Nikon Coolpix L100 - Test Shots - Detail and Lens Performance

A range of general test shots are shown over the next two pages. In some cases, the full size image has been reduced for bandwidth purposes, and a crop taken from the original full resolution image has been placed below it to show the overall image quality. Some other pictures may be clicked to view the original full-size image.

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Here's the usual detail test shot of the West Window of Exeter Cathedral, for you to compare with other cameras. See below for a full res crop, or click to see the whole picture.

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Although the level of detail is good, the image looks over-processed, with some slight artefacting.

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With distortion control turned off there is some barrel distortion at wide angle.

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Same shot with distortion control on.

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Centre sharpness is good...

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...and corner sharpness isn't too bad, although there is some chromatic aberration.

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	$400	Buy now

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13 comments

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KEITH BLACKWOOD

7:44 PM on 26 April, 2009

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i have been looking for a slr style camera that is fully automatic and i thought this was the answer until i noted that, unbelievably, it does not have a viewfinder, why ,why ,why? This is because in bright sunshine you need a viewfinder as i found to my peril in California when trying to take shots of Blue whales.

Does NOBODY make a simple 'auto' camera with a viewfinder?

Score:

Geoff Richards

7:49 PM on 27 April, 2009

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@Keith - I can't give you an answer, as I haven't researched every model. However, I'm personally not too hopeful. The problem you describe is genuine, without a doubt, but manufacturers have really latched on to the idea of the live-view style of shooting ie held out in front.

Like it or not, the size of the LCD screen on the back is a fairly major differentiator when it comes to choosing a camera, with most people opting for as big as they can get - 3-inches or more. Sadly, that is mutually exclusive to having a view-finder. The unfortunate reality is that an optical view-finder takes up space, adds additional cost, and will go unused by most people.

I'd like to have a solution for you... but short of buying an SLR, I fear your choices are severely limited. I'm sure all the major manufacturers are working on LCDs that perform better in daylight (transflective LCD is perfect, but pricey!), but other than that, maybe you can bodge a little hood out of an ice cream container or something similar. :(

IgorLEAHU

12:45 PM on 28 April, 2009

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@KEITH BLACKWOOD: Look at the Pentax X70. It surrounds technical characteristic you was speaking about! You'll be impressed of it...I'm convinced of that!

PS: Guys, I'm still waiting for a review of it!

4:34 PM on 28 April, 2009

Thanks for all the comments guys . To Igor , the pentax is out of my price bracket, i believe the Panasonic FZ28 @ £199, local, would be my best bet, what do you think? The TRUSTED REVIEW has i think swayed me

DougM

6:32 AM on 7 May, 2009

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Well, I guess it was inevitable, but it's sad to see that one of the only areas of compact digital cameras (the other being premium compacts such as the P6000, G10, LX3, and GX200) that hadn't been dumbed down for the moron masses now succumbing to the same.

I guess soon I won't be able to buy a camera with manual control over aperture, shutter speed, white balance, or ISO without shelling out for a DSLR. I mean really, how hard is it to take a few minutes to learn how cameras work? Before built in light meters, people who called themselves photographers could set the right exposure just by looking at a scene! It's like all the "computer experts" these days who can't even write a line of code if their lives depended on it.

tung

11:16 PM on 8 May, 2009

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Please tell me how I can convince this Camera to set an ISO Number ??? It would then

be the Perfect One for me.

Thank You veru much. Tung

Whitby

4:19 PM on 26 May, 2009

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As a computer geek who has written lines of code and does so for a living I have a few observations about this camera-

1)Its a nice step up from a regular point and shoot camera that you get for about 100 bucks.

2)I very much appreciate the macro settings being so easy to use

3)The camera feel is excellent and the unit weight is low despite being powered 4 AA batteries

4)I very much enjoy the simplicity of this unit and I am very glad to take pics, win photo contests and have tell me I am not a photographer because I did not attend the school of real photogs who weant to screw around with a camera all day and miss a shot. I would rather take a pic than use a camera and day

7:55 AM on 27 May, 2009

In response to the comments about LCD visibility in bright sunlight, both my Nikon P80 and Panasonic FX500 have screens that are quite usable in bright sunlight when the LCD brightness is cranked up. Of course, this is only possible with a camera that has adjustable brightness on it's LCD. Also, it doesn't take all day, but only a few seconds to set the correct aperture and shutter speed. With aperture priority, it's much easier than in manual mode, which can be more cumbersome, because then you have to set both aperture and shutter speed to match the correct exposure for the light conditions. In aperture priority mode, the camera sets the proper shutter speed for the user set aperture, so if I'm shooting at a long telephoto focal length, I set the aperture wide open for the fastest shutter speed available. If I'm shooting a wide angle landscape, I stop the lens down as far as I can for maximum depth of field and stiil get an acceptable hand held shutter speed. In auto program mode the camera may not set the optimum combination for the photo you're taking, particularly when using a long focal length where the maximum shutter speed for the scene is needed to combat camera shake. Image stabilizers aren't perfect and only give a one or two stop advantage, so even with stabilization on the camera may use a slower shutter speed and smaller aperture than optimum. This is why if you take the time to learn how focal lengths, apertures, shutter speeds and ISO interact, it will improve you're photos exponentially. And as I said before, using aperture priority mode only takes seconds, less time than setting the proper auto scene mode! That shouldn't be too hard for a computer geek. And I hope your code writing is better than your grammar and spelling.

6:56 PM on 27 May, 2009

You have 3 run on sentences; poor form for an implied master.

My "code" writing is just fine thanks. As to the content of your reply, yes thanks. However, I do not often find myself in situations where the LCD brightness is a huge factor. I photograph abandoned structures mostly and of course, I get to do the usual family photos.

However, I am just too freaking lazy by my own addmission and I have a very hard time believing that choosing, Auto Mode, pointing the device and pressing the button is a crime against the humanities. Additionally, I do not believe that the directions you provided would be performed in a few seconds. I just have the audacity to want to take a picture and move on after hiking for 3 hours in an abandoned coal field, getting eaten by bugs and scratched to hell by thorns, I selfishly desire to point and shoot with a quality pic IN THE SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE.

THEN I go home, crack a brew, upload the pics I took and find something I like so that I can restart my Phd in Appalachian studies.

Palak

1:21 PM on 13 June, 2009

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Hi,

I just got my new Nikon L100. before I visited thousand's of website to get review. Yea. there is no ISO setting & Viewfinder but its ok. Image stabilization: lens-shift is good choice for L100.

I was still confused that Fuji's S1500 is better or Nikon's L100 ? as far I can see previous models and sample picks of Nikon is the best choice. always something about its Quality.

Sony's DSC H50 is same category but very high $$$ then fuji & Nikon. when you take photo from any Auto Scene Mode you must give few second to camera to adjust and choose correct Scene Mode. its not a super computer process millions in a second.

its handling is very good, looks like DSLR camera. very user friendly.

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