I just got the camera and first thing I tested was VR.
First I thought it was bad as the pictures were dark and grainy only to realize that this camera has another feature Anti-Shake - Don't use it for low light pictures. VR and Anti-shake are two different options that come with camera.
VR is great. I took picture of wires in a dark nook of my office cube at 2X zoom and without flash and VR, the wires looked blurred. Now I turned on VR, no flash, 2x zoom and the blur on the wires were gone, though pictures were not crisp it was bright and looked good to me. VR-wise this camera is as good as $300 ones, I tested couple of those in shops.

Other than VR, it's an usual Nikon, you can find plenty of professional reviews on Nikon L series cameras.

I felt this camera is faster than L3 that I owned before.
For $178, I give it 5 stars for value.

But 4 stars for performance, as the $300 ones will do better than this in terms of speed and options for exposure control.

I purchased the L12 to replace my Coolpix 4600 so I could get sound in the movie mode. This works very well, and I'm more than satisfied with picture quality and battery life, and ease of use. The big problem is no viewfinder. I purchased this camera knowing that there was no viewfinder, but I thought I could get used to composing my pictures on the LCD screen. Unfortunately, the LCD screen is virtually useless outdoors on sunny days. You are reduced to pointing the camera and crossing your fingers. Forget about composition. It seems that most camera makers are eleminating the viewfinders in this catagory. I think that is a mistake. The old Coolpix 4600 zoom viewfinder is excellent.

I bought this camera to replace my Olympus c720 Ultra Zoom (very disappointed with its performance, only 3 yrs old). I wanted a small camera that could take great pictures of children who DO NOT stop for the camera. This camera handles those situations perfectly and the size you cannot beat. I love the long movie time it gives you and the large viewing screen. The modes are easy and the menu is a breeze to navigate with just enough to add features and simple enough to change on the fly without losing precious moments.

The vibration reduction I have used only a couple times, not the best pictures-they come out VERY GRAINY!! I thought I would need it more to take pictures of the kids, I have better luck on the Auto mode or Indoor mode. The delay between pictures is slower than others, but the picture quality is great.

Overall, very happy. Would give it 5 stars but the delay between pictures and the hype of the vibration reduction mode disappoints me. I would buy another again despite these facts and am actually waiting to get some more in the slush fund to buy my husband one so we each have one!!

Very easy, light and user friendly for the beginner to slight advanced photographer!!

This was my first digital camera purchase bought just in time for a big wedding. When my Nikon colorpix arrived I found easy instruction and easy to use. The wedding was a success and I really enjoyed the photos I have taken. I know that this camera has started me into the world of photography which I will enjoy in days to come. There are so many features to use on this small easy to use camera.

It is easy to use, takes great pictures, very good in low light, it is up to Nikon standards. I own three Nikons, two film and this one digital, I really like them all.

I bought this camera and returned it the same day. The reason: when you take a photo, there is a really long waiting period before you can take another photo. If you're not using the flash, it's about 3 seconds, which is manageable, but still slow compared to other cameras. If you are using flash, be prepared to wait. You take a photo, then the LCD screen goes blank and the flash resets itself. You can do nothing during this time - you can't take another photo, you can't turn off the flash, nothing. And this goes on for 9 seconds (I timed it). This nearly 10-second delay between flash photos makes this camera basically useless when using the flash.

The camera otherwise seemed fine, but nothing spectacular. The VR wasn't that awe-inspiring and you can get more by buying a Sony Cybershot (which I did and am very happy with). The Sony, which costs about $20 more, takes less than 3 seconds between flash photos. It's the difference between capturing a good shot and missing it completely.

My wife is the camera aficionado in the family. I've bought her good cameras, film and digital, and for birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas.

Of course, sometimes I get to borrow those. I love her Canon digital SLR, and I can borrow it whenever I need to.

She's a schoolteacher and likes to take pictures on the fly. That's the reason I bought her a Nikon CoolPix pocket camera a couple years ago. At the time, the camera was fairly expensive. I like the idea of having one in the car, but I wasn't going to pay for one for myself.

Lately, with camera prices getting more purchaser-friendly, I decided to buy one for myself. I write a blogspot and occasionally go to conventions and other events where I've wanted to have a camera with me but forgot it.

One of the best things I love about my new camera is that I can shove it into a pocket easily. It travels well in the protective case and it's always immediately to hand when I want to take a picture.

Since it uses SDRAM memory cards to store the images, I can take quite a lot of pictures without having to change film, or carry film, or even worry about an extra memory card to carry along. I can also take a lot of images of one thing without worrying about running out of film or exhausting memory space.

The camera is simple point and shoot operation. What you see in the viewscreen is what you get. Even I can do it. The 2.5in. viewscreen is a dream to work with. I know immediately what's going to be in my shot when I take the picture. And reviewing the pictures I've taken is relatively simple. They show up in good detail on the viewscreen and even better on a PC.

Downloading to your desktop computer or to a notebook PC is simple. Just plug in the cord that comes with the camera and you're all set. All you have to do is name the file you're going to be saving your pictures to.

The camera takes really good pictures inside. It comes with a flash, but often doesn't need the flash because there's generally enough light inside the buildings I've shot pictures in. One drawback, though, is the long time it takes for a flash to process. That has been a little disconcerting, but I don't generally take action pictures so it doesn't matter in what I'm using it for.

The 4x digital zoom optical lens works great. When you switch the camera on, the lens spins out automatically. The auto-focus feature is simple to operate as well. I also like the fact that this camera runs on AA batteries that I can pick up anywhere instead of some special hybrid batteries that I have to find a photography or specialty store.

It has fifteen scene modes, a Best Shot Selector that automatically picks the best shot of a series of ten that you're taking, voice recording capability, video recording capability, macro shooting from as close as six inches, and image stabilization.

A professional photographer might want more out of a camera than this one provides, but the Nikon CoolPix L12 really fits the bill for someone who's on the go and wants to just take occasional shots to remember an event or post on blogspots.

It was a gift but my niece that just joined the Navy, so far she's sent me such beautiful samples. The most important thing is she loves it and that is all that matters.

Nikon is made in China. What a shame. This could be a fine little camera, but the quality of the case is "cheap" and the lens covers stopped working two weeks after I bought it. The camera is now in the mail to the Nikon service center. We'll see what kind of service it gets, and how quickly I get it back -- either fixed or a replacement.

I bought this camera in hopes that it would be a reliable camera to use on an upcoming trip abroad. I've only owned it for a few days, and I already have several complaints. First of all, not really relating to the camera itself, if you have a Mac, you might have trouble using the photo software that comes with the camera. I tried installing it twice and it crashes before I can even open it up. Second of all, though I probably don't need to say this, if you like the ability to manually adjust your picture settings, this camera is probably not the way to go. Although they give you a bunch of preset "scene" modes, I found it frustrating that I couldn't manually adjust the shutter speed. Third, the menu layout and the zoom function in playback mode are a little counterintuitive. Most problematic at all, it uses AA batteries. I'm not sure if I'm using more juice than I should be, but I just put in standard AA batteries and I have a low battery readout after only taking a few videos and plugging it into my computer for 10 minutes. It's kind of a bummer to have to buy expensive rechargeable batteries after paying for a camera. Finally, although it might be a problem with my particular camera, half the times I turn off the camera, the lens isn't completely covered. Notwithstanding all these problems, it still seems to take pretty good pictures.

I've been shopping for different digital cameras for a while now and i think i found the best one. It's easy to use and the price is right. Also I think Nikon is the best brand there is!

I bought this camera for my sister back home in India as a gift from the Best Buy store, LA. When she got it, she was very excited and she tried to use it. But when I talked with her last time, she was complaining that she couldn't even take 5 photos before the batteries died (Duracell/Energizer battaries). At first I thought that was not possible - how she has to replace batteries every 5 photos she takes! I told her over the phone that, if that was the case - Nikon wouldn't even send this camera to the market. But later I met a women in the same Best Buy store asking for the solution for the same problem. Imagine that you spent 179.99+tax on this camera; so how would you feel if you had to worry about the batteries every 3 to 5 photos you take? I find this camera totally useless and unjustified product in the market.

Don't buy this camera unless you want to have your pocket full of extra battery or bettery + charger.

I give this Nikon L12 A BIG THUMB DOWN, A -1 STAR.

I could not be more pleased with this camera. It makes great pictures, is easy to operate, has everything I need to create great photos. The developed photos are just as crisp and clear as they appear on the LCD Screen.

It`s a great gift. I bought it to my boyfriend and he just love it. It`s very easy to use and the pictures are really great.

What I like about this camera it was very easy to use. I loaded the disk in the computer and was downloading the pictures with in 15 mintues. The only thing I did not like was the fact the flash is really bright and came make the pictures look washed out and you are taking a picture of a white item. However it picks up detail that my other camera could of never done

I bought the L12 because I saw my son's L11 and I liked the camera. Both my son and I have problems with the lens that make the camera useless at this time. The lens went out and is stuck in that position (don't tell me to change the batteries, we tried). The screen says lens error, but it will not retract and will not work other than to tell us there is a lens error. This happened the second time I used the camera. My son used his a little more, but they were both essentially new cameras that died.

Wanted a new digicam to replace my Nikon Coolpix 880 which was given as a gift. It worked well, but my main issue was it barely fit even in a large front pocket. I wanted something compact, <200 dollars, preferably cheaper. I decided to stick with Nikon since my 880 worked and held up pretty well, had a nice interface, and to continue using SD cards from my other electronic gadgets (PDA, GPS device, etc.). Nikon's L series has several Coolpix models to choose from that fit the bill. After some research, I've determined...... the L6 is old and inferior overall in specs, L10's 2" LCD could be bigger, and the L12 had the following over the L11:
-2.5" LCD vs 2.4"
-7.1MP vs 6MP
-21MB internal RAM vs 7MB
-automatic ISO of up to 1600 vs 800
-has Vibration Reduction (VR) mode (aka "no shakey" effect or Image Stabilization)
-one touch access to VR mode and Assisted Frame portrait mode (automatically recognizes faces and puts better focus on them)
-wider selection of image resolutions
-flash with range of 26 feet vs 11 feet

It appeared to be worth the extra money for those features.

As for the L12, for an advanced point & shoot camera, it's not too bad given its low price point (probably even lower since this review was written). My old camera had a plethora of manual controls and other features, but I never used them even when I did realize they existed, so the lack of manual controls doesn't particularly bother me. Navigating the menus and interface is quite intuitive, and you'll only need to consult the manual to find the few things that elude you or to check to if they're even there. The bulge on the side where you the 2 AA batteries go gives it more bulk when put in a smaller pocket, but it also gives it a better grip. Good when you want to take right-handed only shots. Battery life is above average. I got almost a month's use out of this camera on a pair of lithiums, and that's a month of rather heavy use, as that was a time period when I brought it with me everywhere to various parties and site seeing events while testing it. By my estimates, I took roughly 80 pictures a week and well over 3.5 hours of video for that month alone. I've also used the LCD screen a lot for exploring the menus, settings, and for photo/video playback. Granted less 2% of my shoots were without flash, but everything else, especially video recording are known to drain batteries quickly on a digital camera.

Some of the main features on the L12 include high automatic ISO settings, Vibration Reduction, larger LCD, and powerful flash.

The up to 1600 ISO setting sounds impressive, but without being able to set it manually to test it, it's kind of hard to tell if it's doing it's job well enough. You'll still want a tripod or to use the flash in quite dark conditions. It appears using Vibration Reduction, which is more or less image stabilization (done in the lens as opposed to software) does cause the camera to jack up the ISO. In medium lighting conditions, the VR does reduce blurriness found in photos when you think you held a steady shot, but then zoom in to find blurriness at 10x. In moderately-heavy dark situations, this is apparent since photos taken in this mode have noticeable grainy specks or noise to them, but they do appear crisp when zooming in. Another example, at night in a skyline view, most of what you see are lights for dots and some make of the building structure. Taking that same picture in a higher light situation will actually show the buildings and texture with more clarity. If pictures are still somewhat blurry, THEN VR would smoothen that out without compromising the overall picture. In short, VR is good to have, but it's not a "cure-all", especially in low light conditions.

While some compact cameras do have large as 3" screens, those won't be at available this price range, and that's usually possible at the cost of removing a lot of the hard buttons to make room for it, forcing you to do more stuff through the menus. The flash is quite powerful for a camera of this size. I can't measure if the range is indeed 26ft, but when used in an outdoor night setting, it does light up faraway objects with ease. However, using the flash causes the camera to "stall" for around 8 seconds, which you'll need to wait it through before you can take more pictures again or do anything else really.

In short, this camera has some nice ideas and features to it that set it a part from other cameras in its price range. However, their implementations could've been done better. If you take a lot of flash photography, the long flash recycle times will be a big letdown. If you want something that works well without flash in dark scenery, you'll want to look elsewhere, likely beyond an advanced point and shoot model. I'm not a big photo-nut. The majority of my shots are done in so-so to great lightning condition which shoots good photos most of the time, but still costed less than what many pay for even the better camera cell phones works for me.

I bought a Nikon L12 and it lasted one week - just died! I sent the camera back to Nikon. They refuse to replace my camera or fix it. Don't buy any Nikon products. I bought it because of its AA battery capabilities because its hard to find electricity in many outback places - but after one week all the batteries I tried did not work. Buy a Canon Product instead - I own two digital PowerShots and they work great (just buy an extra rechargable battery).

I bought this camera to complement a trip to Europe. It accompanied me constantly in a pants or coat pocket when on the go, and proved rugged, simple, and reliable. I used the auto setting 80% of the time - low light, bright light, cloudy days, rainy days, dark caves. Of the 600 or so pics I took, about 75% of them were keepers (mostly because I refused to use the flash and instead relied on the camera's auto ISO, high sensitivity, and slowed down shutter speed). My friends had $250+ cameras and this thing took pictures that looked virtually identical to theirs and at a $100 discount, PLUS with anti-shake (grainy pics), AND with a cheap looking design (less risk of theft). I used the fully automatic pic feature to good effect, captured a couple videos, took close ups and landscapes, and got one audio recording. Fast draw and shoot capability a big plus. Burned through about 3.5 sets of Alkaline batteries.

The one complaint I have is the low-ish frame rate on the medium video setting. My friends' $250+ cameras (sony, cannon pocket cameras) took camcorder-like videos while mine was a bit choppy on this setting. To be fair, on the highest quality setting the video looks just fine.

I dropped the camera twice from about a meter up and it doesn't even have a scratch, just some pocket wear from being toted around so much.

I highly reccomend this camera as a cheap all purpose pocket camera for people who don't want to mess around with ISO/shutter settings themselves. It's not only a good all around camera, but stacks up well against more expensive pocket cameras, with a bigger screen than them, and it takes better night time photos.

This is a very nice camera, it take very nice pictures, better pictures than my canon A560 that I used to have. It's very light, small, with a big screen, and high quality

The only thing that I don't like is that it takes its time to get ready for the next picture once you take one, the video takes some time to come back again on the screen.

I bought this camera for my 15 year old son's birthday. He had done all the research and decided this was the best for the money. I agree. The 7.1 megapixels for $130.00 is great! The only thing we have not liked about the camera so far is that it goes through batteries really fast. We plan on getting some lithium rechargables. I would suggest the same for any one who wants this camera.

Returned this within 2 days - pictures were not bright - they were washed out.

We bought this camera in May and it began having trouble with its lens cover closing in September. By October, it had become a real problem, but we were leaving on a trip with no time to get it fixed or replaced before we left. We took it to Nepal for a 24-day trek, and the lens cover stopped working at all about mid-way through the trip.

Another significant problem we had was that it went through batteries at the rate of almost 2 per day by the 1st week of the trip. I can't tell you how much of a problem this was. We brought home a huge pile of batteries to recycle, while all of our friends (who were using much bigger and more complex cameras) went through 1 to 2 sets of batteries each. This is a seriously flawed camera, and we will be returning it pronto.

With the L12, you get about what you pay for. A camera with VR for under $150 is reasonable, 7MP is about average now, and the image quality is acceptable.

The main problem with the L12 is the frequency of lens errors. I've had a number of these returned at my store for this problem and the display model suffered from the same. The lens will extend, make a clicking sound, and do one of the following: shut off, fail to autofocus properly and still take (blurry) pictures, or an error message will stay on the screen and not allow you to take any pictures.

The L12 has been discontinued from Nikon's lineup and for good reason: There are much better options in this price range with superior features and specs, such as Panasonic's LZ6/LZ7 and Canon's A570IS.

It's been a while since I've been motivated enough to bother posting a review, but I'm furious and fed up with Nikon's garbage. I originally had a Coolpix L11, the model one notch below this one. It worked decently enough for about a week, and then suddenly the camera would no longer turn on. The power button did nothing. After eliminating batteries, lack of charge, etc. as possible suspects, I took the camera to an electronics repair shop and was told that the power on\off switch was malfunctioning. The cost to repair it would have been almost enough to buy a new camera, so I chalked it up to "sometimes stuff happens" and let it go. A few months later, my sister received a new camera for herself to replace her outdated one; the new one was another Coolpix L11 identical to mine. Surprise, surprise -- again after a full day's use, the power button suddenly went kablooey and the camera could not be turned on. This time, my father was rightly annoyed about the situation because he'd just bought the camera that morning, so he marched it right back to the store and exchanged it. To my knowledge, the exchanged camera works fine, but that's still 2 Nikon Coolpix cameras in a row with the same manufacturing defect. Now onto my review for the L12. I received an L12 this Christmas to replace my original (dead) L11 with its malfunctioning power button. I took the L12 out of the box for the first time just tonight. Brand new, plastic and shrink wrap and foam covering still intact in the box. Guess what? It won't turn on. The batteries are absolutely brand new and were included in the box. The camera's never been out of its protective wrapping. It's simply defective. The SAME defect that the other TWO Coolpix cameras had.

I'll be returning it later this week and I'm sure the store will make an exchange on a clearly defective product, but at this point, I don't WANT another Coolpix. This line of cameras by Nikon is obviously defective on the manufacturing level and I should not have to waste my time and money buying and exchanging cameras, essentially trying one after another after another until I get one that works. 3 out of 4 defective cameras with the exact same flaw, brand new out of the box, already broken? You have to be kidding me.

i bought this camera 3 months ago and it was taking some really great pictures.
Then suddenly, while i turned it on a week ago, it came up with lens error and made a weird buzzing sound.
I have researched this problem and it has happened to many people.
just google nikon coolpix lens error.
i would highly suggest that you should get a cannon powershot instead of a nikon coolpix.

I bought this camera as a Christmas present for my father. I've been the one who has used it the most. It is very user friendly and can be programmed in other languages. The pictures are so crisp! I get compliments on the quality of the pictures all the time.

This is a plain, non-technical review for an average user.

I wanted a slim point-and-shoot that would produce fairly good images for max 5x7 prints...

Well, this camera seems to only work well in good sun -which is a typical thing with many cameras...along with the impossible to see display ...I mean you cannot see what you are shooting in a nice sunny day, as the diplayed is washed out.

The image quality is so-so. I probably should have played with the white calibration more, with other numerous setting, but I wanted a point-and-shoot camera, not a cockpit panel.

The battery drain is noticeable. The next-shot speed is AWEFUL..It takes its time to adjust focus... Then it goes into sleep mode every 1 minute if not sooner, so if you are trying to get a shot of your precious grandson when you need an ever-ready camera, this one is not it!

On the positive side, it fits in the hand nicely, has fairly intuitive controls, and is indeed small. The download from internal memory was a breeze. I never bothered to installed the software.

I took three shots under rain and the poor thing died. So glad it did.

I chose this camera as my birthday gift almost a year ago. I have been quite pleased with it so far. It's a good first time digital camera, and the user manual and settings are really easy to navigate. I buy lithium batteries, so they last longer. I've taken it with me on vacations and was pleased with the ease of use and good pictures it takes. My best pictures have turned out when I am as steady as possible, especially with low light--I usually hold my breath.

The only negatives for me have been the slow processing time when using the flash and the noise in fireworks pictures. But I try to avoid the flash because natural lighting is much nicer.

I've also posted some pictures taken with the L12.

Overall, I think this is a solid, reliable camera that takes good pictures.