Nikon Coolpix L100 Summary

10 Megapixels10 MegapixelsUltra-Zoom: At least 10X optical zoom.Ultra-Zoom: At least 10X optical zoom.Stabilization: Compensates for tiny involuntary movements of the camera.Stabilization: Compensates for tiny involuntary movements of the camera.VGA Video: 640 x 480 or more but less than 1280 x 720.VGA Video: 640 x 480 or more but less than 1280 x 720.Custom White-Balance: Specifies exactly what should be white to the camera.Custom White-Balance: Specifies exactly what should be white to the camera.Runs on standard AA batteriesRuns on standard AA batteriesAccepts Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) and SD memory.Accepts Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) and SD memory.Neocamera detailed reviewNeocamera detailed reviewDiscontinued: No longer produced by the manufacturer. May still be in stock or found used.Discontinued: No longer produced by the manufacturer. May still be in stock or found used.

Nikon Coolpix L100 Assessment

The Nikon Coolpix L100 is a medium camera with a 15X wide-angle optical zoom, equivalent to 28-420mm and a large 3" LCD with incomplete coverage (97%). The goal, it seems for the L100, is to be a comfortable-to-use ultra-zoom with minimal feature set, a zoom-and-shoot sort of model.

While the market of relatively small ultra-zoom cameras is not so old, it has gotten busier lately. The Nikon L100 is probably the biggest such camera and won't fit in any pockets but has a large comfortable grip and handles quite well. Contrarily to the larger ultra-zooms, this Nikon has the most basic feature set. There is custom white-balance but no control over ISO, no metering options and no exposure modes either. This puts image quality in the hands of the camera, which in good light is good enough but in low-light, you get what the camera gives you. The optics are good for this range, with noticeable softness mostly towards the end of the range.

Recent competitors of the L100 are the Panasonic ZS1 and ZS3 (aka TZ7 and TZ6) , the Canon SX200 IS and the Olympus Stylus 9000. Of these, the Canon SX200 is the most feature rich, including full manual-controls, the Nikon Coolpix L100 is the best. These Panasonic ones have ultra-wide 12X optical zooms but are also strictly point-and-shoot models. Both the SX200 and ZS3 also feature HD-movie recoding. For Olympus Stylus 9000 is by far the smallest (only 1.2" thick) but features a shorter wide-angle 10X optical-zoom compared to its peers.

See our full-length review for an in-depth look and images samples at all ISO sensitivities.

Neocamera detailed reviewNeocamera detailed review
PROS CONS
Great image sharpness No control over ISO
Low noise until ISO 200 No metering options
Usually selects low ISO Regular overexposure
Quick autofocus Limited dynamic-range
Generally quite fast Below average auto white-balance indoors
Good macro focusing Pronounced distortion
Nice comfortable grip and button layout Visible processing artifacts and all ISO
Good built quality Poor flare resistance
Simple intuitive interface 97% LCD coverage
Too few zoom steps
No way to turn off digital zoom
Poor LCD visibility
Short battery-life
AverageAverage Average

Nikon Coolpix L100 Related Information

Nikon Coolpix L100
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By Neocamera on 2009-04-27

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Nikon L100 Highlights

Nikon Coolpix L100
Large digital camera

Sensor-Size: 6 x 5mm

1/2.3" Sensor

Actual size when viewed at 100 DPI

10 Megapixels Ultra ZoomISO 80-800
15X Wide Optical ZoomShutter 1/1000-2s
Built-in StabilizationCustom white-balance
1 FPS Drive, Unlimited ImagesStandard AA Battery
640x480 @ 30 FPS Video RecordingSecure Digital High Capacity
3" LCD 230K Pixels
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