As an experienced DSLR photographer, I needed a small and simple do-all vacation camera that would work for both my wife and me. The Nikon L610 is a superb camera for its size and price and meets our needs perfectly. I suspect it will probably meet the needs of most casual photographers.The quality Nikkor glass lens provides crisp and accurate images. The 14x zoom range is appropriate for most hand-held shots. The manual pop-up flash has a bit more output than most point & shoots and offers nice illumination. AA alkaline batteries are relatively long lasting (for still photos without flash) and can be purchased easily anywhere in the world. Regarding camera setup, for the vast majority of our photos, I select the AUTO setting and adjust the ISO sensitivity to 125 and simply point and shoot. The photos are very sharp with vivid color and we are pleased with the results nearly every time.
For what it's worth, in reading some of the critical reviews on digital cameras, it seems the problems most people have occur in three areas: (1) battery life, (2) memory speed, and (3) user familiarity. Many seasoned photographers know that AA alkaline batteries offer the advantages of reasonably long life, affordability and availability -especially when traveling overseas. No chargers, no voltage issues, no waiting, just plug & play. For improved performance, I use non-rechargeable Energizer Lithium AA batteries in my L610. These offer hundreds of trouble-free shots and battery life virtually becomes a non-issue (about $5 for a 4-pack on Amazon). As to memory, my choice is the SanDisk Extreme Class 10. The high-speed data transfer rate this memory card offers is particularly important when shooting videos. The current price for a 32GB card is about $30 on Amazon (a 16GB card is about half this price).
As to ISO sensitivity, nearly every technical analysis of digital cameras shows image quality noticably degrades at settings above ISO 200 (ironically, similar results occur with film speeds). Unless there is a specific need, such as extremely low light or fast-action photography, lower ISO settings will give most folks much better photos under a broad range of conditions. Lastly, there is a lot of technology packed in these little automatic cameras. Obviously, we are much better off reading the camera user manual and becoming comfortable with the features and functions of these gadgets. As the saying goes, it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
The main reason to choose the L610 over the Canon PowerShot 160 IS is that the L610 is lighter, has a better ergonomic access to controls and better feel in your hand. It also gives you more complete control of the flash in Nikon's "Auto" mode for "aways on" for excellent fill flash, "auto" for camera selection, or "red eye reduction", which I never use. Lastly, the camera's set up menu allows you to program it's power supply for the type of AA battery you're usingAlkaline, NiCad, or Lithium.
I also own the Nikon L 810, which is an excellent camera, if you want an 585mm zoom. Anything beyond the L 610's zoom of 350mm usually requires a tripod or a friends shoulder for clear pics on any camera, despite any claims for image stabilization. The L 610 also gives you the option to turn off "digital zoom" which only degrades the image. The L 610 and the L 810 have the same CMOS and internals and you don't have to bother with the L 810's dangling lens cap.
Recommended accessories for the L610:
1Lithium AA batteries from Energizer. These make the "battery issue" largely disappear. Two will last for well over 200 shotsyes there is a one to two second lag time as the flash recharges. Best vendors are Best Deal USA or PhotoLand for the 24 Pack.
2Memory CardGet the best, a San Disk Class 10 card with 45mb/Sec transfer rate. Greatly reduces lag time and this camera is set up for Class 10. 16gig capacity for ~ 3000 stills at full resolution or 32 gig if you're going to shoot movies. From Amazon.
3GGS 3" Optical Glass LCD screen protectorit's the bestbut this is now a real moving target on Amazon. Make sure you get the OEM from GGS in the red and black retail package. Best Deal USA previously supplied the real thing. (There are Chinese knock offs out there.)
4Camera StrapInexplicably, Nikon gives you a camera with two strap connection points, but ships a one point "wrist strap".
Solve this by ordering the slim two point neck strap that Nikon supplies for other similar cameras: The Nikon AN-CP-23 strap.
Search it on Amazon. The other option for a neck strap that fits is the OP/Tech USA 220 1021 Bin/Op strap with a thicker neoprene strap. I prefer the Nikon strap.
5Camera CaseThe Tamrac model 5292 case fits the L610 perfectly and gives you room for 4 extra lithium AAs, the USB cable and extra memory cards. It's also just tall enough for you to tuck in your aftermarket neck strap. Enjoy.I bought this camera based on the pre-release reviews the first day it was available. I have now used it for several months, having taken vacation pictures as well as random shots, both scenic and casual shots of people.
On the positive side, the camera is really well thought out, fits nicely in the hand, feels substantial and has relatively intuitive adjustments. On the negative side is it consumes batteries at a terrific rate.
Since I really bought the camera for vacation, I was pleased that it would take AA alkaline batteries, however when using it with alkaline batteries it didn't take long to learn that it goes through them at a very rapid pace. I was not getting anywhere near the number of images suggested by the reviewers. During a busy day with a lot of shots, I would go through a set of alkaline batteries. I just wound up buying a lot of batteries during the vacation.
Since returning home, I have gone to the rechargeable NiCads and it seems to give me more images with these. When you change battery types though, you must use the menu to reset the camera to the appropriate batteries, apparently to maximize the lifespan. Something I don't like though, is that every time that you take out the memory card to put some pictures into your laptop or PC, the batteries fall out. It is an annoyance. The card itself takes some getting used to in that you really have to push it way down to get it to click into place.
The zoom is very responsive............I mean very responsive. I have no complaint about the zoom itself, but adjusting it is so sensitive that you cannot tighten up the field with people shots. You either get them too small in the image or you cut them off. A slower zoom would be so much better so that you can have more control. Even though I am much more familiar with the camera now, the zoom is still way too touchy for small increments.
One real complaint I do have about the camera, is that it is slow on recovery of the flash, and with the other cameras I have had, if I were trying to take a flash picture, and waiting for the flash to recover, I could hold the shutter release down and as soon as the flash had recovered, the next image would be taken immediately. With this camera, you must release the shutter button and depress it again for the next flash picture. Of course, this means that you are guessing when the flash has recovered before taking the next picture.
The final thing is one on which I made my own mistake. I find that having a real compact camera I can put into my pocket is very important to me. This one is too large for that. While this camera is quite small, it isn't small enough to put into your pocket. It will fit into a purse, but not a pocket. Whereas I used to carry a small pocket camera much more, because I never knew when I would get a shot, this one must be taken along when I am anticipating using it.
Overall, I really like this camera and would recommend it to others. It is a nice design, and perhaps none of what I consider as drawbacks may be important to others. I will keep it as an adjunct camera, but I am still going to buy a different compact which will really fit into my pocket, but which has a longer zoom than my present Sony.If you do most of your photography with DSLR & interchangeable lenses, point & shoot cameras do take some adjusting. For travel we've had different 'wafer sized' cameras...then upgraded last year to a mid-range point & shoot from another manufacturer. But programming/settings were not intuitive. In that same range, this Coolpix L610 competes well. Settings & programming are more intuitive to us and after 200 photos this camera feels right, though we're still taking it through its paces. Rechargeable batteries are a must as this is a high drain device. We purchased a kit/package that exceeded our expectations regarding quality (mini-tripod, case, rechargeable batteries/charger/European adapter, 16g SD card).I took this camera on my vacation to China & I shot 2700 photos with it(over a three week period). The photos were all sharp, clear with excellent, accurate color. I did not use the video functions, so I will reserve comment on that function until I try it.
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