Nikon Coolpix L11 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Reviews

• A great camera for the money...and even for more money

  
  By A36S5QPUX3OATR on 2007-07-20
  This is a great camera. I have used and owned several cameras, including three Canons (all great), a Panasonic (not so great), and now this one. This is what I wanted in a camera, things I think all of us are looking for:
  1) Price - I was looking for a camera around $[...]. This narrows the field considerably.
  2) Picture quality - Obviously, this is why you buy a camera. I would never buy a camera from a company that isn't famous for them, such as Samsung. I compared the Nikon L11 to the Canon A550/560 since these two are really the best budget buys out there.
  3) Size, AA batteries, SD card - all these features make for a great an inexpensive camera to use. The Canon is too bulky too comfortably put in your pant pockets.
  4) Speed - this is also essential. Nothing is more annoying than a snapshot camera without the "snap".
  
  This is a great camera that I would recommend to anyone. Go to [...] for an expert opinion.
  Thanks,
  
  

• Some good (great pics), some bad (eats batteries)

  
  By A1SHHQSPOWR00F on 2007-08-30
  There are some things that Nikon did right with this camera, but mostly they got it wrong. Although I love my Nikon Coolpix 3100 (3 megapixels), some may want to avoid the Nikon Coolpix L11.
  
  First, the good. It takes great pictures and fits into your pocket. OK for snapshots under normal conditions. I also have had some professional quality pics with good color saturation then the light is good. The camera remembers your settings (eg, exposure compensation) after being turned off, meaning you don't need to reset them each time you power up/down.
  
  Now the bad:
  
  1. As one reviewer noted, it does not have a viewfinder, only an LCD monitor. First, powering the LCD screen makes it eat batteries. Next, the LCD screen is useless in bright light because you can't see what's on the screen.
  
  2. Once the camera alerts you that it's turning off after a certain period of non-use (eg, 60 seconds), it takes a long time to actually turn off. And in the meantime, there's nothing you can do to stop it from turning off. Not good it you want to get that great shot.
  
  3. The cycling time between pics is very long. It takes about 1.5 - 2 seconds to recycle and get ready for the next shot.
  
  4. The "multi-selector" (the large round dial in the back that lets you select flash, timer, exposure, and macro settings) is prone to operator error (meaning it's too small and you will select the wrong setting a lot (eg, exposure instead of timer). This means you need to scroll out of the wrong setting, back into the correct setting. Again, a time waster.
  
  5. It can be very noisy (the pictures look grainy) in night pics.
  
  
  The price isn't bad for 6 megapixles, but I suspect the low price is indicative of how much some people don't like this camera. Still, I think it's a three star.
  
  
  

• Decent product for the price with some quality concern

  
  By A11T7CEFCSAM9W on 2007-07-08
  I owned this one for a day and returned it, part of the reason is due to the retailer.
  I am looking for a medium resolution point-and-shoot camera using AA batteries. Every thing in the spec of Nikon L10/11/12 looks great and it did perform. It is slim enough to slip it into the pocket. What prompted the return is that it didn't focus exactly. After comparing with a 2MP camera and a 10MP DSLR, I am certain that the focusing of my L11 is not accurate. When I brought it back to Circuit City and said I want to look at other brand, they asked for a 15% re-stocking fee. I decided to take the lost and never go back to Circuit City! Even Ritz has a 10-day no-restocking period!
  At another store, I checked an L11 and found somewhat better result on focusing so perhaps I was just unlucky on the first unit.
  Another concern on these camera with large soft LCD panel is that it looks vulnerable to impact. The Sony or Canon models with hard plastic panel looks better. Canon is good that it uses normal size USB connector and has optical view finder but the Canon's are too bulky.
  I ended up with a Sony 650 even that means getting Memory Stick Pro Duo.
  
  

• Awesome little camera!!

  
  By AEIY7KAYDJEQJ on 2007-04-08
  I've owned a sequence of the Coolpix cameras and they just get better and better. This one's great!
  
  I have a Coolpix 5600 (??) that I took to Iraq last year -- and loaned it to a co-worker for her own deployment to Iraq. She won't be back before I go again -- therefore I bought this little gem. I couldn't believe the price for a six-megapixel camera. It takes great pictures, I really like the Coolpix size and shape, the LCD screen is bigger and brighter -- and the titanium colored body is simple and elegant.
  
  
  
  

• Not bad.

  
  By A3R37P5RB7ZL16 on 2007-04-05
  First some of the drawbacks:
  
  First, the l11 is kind of awkwardly designed so it never quite feels right in your hand, it's too rigid and rectangular. Also, you can't set it up (on a table or something) vertically as easily as stouter cameras.
  
  Second, the ISO is really high, but they don't really explain what that does. The sales guy told me that you never really need over 200 or so, and when you get above that you get worse pictures.
  
  Finally, there is such a glut of Coolpix cameras that you can never really tell if you're getting something of quality. The expertise required to rationally decide on one model over another is beyond me, and I'm sure a lot of others as well.
  
  But on the plus side, it takes very large high resolution photographs and has a video mode with audio. The best thing though would have to be the price, which makes it's shortcomings bearable.
  
  
• Nikon L11 digital camera
  By A188EDDTXXXO7K on 2007-05-12
  Having had another Nikon digital camera for the past few years I knew I liked the operation and durability of their products. When it came time to get multiple units for work I went with the L11 unit. It is small, light, has a large view screen and lense protector, and it runs well on regular AA batteries. My employees have had them for two months now and they are working great so far. For the price this camera is a real deal!
  
  
• Nikon Coolpix L11
  By ATRDZSVKOZ7TV on 2007-05-31
  I bought Nikon Coolpix L11 for my daughter from Bestbuy 2 days ago. In the evening it showed " Lens Error" and would not operate. Took it back and got an exchange got in the car and the second one had the same "Lens Error" and would not operate. Next day had another exchange and now the 3rd one working ok. In spite of its 6MP the images are not comparable to a 6MP digital SLR but for the value it's pretty decent. It is a point and shoot camera and has very little controls. The one I really miss is able to control the ISO speed. I like the fact that it goes all the way to 800 ISO but you can't control it. I really like the "Face Recognition" feature that locate the face and determine the exposure accordingly. It's sleek design is appealing, the LCD is decent size but would like to have little more controls in terms of ISO speed and contrast. Overall my daughter think its cool camera and that's all it matters.
  
  
• Camera is too slow!
  By A3SYTHVMJTP3OS on 2007-07-26
  I'm on the border of giving this 2 stars, but have opted for 3 stars since the pictures are decent for the price of the camera. Gripe #1: the boot-up speed; when turning the camera on, it takes 4 seconds before it is ready to take a picture. Gripe #2: processing speed between photos; another 3 seconds in between pictures. There is a setting which allows for taking rapid photos, but I believe you lose image quality in this mode. Grip #3: the provided computer cable (for downloading the pictures) is a micro USB connection (unlike most camera's mini USB connector (e.g. Canon digital cameras)). The only reason this bothers me is I'm short on USB ports, and I already have a mini-USB hooked up for my Logitech remote control. Now I have to take up another port for this camera. Gripe #4: power-save mode is confusing. The camera shuts itself off after a certain length of time, and getting it back on was a bit confusing. There were at least 2 occasions during the first weekend of use where it went into sleep-mode, and I tried waking it up by pushing the power button. I don't know if the camera was just slow to respond, and so I hit the power button again, but all of a sudden the camera is turning off (the lens goes back in). Whatever the case was, I was fiddling with the camera for 15 seconds before it was ready to take the picture (which I ended up missing because of the delay).
  
  I'm returning it today, and buying the Canon PowerShot A550. The price is equivalent, and Canon has not let me down (especially with the boot-up and in-between processing times).
  
  
• Great camera!!!!
  By on 2007-03-29
  I just got this camera and it seems to be working great. Everything is working as aspected. There are some cool features like the way you hook it up to the TV and the Panarama mode. I would recomend this camera to anyone. The price is very far.
  
  
• nikon coolpix l11
  By A16Z6MUHBX7DOL on 2007-10-14
  I bought this camera after returning the camera called Lumix by panasonic, because the Lumix didnt have audio during video, which is very important to me. Anyways, this camera is awesome with all the features including zoom during video, audio, crisp pictures, etc. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because during video recording you can hear a low buzzing noise during playback. The picture quality is excellant but the underlying buzz noise is kinda a drag. Also, you need to read your manual and reset some settings if you want to use flash or not during auto mode. Its the BSS ON/OFF setting. I added some pics if you wanna see them. Good batter life for a digital camera. Buy rechargeables of course.
  
  
• VERY Disappointing!
  By AHE5NW3I3NR6W on 2007-12-01
  I purchased the L11 just prior to a family vacation so I could get some nice snapshots. I was very disappointed. The vast majority of the pics we have taken have been blurry, under or overexposed, grainy or have had some other problem. The two biggest problems with this camera is the delay when you press the shutter button (to take a pic) and the poor focus control. Although this camera was relatively inexpensive, it didn't perform even at the minimum standards I would expect. I would NOT recommend getting this camera. After all, what's the point of getting a "bargain" if it doesn't do what it's designed to do?!
  
  
• Decent Camera
  By A33H7IZ965YYZH on 2007-12-31
  I am a big fan of Nikon cameras. I have D70 that I really love. But this camera left me with a lot more to desire.
  
  Good:
  - Takes very good pictures in good lighting
  - Nice options including face priority
  - D Light feature seems to be really working
  - Supports SDHC card
  - Very cheap (less than 100)
  
  Bad:
  - Takes not very good picture in low light or shade
  - Flash is not powerful enough to go over 5 feet
  - Shutter lag time sometimes can be long. Not sure why, but it could be related to battery power. That causes more shake and blurry pictures. Especially if you let someone else take the picture who is not aware of the lag.
  
  Overall, I think coughing up a bit more money for L14 (which I believe has optical stabilizer) maybe worth it.
  
  
• A disposable camera is more reliable
  By A14HT3X8KRLXW0 on 2007-06-13
  I bought this camera for a special trip to my 30th HS class reunion. At first I liked that it was light and easy to use and with enough features and capacity for it's price. Then at my main event it stopped working. I got a "lens error" message and the lens got stuck. Before that, it would turn off without any reason while aiming to shoot (batteries was not an issue). Unfortunately I got stuck with the "lemon" but for such a big event, it's unforgivable, it ruined my trip and I ended up buying Kodak disposables. No more Nikons for me.
  
  
• Buy a Disposable Camera Instead
  By A3NW38XPIGMLW4 on 2007-07-28
  CONS: Blurry Photos and Indistinguishable Zoom
  
  This camera was a breeze to get setup and become completely familiar with all features, I did not mind that this camera does not have many features, but the one feature I miss is focus. I am returning this camera because of the poor quality of photo. The LCD shows a great shot, but the computer and television show a different quality. I am going to spend the few extra dollars and get a good camera.
  
  
• Great Camera for the family
  By A3PCLW8RINXOPM on 2007-08-23
  I got this mainly for my wife. The ease of use and large display made it perfect. I have been impressed with the quality for the price. A 2gig card will give you 1200+ photos. The Digital zoom is just OK, but overall very satisfied.
  
  
• It's a good cheap camera
  By A1OAZO02XZ9H4V on 2007-09-20
  Nikon Coolpix L11 6MP is good for me. I use it with lithium batteries and I haven't had any problem. But when you're taking pictures you have to wait 5 seconds to take another picture...
  But I'm happy to have it. It takes nice pictures!! I recommend it.
  
  
• fuzzy picture, low price
  By A1LM0A84UPPYNF on 2007-04-19
  I just bought this camera and was disappointed. My other nikon had 3.2 megapixels and it took better pictures than this one. I'm not sure what's wrong with it but it takes fuzzy pictures for some reason. The price is right but the quality isn't. I'm going to return it and pay a little bit more for a better quality nikon.
  
  
• Awesome camera for the money
  By A2JN7C9BS9WTEJ on 2007-06-20
  I bought this camera after having my old Samsung ruined by salt water. I am highly impressed with the quality of the photos it will take both in and outdoors as well as low and bright light situations. It will be my travel companion for (hopefully) many years...
  
  
• Nikon Coolpix L11 camera
  By A7E83X9UYH9C9 on 2007-07-05
  I was looking for a camera that would be not only easy but intuitive to use. Why get a small camera if you have to carry around an instruction manual for it? This one has a separate button to control the flash, rather than having to go through a menu. The menu for different types of photos - portrait, night, etc., is also easy to access. And the price was right.
  
  
• It was ok
  By A1K62NZ44INKM7 on 2007-11-13
  The quality of a majority of my pictures were bad. The camera had a hard time focusing and resulted in low quality images.
  The video part of the camera was good, but the pictures weren't.
  
  
  
• Nikon quality - Instamatic size & ease of use
  By A2G21M2Q5D3JNQ on 2007-12-07
  I have a Nikon D200 which I love, with the exception of when I have to lug my camera bag on a trip with limited opportunities to use it, or when I want to shoot a fleeting photo-op. This has excellent resolution (better than my DX2 did for $2600 four years ago) and color rendition, a sharp lens, and requires no set-up. Quality, ease of use, without frills. Nice LCD, too.
  
  
• Cheap camera, disappointing product from Nikon
  By A1GKNYGJQIN5G0 on 2007-08-13
  I was looking for an expensive but quality digital snapshooter. I had a Coolpix 2100 (2.1 megapixel) stolen during RAGBRAI. I thought the 6 megapixel L11 would be an upgrade. Unfortunately, I liked my 2MP better for the following reasons:
  *viewfinder
  
  *ability to trim video directly on the camera. Video on the L11 records as .mov files, which cannot be trimmed on the camera OR on a PC without buying QuickTime Pro or some conversion software, but who wants to do that if you're only paying $120 for a camera? My 2MP did a great job, albiet with poorer video quality. I'm not planning on showing my little videos on the big screen however.
  
  *Picture quality. The L11 flash washed everything out on inside pictures. Really white and blue, no true colors. I messed with the settings a bit, but again, who wants to do that on a point and shoot? I want anybody to be able to pick this up and take a decent snapshot. Outdoor, suny day pictures were not bright enough, even after shutting down the exposure by a couple of stops. The 2MP took more pleasing pictures, but again, I'm not blowing them up to poster size.
  
  I ended up bringing it back to Circuit City after 4 days. They waived the restocking fee because I asked them to (would've been $20). I exchanged it for the Canon A550, a 7 MP camera for $10 more. I am very pleased with that camera, and would not recommend the L11. Sorry Nikon.
  
  
• Chews batteries like crazy
  By AN2X7WHQZA782 on 2007-08-23
  I bought a brand new pack of four batteries, and I think I was able to take 10 pictures total between the four batteries. The picture quality is good but it takes for ever to load between pictures.
  
  
• Good Deal
  By A347FL4HCZXO8A on 2007-11-24
  Well I've owned this camera for about 3 months now and it has served me well at home and abroad. It was my first digital camera and it was very easy to use. I opened it and used it at the airport before departure in a matter of minutes. There are many functions on it, but I only wanted it for simple pics, which have all come out great, even in motion.
  So I highly recommed it.
  
  
• disappointment
  By A1SL1UIZMGQSPS on 2007-12-02
  Worked fine for a while less than a year later, it doesn't focus well anymore.I'm looking for a new one.
  
  
• excellent bang for the buck
  By A1UVFEIPIZDV6U on 2007-12-24
  For a $100 point and shoot, the L11 is excellent bang for the buck. Its ideal for someone who does not want to deal with manual settings, it has about 15 pre-programmed shoot modes, apart from from the all-pervasive AUTO mode. Its extremely light and more importantly it fares pretty well in the two features I consider most important for the compulsive AUTO-mode shooter: image quality and AF (with face detection).
  
  There are obviously other point and shoot cameras like the Canon IS series that are extremely high performing, but for a budget camera the L11 works.
  
  
• You'd think a Nikon would focus...
  By A1J18KWBW354S7 on 2007-06-06
  
  I bought this camera as an inexpensive point-and-shoot that would be convenient enough to drop in my pocket, and even though I had only modest expectations, I'm still disappointed.
  
  The quality of the photos is uniformly bad; nothing is every really in focus, daylight shots are always way too contrasty and indoor shots are white-balanced properly only half the time. Moreover, the video it shoots on highest quality, supposedly 640x480 30fps, looks like 15 to me. (The SD card I have in it is supposed to be fast enough.)
  
  Other than Auto Mode, the L11 does have many, many Scene Modes and other options that I spent a little bit of time with, but none of them seemed to produce any noticeably better results. And really, if I was going to spend the time futzing through all the settings for every shot I want to take, I wouldn't have bought an inexpensive point-and-shoot pocket camera, now would I?
  
  Yes, I know, it's just a cheap camera, so what should I expect? Well, better than this.
  
  P.S.- My five-year-old 2 mega-pixel Camedia still does a better job, for heaven's sake.
  
  
  
• Excellent camera!
  By AV8GG3HVFND4J on 2007-12-18
  This L11 is an excellent camera. The large 2.4"lcd screen is one of the best features that I like. It is simple to use and very handy. The one drawback that I found is the different usb cable that came with the camera. The port on this camera is smaller than on the others. So if necessary I must purchase another like sized cable. However that aside, I like the way this camera handles.
  
  
• Decent budget camera
  By A2SS01BOVHJ4WS on 2008-01-12
  I purchased this camera to replace my older Sony 3.2mp, as it was slooooow as heck. I paid under a hundred bucks for it and I was a little wary after purchasing the camera and then reading some of the complaints about it.
  I am happy to say that the camera takes great pics and has a relatively short recycle time (for a camera that uses AA batteries). I lent it to a friend who went to Disney World over New Years and he took some amazing pictures of fireworks.
  
  It's just a kick around camera for me but for a novice or someone who needs an inexpensive second camera, this is a decent camera to buy.
  
  Oh, it takes great video with sound, however, there is an annoying sound on playback. not so much to make me return the camera, but annoying enough to be noticed.
  
  
• The video function is actually really good!
  By ARO35S2RDVO1U on 2007-08-11
  Fantastic value.
  
  Sweet little camera! Seems to take pictures "quickly" -- as if they've eliminated a lot of that delay in between clicking the button and taking the picture. The video feature includes audio and actually takes pretty good little movies.
  
  We couldn't be more pleased with this little camera for what we paid for it.
  
  

• The Complete Guide to Digital Photography, 2nd Edition: Completely Revised and Updated (A Lark Photography Book)
• Magellan 64MB Secure Digital Memory Card
• SanDisk SDSDB-128-A10 Secure Digital 128MB (Retail Package)
• Efilm USB MultiMedia and Secure Digital Card Reader
• SanDisk SDSDB-64-A10 Secure Digital 64 MB

• Nikon Camera Case for Coolpix L Series Digital Cameras
• Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package)
• SanDisk 1 GB Secure Digital SD Card (SDSDB-1024, Bulk Package)
• Kroo Camera Case for Nikon Camera Case Nion Coolpix
• Nikon Coolpix Soft Grey Camera Carrying Case for L11, L12, L14, L15, L18, P60, S7c, S9, S50, S50c, S51, S51c, S200, S210, S500, S510, S520, S550, S600, S700 Digital Cameras