The L2 and L3 models are twins with a shared instruction manual. For some the more expensive L2 may be a better choice.

At a camera store I made several identical shots with both cameras and the L2 produced consistently sharper images when zoomed in on the fine detail of ordinary shots. (Using readability of distant text to judge sharpness of jpg images saved in the largest file size.)

With simpler menus than higher priced cameras these seem to be a good choice for the less determined photographer in your family. I am going to use mine as a backup for an older pocket digital on a trip and ultimately as a spouse's camera. While she likes 4X6 prints, for which the L3 would be fine, I will keep her files and view them on computer and so chose the extra sharpness.

This is a very likeable little camera that is significantly smaller than my older digital. To keep that size advantage I found a Tamrac slip in case with Velcro closure flap at a photo chain store with many cases to choose from.

We bought the camera based on the good brand name, small size and 5MP capability. It has been a complete disapointment. The 2 "AA" batteries run down very quickly, the quality of the image is terrible, the autofocus works randomly. It is just a bad product.

For years I had a Canon Powershot and a Sony Cybershot and both are great choices.

This is our 3rd digitial camera, and the best we have had yet. Our other cameras are a Sony Mavica CD model and a Kodak v550.

Unlike the Kodak, this camera is well designed so it "fits" like it should in your hands. The various menu buttons and options are very intuitive, and spaced properly across the back of the camera. (In contrast, the Kodak model has many of its tiny control buttons packed across the top of the camera, making them hard to use and to read).

The LCD screen on the back of the camera is very large and is not washed out by sunlight, a problem many other cameras have.

The photos are sharp, well focused and easily manipulated with the software that comes with the camera.

A great camera for the money.

I bought this camera while I was on vacation in NM and CO. It works great, takes wonderful landscape photos, close ups of quilts/pets and portaits of people. Auto focus is wonderful. It's easy to operate and shoots videos. Really a lot of fun and the pictures I downloaded to my Mac are sharp and clear. If you want faster shots, switch to the sports setting. Batteries lasted for about 225 - 250 pictures and short movies. Small size makes it easy to carry and use. I've taken over 3,500 photos and it's working perfectly. I think it's a great value.

I bought this camera because all I needed was a basic point and shoot and this one is cheap and has a nice sleek design and uses AA batteries. Unfortunately, this camera's image quality is terrible. Nearly all images are blurred no matter how careful I am, and the flash/nighttime performance is exceptionally bad. I have used Canon and Minolta in the past with far better results. I dislike this camera so much that I will be giving it to the first taker I find and replacing it, probably with a Canon.

As a newspaper editor/photographer, I've always had a high regard for Nikon products. I figured the Nikon Coolpix L3 would be a great pocket camera for my wife. I was wrong. I bought the camera at a retail store, but took it back the next day.

Among the problems with this camera: very poor image quality in "auto" mode, even in daylight; very weak flash; a rubber cover to the USB cable port that made plugging in the cable difficult (and I'm sure will be the first thing to break); and others. Well, the camera did LOOK nice....

After returing the L3, I bought a Kodak EasyShare Z700 (via Amazon) and am pleasantly surprised -- the Kodak is a great camera for about the same price as the disappointing Nikon L3.

Unlike many mini digital cameras, the Nikon L3 is set up to be easy to use. The 3x optical zoom is a simple rocker switch, positioned so that it's accessible while holding the camera with one hand, as opposed to the awkward combination arrow pad / zoom arrangements on other cameras. The menu is set up so that the most common options are displayed first, rather than forcing you to scroll down through innumerable pages. It takes plain old AA batteries and has a tripod mount, two essential features that are often inexplicably omitted from cameras in this size. With the exception of the odd plastic cover for the USB port, it's superbly put together.

The quality of the "normal" 5MP pictures is unfortunately not that great, but it looks good when you use "fine" mode. Shutter lag is OK, a second or so, though it can be set up to fire continuously while the shutter is held down. The "Scene mode" promises better pictures, including detecting faces in portraits, but I haven't seen any noticeable difference. The video quality is decent, though the grinding noise of the autofocus mechanism means that you have to use a fixed focal length if you care at all about the audio.

Overall, it's a fine camera to stick in your pocket.

I think this DC is more attractive than the pics from website when I got it. However, the focus system is too slow to accept under weak light, for example, indoor at night. This is the biggest problem I've ever met with so many DCs I used.

Conclusively, I persoanlly don't recommend this DC.

I bought it about a week ago and have been using it hoping that I would get better results, but I haven't. I returned it today. The pictures are blurry whether indoor with flash or outdoor with bright sunlight. A lot of the photos also came out dark. The image quality was just not acceptable to me.

This is an excellent small digital, and most of the features of the other, larger Nikon digitals, with a better recovery time than many of them. The larger screen is a bonus.

This is my first DC so I'm no expert on these things. But I can tell you that I am completely satisfied with this camera. The camera is easy to use and has tons of features. The picture quality is great. The owners manual is clear and well written. The camera housing is compact and stylish. The price is competitive. I love my new L3!

Wow Nikon missed the mark with this one. The menu is just crazy - feels like a marketing guy on steroids put every conceivable ridiculous feature imaginable into this camera. The flash is worthless.

Buy this camera only if;
1) your shots tend to be outdoor action shots where no flash is ever needed
2) you can get it for $50 or less

I bought this camera a little over a month ago from Target for $179.99. I really liked the design of it and the fact that it was small. I thought it took great pictures and the screen size was just right for me. It was a fairly easy camera to use, but the only downside to it was that every time I took a picture, the screen would go blank/black for about 5 seconds. This got really annoying after a while, because no other camera did this. I decided to return it and get my money back. I later bought a Samsung Digimax S500 5.1mp camera from Walmart and have been happy with my decision ever since.

Likes:

1. Nice saturated color (kind of over exag. but I like that)when camera does get a good shot

2. good for outdoor great light shots BUT.....

3. Use of AA Batteries and Life is pretty decent.

4. Size of Camera

Major Dislikes:

1. Very hard to get any shots without major blur.

2. FORGET using this camera inside. The flash is horrible. Please don't bother with this camera inside. You will be very dissappointed. There is so much noise on indoor pictures.

3. I have taken close to 600 pictures at the highest quality allowed on the camera. Of the 293 that turned out, the mega pixels never exceeded 2.29 mega pixels.

4. Forget Cropping with this camera.

This camera is definitely worth whatever you are spending on it! The fact that it is so small and cute (yes, I said cute... I'm a girl) is just a bonus. The features are amazing, you'll never use them all... but even if you are a real novice you can't go wrong... I mean, there's a section where they even give you the outline of the person, you just have to line them up... point, and shoot. It's even good for taking pics in the dark... even if it looks dark in the screen before you take it, the powerful flash lights up everything.

The fact that it takes a regular SD card is also excellent, you can get that anywhere unlike some of the other proprietary ones. And you only need two AA batteries.

Cons... well, I guess battery life could be a bit longer when you've got lots of video to take. And somebody out there in Digital Camera world needs to come up with a way to improve lighting for taking video as well... maybe a steady lamp that you can manually switch on or something!

Nikon Coolpix L3 is a great camera because it's made for the middle class consumer. The flash charger takes about 4 seconds in between pictures. The flash compensation feature is innovative. However, you can do this in the computer to adjust the brightness and contrast better. One of the best things about this camera is that it allows you to shoot videos with audio for however long your memory card can hold. Other cameras can just shoot videos for a minute or two.

I thought some of the reviewers here must be either exaggerating how bad this camera is, or they might be chronic complainers. This camera is made by NIKON ! Fact of the matter is: This camera is useless indoors. I'm astonished!

Camera worked fine initially but when battery died the lens failed to retract. Tried everything the manual said to try without success and then sent in camera for repair. Took them a week to even acknowledge receipt. Called twice to find out status and get a service #. Since then, it has been two weeks at Nikon repair waiting for a "part on hold." Phone support said they would let me know in 2 days if it was still on hold. That's useful. Meantime, no camera. Last Nikon I'll buy again. Buyer beware!

We bought this camera for a trip. It worked fine for the trip, but then starting complaining that the batteries were exhausted (on a new set of heavy duty Panasonic batteries). Changed and tried again. Again, the camera would complain about the batteries and shut off before any picture could be taken. Tried again with new Duracells, same problem. Called support (30 minutes on hold) and had to pay shipping to send in (all still within 30 days of original purchase) to have repaired.

Received the camera back yesterday and now it will not even power-up. Their "repair" consisted of "cleaning" the camera! Called Nikon (waited on support hold for another 20 minutes). A very argumentative support person kept insisting that it was the batteries. Checked Duracell website while on the phone and they even list this battery for use in Nikon digital cameras!

This camera is junk! This is the *LAST* Nikon product I will ever buy.

I've had it less than 6 months and I have already had DOZENS of issues with it. It is constantly shutting itself off, as the battery gets "exhausted." So basically, you can either sit around 5 or 10 minutes while it, I don't know, "rests" and then take the picture, or switch batteries. I ended up carrying an extra couple of batteries around to swith back and forth. Every so often, it tells me that "This card cannot be used" when there is no card in it, and I have to call the crappy technical support people to help me, and then after that all the pictures I took are gone.

I hate all of the color/effects/whatever options, none of them ever seem to be quite right. It's always overexposed or blurry or just WEIRD. I hate the flash. Using the flash always seems to distort peoples faces. In the pictures I've taken of my friends, they look NOTHING like themselves. I've had bunches of other problems with the camera like it not allowing me to delete a picture and then shutting itself off. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? And a bunch of other crap like that.

Luckily, I'll be getting a new camera soon. When that happens, I will promptly take this little piece of junk out back and smash it with a sledgehammer of some sort.

In short, I highly advise you NOT to get this camera.

I bought this camera while saving up for a Nikon D50 (It was cheap, and I really needed SOMETHING to take pictures with, as my other camera had bit the dust) and was pleasantly surprised by it. It takes brilliant macros and it also performs wonderfully outside. If you can get outside and play with this thing, you won't be dissapointed.

That's not to say there aren't a few problems. For instance, the flash is worthless, and I found myself loading up on off-camera light so I wouldn't have to use it. But at 150 dollars, I was willing to just deal with that. It truly is a bargain.

I owned the Nikon Coolpix L3 for 2 days before I returned it. I will agree with others that the pictures are 'noisy' under less than perfect lighting conditions. I took flash pictures indoors and non-flash pictures outside under grey skies and both sets of pictures appeared 'noisy'. I attribute this to the auto-iso feature; (I would love to have been able to preset the ISO setting to see if it made a difference). Because there is only a 3x optical zoom, noise is an issue as you cannot zoom in well enough for most distant subjects and cropping would be necessary, thus magnifying any noise issues present.

For me, the ease of carrying does not outweigh the noisy images I received. If your primary need is for a convenient pocket-carry camera then the L3 may fit your needs as it is easily pocketable in a shirt or pants. but be forwarned about image quality.

Against my better judgement (read the negative reviews) I bought this camera for my 18 year old son. He used it a few short months and now the lens won't retract despite the sounds that the camera is trying to do so. Consequently, he can't turn it off without taking out the batteries. AAAAnd he gets a blank black or white screen and can't take pictures. Spend a little extra to buy the replacement warranty. I wish I had.

I can understand some of the comments left by other reviewers here, however, the instruction manual addresses many of the problems people complain about, such as noise while making a video, or problems with taking night time photos, etc.

Once you have read the manual, AND experimented, it is easy to understand HOW the camera works, and how to fix certain situations. The camera has a lot of features, that in fact do correct photo quality, and sometimes using a setting that you think is the right one, may be improved by selecting a different setting.

I have absolutely no problem with this camera, and highly recommend it, especially considering it can be found almost everywhere online for under $150!

I also highly recommend getting the NiMH type rechargeable batteries, they really do last a decent amount of time. Also, immediately get a 1GB SD memory card, you won't regret it, and the cost is literally only a couple dollars more than most smaller size anyway.

All considered, this camera gives me EVERYTHING want, for one heck of a great price! I even like the video capabilities, and the sound is decent, can't complain! :)

I purchased this item the day after Christmas. This camera takes excellent pictures and very nice videos. The negative reviews that were posted regarding this camera I do not understand because I have absolutely no complaints. It is light weight, easy to use, runs off two AA batteries which is a god send, takes phenomenal night shots, and the scene selections make it very easy for a first time user to capture some wonderful pictures. I recommend this item to anyone who cares about quality photography...it's an excellent choice!!

For the price this is a good camera, I have had no problems using it. The flash works fine, there is no need for extra lights. Give the camera a second to just 'assess' the lighting and you'll see it'll boost the image up by cranking the ISO and that might be where many are complaining about the noise levels. Getting too close to a persons face can distort how they look so it's not the camera. It works great indoors and out. My husband and I just needed a simple camera that fit in our pockets and this one is it. I'm not wild about the way the colors change in the different modes such as sunset and a few others, but that's it. You can't control the ISO so if you are concerned with noise that shows up in JPEG images so this one might not be right for you. With enough lighting the camera doesn't boost the ISO. In some modes you can turn on the flash and override that little problem. For the price it's not a bad camera.

i received this camera for christmas and i have not experienced the problems which everyone is talking about.

All my inside pictures except for a couple turned out fine, no noise, not blurry, but crisp and clear. additionally the only pictures that did turn out poorly were the ones where i was kinda shaky, or when the camera took a picture with flash when there was a lamp almost directly behind my friends (this would probably cause problems for all cameras except very high end ones, even my roomates brandnew 7.1 mp olympus has problems taking pictures in weird lighting), all i did was move over a few inches and the pictures turned out great. and if you are having problems with auto mode their are a million scene specific mode (ie one for indoor parties, if it really is a problem)

also i have not experienced many noisy photos, just yesterday i was outside taking picture of the animals on my boyfriends farm, it certainly was not a beautiful day out, kinda glum, but my pictures turned out fine. i even used the zoom to take pictures of some of the prettier roosters and hens and a close of up my sheep's face. (there is also a close up mode, which i didn't even need to use).

The battery, basic AAs actually lasted longer than i expected seeing as i used the camera all christmas day, at a party, and yesterday on the farm, and only after that did i finally get a battery warning light.

i also went with the 1 gb memory card it holds 774 photos on the regular picture quality setting and about an hour and 15 minutes worth of movie (the movie feature is pretty sweet also).

i love this camera, i haven't had any problems with it and for being a 5.1 megapixel, reasonablly low priced camera, it takes great pictures. I am very pleased. as with most things, if one thoroughly reads the product manual, or even just skims it, the problems would be minimal or non-existant. i would not be ashamed to recommend this camera to anyone looking for a decent 5.1 mp reasonablly priced camera.

I bought this for my elderly father and it's so easy to use. He loves it - it's just simple.

and it was really my fault: I've gotten so used to treating the thing with (relative) impunity, I just tossed it into a backpack, where the power button must have been bumped. There was not enough space for the lens to extend, so now it's stuck halfway out. BUT, for the last year I couldn't have been happier. Nary a bad picture in just about ever conceivable lighting condition, good videos (with sound), and small form made this ~$150 very well spent. I'm tempted to get another L3 one to replace it (will probably send it to Nikon just to get a laugh at how much they'll charge to fix it, but then again maybe it will be super simple and just cost shipping...), but now looking at others with larger screens, more gadgets etc.
Anyway, the Nikon is a super little digicam

Kurt

Overall a good camera. The shutter lag is a big frustrating. There is only an LCD display no viewfinder.

I bought this camera for my 12 year old son. I liked it because it is a quality camera without a lot of bells and whistles. It does have some nice features including video with sound as well as above average picture quality. Negatively, it will burn batteries quickly so I would advise rechargable batteries. My son loves it.

Great little camera!
Easy to use and with a 1 gig card can hold mucho pictures

Too slow when using flash. bad pictures when outside during the evening. Flash is weak. Good panoramic feature though.

Having an earlier version of the Nikon Coolpix, I opted to stay with Nikon when it came time to purchase a newer version. I wasn't sorry. This camera takes clear, sharp pics with ease. The compact size makes it easy to take everywhere. The menu options and various settings make it simple for even an amateur digital photographer to take great photos- No more red-eye!! The only drawback was the time in between taking a photo and preparing for the next shot. Otherwise, a great camera for the price.

This is a good camera. The pictures are excellent, and it is easy to use. However - It eats batteries like there's no tomorrow. If you buy this one, just remember to keep a bunch of AA batteries handy if you use it a lot.

This is an attractive, well-designed compact digital camera. I have a Kodak CX7300, which a little less expensive, but has some design flaws, for example:
* With the Kodak it is all too easy to get a finger in front of the
lens. The Nikon doesn't have that problem; it can be held more
naturally.
* The Kodak's LCD display is smaller, dimmer, and is useless in
sunlight. The Nikon has a bigger and much brighter LCD.
* Kodak recommends a more expensive Double AA battery pack. The Nikon
takes two regular and less expensive AAs.

The Quick Start Guide gives you basically all you need to know to get started. The full Camera Guide is well designed, clear, and fully referenced. One thing that the Guide doesn't tell you is that you don't have to install all of the software provided. For Windows XP (and presumably other operating systems), you do need to load at least the camera driver from the CD (using the Custom Installation to check only that box). From that point you can use the Windows Camera and Scanner Wizard to download images easily from the camera, if you don't want to get involved with specialized software.

Since the Guide didn't make this point clear, I phoned Nikon Support (which is 24/7) and was shocked when the phone was immediately answered: no hold time at all (during normal business hours; there was a wait outside those hours).

I purchased this camera as I was looking for something smaller than my old Canon PowerShot S45. The Coolpix is definitely easier to use and more portable. There is one major draback,however. The flash is too weak and makes the indoor pictures look too dark. The D-Lighting feature that comes with the camera consistently makes people's faces red, which is not so good. Also, don't expect to take two pictures in a row. The batteries require 5-6 seconds between pictures.
Yet, I still like the camera because I can play with the many different shot settings without thinking too much. Also, the video is great.

Very happy with this purchase, very good product, fast shipping....

I had serious problems with this camera. First off it required a new set of batteries everytime I used and and I honestly dont take that many pictures. About 6 months after receiving this as a gift the camera would not focus and the button used to take pictures would constantly get stuck. Furthermore the recording feature did not work at all in dim light such as indoors. Dont bother to buy this.

Its not a great item to look for. If you are in a hurry to buy one go for it (like I did). Or else I would say you will get a better brand and quality if you can do little more research.

I love it.
Very compact & handy.
Flashlites are gr8.
Has got many good features.

Only negative point is: it takes some time for the image to be written into the SD card

If you expect a cheap camera with limited functionality and picture-taking that will only work in good light, then this is a good camera for you.

When we purchased the camera, I didn't expect that it would be as bad as it is indoors. It truly does poorly any time the flash is involved unless you're using the flash as a fill-in flash.

Outdoors, in good light, it does reasonably well. Otherwise, it's a pretty lousy camera.

Fantastic digital camera. I can't believe all the functions. I would expect to pay several hundred dollars for acamera that can do all the thing it does. I strongly recommend purchasing the 1GB DS memkory chip. Makes the camera a real fun item.

Good camera. Takes a minute to focus though so when other people take pictures for you they often turn out blurry.

aside from other issues mentioned, the biggest problem is: the lens on this camera is suspended internally on some kind of sensitive spring mechanism and its super easy to dislodge. within 1 month of owning this camera .. it was dropped a short distance and the camera instantly became a doorstop .. i've always expected the best from nikon, their SLRs and 900-series digital cams have always been rock solid and sturdy, .. but i've never had anything like this happen previously with any kind of camera... very disappointing. this is junk .. i'd definitely avoid this one...

After owning my camera for just a few months, yesterday the lens on my camera just jammed and stopped working altogether -- right in the middle of my daughter's birthday party. I went online today to discover this is a common problem with this product, and in most cases Nikon is not honoring the warranty because it's considered a usage problem. This product should be recalled. It is defective. Nikon should be embarrassed to produce such a flimsy product for so much money. Nikon should acknowledge this problem, and work to restore their good name. I strongly discourage anyone from buying this camera.

This camera is compact and works great, I bought it for my daughter who is 13 she has taken over a hundred pics already, I liked the idea of no developing film, she can take as many pictures as she wants and we only print the pics she puts into her scrapbook. Thanks

After owning my camera for a few months, the lens on my camera jammed. It turns out to be a common problem with this product. This camera should be recalled. It is defective. I cannot recommend that anyone buy this camera.

This camera takes decent pictures but it has a lot of problems. I have two small kids and it's hard to get a picture of them unless they are standing completely still. The shutter speed isn't fast enough, reload is too long after the flash goes off, don't even try to take a picture with the flash off it just comes out totally blurred. Like the other reviewers that have had problems with the lens jamming, mine has done that too, I've only had the camera maybe 6 months and it's already broken, not very sturdy for someone on the go with little kids. I'm very dissappointed in this camera.

I saved a great amount of money. The product is working great and I received it very quickly.

I waited to review this camera until I'd really put it through the paces on a 10-day trip to Paris, where I used it in pretty much every conceivable scenario: indoor, outdoor, sunny, cloudy, closeup (macro), high zoom, videos in the day and night, etc. I've explored all of its features at this point, including all of the scene modes (panorama included).

This is a good camera. To my thinking, the single best feature is the "D-Lighting" option. This feature is an automatic color/lighting adjustment tool that one accesses when in "play mode" (viewing previously-taken pictures). It's a very smart feature that will compensate for poor lighting situations. I used this on almost every picture I took. The panorama feature is also nice--it's used in conjunction with the bundled software Nikon includes with the camera. Video mode is quite good--with a 2GB card, and tuned to a lower quality (smaller) video mode, you can actually get a couple hours of video on this thing.

I'd recommend this camera for amateur/casual use--it's very intuitive, and will suit those not inclined to gadgetry and technology. Also a VERY good first camera for a teen. It's certainly not the best thing out there, but it's inexpensive and takes excellent pictures at 5.1 MP. Also, the AA battery life is long, and makes it easy to keep the camera powered, even in a foreign country using a different voltage (no recharging necessary, just replace the batteries). Very lightweight, and can be tucked into a pant pocket.

Some shortcomings: the biggest flaw is that the camera has no HOLD function--that is, there's no way to disable the on/off button without removing the batteries. Thus, if you put the camera in your pocket and the power button is unintentionally pressed, the camera will turn on, and the lens will try to open. This may lead to the "lens jamming" other reviewers have complained of. This was an annoyance, though one I easily overcame by removing one battery in situations where I thought it might be an issue. Also, if the lens tries to open but can't, the camera will shut down and display a "lens error" message. This might drain the battery, but, in my experience, won't seriously hurt the camera. Another shortcoming, though one shared by most cameras in this price-range, is that it lacks the aperture to take really good sharp pictures in low-lighting situations, without a tripod. The small lens simply can't gather enough light fast enough to get detailed nighttime city-scapes, for instance. Anything beyond the range of the flash (which is good) will be dark or blurry. The same problem might confront a user in a museum where flash is prohibitied. Unless you have a tripod or a very steady hand, the pictures are likely to turn out blurry. Finally, several users have complained that the memory-writing process is slow--that is, after taking a picture you have to wait several seconds while the camera saves the picture before you can take another one. This is true. My understanding is that some of this has to do with the write-speed of the memory card you purchase, but some of it also has to do with the camera itself. Not recommended for situations in which you'll want to snap off several pictures in quick succession.

On the whole, I think this camera is an excellent value that will suit most needs. I'm glad I got it, but I also know that it won't satisfy more demanding users.

I've had my camera since Chirstmas '06, and I like it, but it goes through batteries way too fast. I buy the digital batteries, and even those are wasted within taking 50 or so pictures. The quality isn't bad for a such a simple camera, but if you plan on taking a ton of pictures, be prepared to change your batteries every week. I'm going to buy some rechargeables and see if those hold out better.

I got this camera in December of '06, and I love it. I always take great pictures. It is very compact, and seems to hold together very well. Of couse mine stays in the case when not in use. Which, I've learned, is an important key. I just love the camera.

Wow, where do I begin? This camera has been a let down. Outdoor pictures are great. Indoor pictures are poor. Camera doesn't have multi focus. Center focus does just that, but away from the center isn't very sharp at all. After the lens protrudes from the camera, the lens takes a long time to focus. If your taking pictures on the fly in your car, this camera isn't for you. Back to the indoor pictures, the subject is light in the picture, but the background is always dark even with ample natural light. Not what I want. Often times the color get really funky with indoor pictures.

I bought this camera about six months ago and have had problems with the lens for the past month. Now, I have the "lens error" message on the screen and the camera does not work at all. The quality of the pictures are ok at best, and there is a long lag time between pictures when using the flash. Overall, I would not recommend this product.

The outdoor pictures i have taken with this camara have been colorful, crisp, and amazing. There are lots of scene modes and the overall usability of the camara is terrific. The main thing that is terrible about this camara is it takes remarkably horrible indoor images. In "auto" mode, everything turns out too dark, because the flash is so strong, so instead of assisting illumination, it kills the picture. An alternative is to use the party/indoor mode, but these turn out blurry if there is any movement, and are too bright, while doing a good job of color reproduction. An in camara feature allows you to brighten normal shots, but then they look unusual. However, because of the ease of use, excellent image quality overall, this is a good camara. I've tested the new L11 in the stores and the bright flash is adjusted, so if you want this camara, i would definately suggest the newer 5mp version. Overall, this is an easy to use camara that takes colorful, crisp pictures.

I got this camera for my 13 bday (my dad got it, i'm using his account). This is my first digital camera, and I love photography. I'll list the pros and cons:

PROS:
-fairly easy to use
-takes good videos
-macro pics focus quickly
-thin, easy to carry
-Five different color settings
-many different settings for different places

CONS:
-eats batteries up quickly (I reccomend recharable, they actually last longer.)
-lens sometimes won't open, but you just tap then and they open.
-could be faster when loading pictures that have been taken with flash

I think its an average camera with its fair share of pros and cons. Its a good bet. If you are skeptical about the cons or bad reviews, think of it this way, each camera/product is going to have its bad sides. I RECCOMEND THIS CAMERA FOR AVERAGE USE.

Hope this helped!!!

After a year and a half of this being the primary camera in the family, I finally decided that the only way I was going to get better pictures was to buy a DSLR. As with any point and shoot, this camera suffers from shutter lag, long write times, and an anemic flash. I've spent hours lightening up pictures, but most of those turned out pretty decent after all.

That being said, it has been a pretty dependable camera. In good lighting the pictures are very good. It fits nicely in a shirt pocket or purse, which made it ideal for my wife to take on trips with her (college) students to New York and Europe. The best thing about the camera is the way the grip and shutter are situated. It feels very natural to hold and shoot.

We were using rechargeable AAs for a long time, but lithium batteries seem to last pretty well and things seem to work faster.

Frustrated with the performance of this camera, I pulled out my old film SLR, and all of a sudden remembered how nice it felt to use it.

I bought a Nikon D40 to supplement this camera. I love how fast I can take pictures with it and they look great too. Granted, I can't put it in my pocket, but I got that good old feeling of a more substantial camera. Now even the built in flash on that is a bit weak, but I can buy an external flash for it, which you can't for most point and shoots.

All in all, the L3 is no better, no worse that most mid line cameras of its kind. When it comes time to replace it with another compact, we will definitely do more homework and get something with more oomph.

Great camera for the price. You can get cameras for more $$$ but you can't beat Nikon quality.

I had a Nikon Coolpix 3100 and it lasted me 3 years. It held to be very durable after I had dropped in may times (all on accident) and even stood to being passes around and even having a cup of Coca-Cola spilled on in. Finaly I had to retire it though for no other reason that it was just warn out. When I did retire it I decided that I still wanted a Nikon. If my old one had stood up to all of that surely the newer one would as well and then some.
Wrong! The battery life is a joke, Lithium E2s hardly last in there and you get no where near the same amount of pictures for the batter life as you would other cameras. After a picture is taken the screen shuts off and you have to wait of it to wake back up before you either take another picture or view the one you just took. I was so thankful that I had the warrenty from Best Buy on it because after only having it 2 months the lends shutter broke and it had not been dropped or anything of that sort. It was not covered by the manufactures warnety but it was with Best Buy. It does take amazing pictures but in my opionion it is not worth all the hastle it takes to get the camera to wake up and do what you want it too.

Nikon L3 Highs
*Sharp, colorful outdoor pictures

Nikon L3 Lows
*Battery life is horrible, I had to switch to Energizer E squared to fix this
*Focusing takes roughly four seconds
*Flash photography leaves foreground overexposed and background underexposed, even after I adjusted the stops.

UPDATE!!! PLEASE READ!! ( would change the star setting if i could to a ONE! but I can't)
I've had this camera as of April of last year and it broke on me! The lens won't open all the way, nor will the close unless you hit them. This is a common problem and I am going to seek tech support and bug them until I get a refund or another one of their cameras!!!!

DO NOT BUY!
DO NOT BUY!

It's a great camera for when it DID work, but if you want one well worth your money, I suggest you keep looking.

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I got this camera for my 13 bday (my dad got it, i'm using his account). This is my first digital camera, and I love photography. I'll list the pros and cons:

PROS:
-fairly easy to use
-takes good videos
-macro pics focus quickly
-thin, easy to carry
-Five different color settings
-many different settings for different places

CONS (UPDATED):
-LENS JAM! Permanent. Do not buy this camera. Once the lens jams like this you cannot fix it.
-eats batteries up quickly (I reccomend recharable, they actually last longer.)
-lens sometimes won't open, but you just tap then and they open.
-could be faster when loading pictures that have been taken with flash

I think its an average camera with its fair share of pros and cons. Its a good bet. If you are skeptical about the cons or bad reviews, think of it this way, each camera/product is going to have its bad sides. I RECCOMEND THIS CAMERA FOR AVERAGE USE.

Hope this helped!!!

Over the years I have bought and used several different digital camera. This one would have to be my least favorite. If you are taking daylight photos outside it is decent, but if you want to take photos anywhere else forget about it. The photos I take in my own home are all too dark, even with the flash. The dusk/dawn setting is completely useless. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is; maybe the flash is just too weak. Forget about taking anything at night. The photos will not come out at all. The overall picture quality is not all that impressive. Also, the battery life is poor. In general I really wish I hadn't bought this camera. It was a waste of money. I am very disappointed in Nikon. Next time I'll but a Canon.

This camera is junk. The lens jams, the shutter time is slow and the time between shots with the flash is super slow. The pictures are often dark with a funny hue. The focus is not great either. The only time it does okay is outside in full sunlight.

When I first got this camera, I loved it. It was fast, clear, compact. I recommended it to my mom and she got the same camera.
I dropped it one time and the battery case broke. It stays closed... but just barely. When I came home on Christmas break, I saw that my mom's had broken in the exact same way. So I think that's a definite design flaw. It also slowed down considerably within weeks. The time that the flash took to recharge was excrutiating. I missed so many good photo ops because of how long it took between pictures. The batteries also die very quickly in this camera.
It is also difficult to find a good setting for indoors. Most of my indoor pictures are really blurry or I look like I'm glowing white from the flash... there didnt seem to be a good in between. Outdoors, it did work ok. I took some decent shots on it.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this. It's frustrating, and created a bad image of Nikon for me. Even if they do have some nice cameras, I'm switching over to Canon now.