Nikon Coolpix L12 7MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom

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!!

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.