Nikon has released quite a few compacts in recent months, split into two ranges: its ‘S’ for Style and ‘L’ for Life series. The Coolpix L5 falls into the latter budget category, being a mainly plastic build point-and-shoot that is slightly bulkier than the slim-line S series.

However, its drab looks are offset by a respectable 7.2-megapixel resolution and longer-than-average 5x optical zoom lens (part of the reason for its chunkiness), coupled with performance-aiding features such as Vibration Reduction (to counteract camera shake and resulting image blur) and Face Priority AF, which makes sure wherever and whenever there’s a human face in your frame, it’s properly sharp.

Images are composed via the 2.5in screen that dominates the L5’s back, as there’s no battery-saving optical viewfinder to use instead. It’s adequate however, and reasonably clear, even if the resolution of the viewing screen is nothing special.

Power comes courtesy of two bog-standard AA batteries, which slip inside a side grip shared with a slot for an optional SD memory card. This lends the plastic camera a sturdier feel. However, since they last for just 150 shots, it’s worth investing in a rechargeable pair, along with removable media to supplement its tiny 8MB internal memory.

The L5 is slightly slow to get going – with a wait of around three seconds before you can fire off the first shot. Yet it’s simple to operate with most features – including ISO light sensitivity – selected automatically by the camera.

The Vibration Reduction option has three settings, active, normal or off. Set to ‘normal’ the camera delivered pleasingly sharp results under most conditions, though the best results were predictably achieved when taking people shots with plenty of natural light or flash.

Some image noise was noticed in darker areas of photos, though it was no worse than the competition. Colours were realistic, if a little cold for our tastes, with greens and reds represented the strongest.

Just to confuse purchasers, there’s an L6 available alongside the L5, though perversely its specification is lower. Stick with the L5 and you have camera that fulfils most criteria for beginners.

Also Consider
Casio Exilim Card EX-S770
Credit-card sized 7-megapixel snapper with widescreen LCD is very possibly Casio’s finest compact to date.

Fujifilm Finepix Z3
A stylish digital compact with excellent build quality

Samsung NV10
A novel digital camera with some unusual features

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