Nikon COOLPIX L23 review

Nikon COOLPIX L23: Does this compact make photography easy?

Nikon’s L23 is the latest release to join its COOLPIX range of digital point-and-click cameras. This budget offering hopes its simplicity and ease of use will attract those who’ve not made the switch to digital photography. Never has the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ been so relevant here.

So, what do you get for your £69.99? Well, unfortunately, it isn’t great build quality. The L23’s case feels cheap and plasticky; it generally disappoints as soon as you remove it from its box. While the buttons on the top and back of the camera are the same as many others in Nikon’s COOLPIX range, it doesn’t mean they’re any good. The on/off and shoot button’s faux metal exterior looks unimpressive and they’re unsatisfying when pressed.

Moving on to the underside of the camera, you’ll find the battery/SD card flap. The door to this actually feels pretty sturdy, and the slider makes access to the innards extra secure. Powered by two easy-to-replace AA batteries, carrying spares means you’ll never run out of life with the L23, although we still prefer the ease of rechargeable li-ion batteries. While there are benefits of being able to get power from anywhere (where there’s a shop), the impact on the environment and your wallet cannot be good. A recharger for batteries is available to buy as an additional accessory, but that means you’re spending more money when you should be happily snapping away.

Despite this, it must be remembered this model in the COOLPIX range is a budget camera with a recommended retail price at less than £70. We’re realistic; it’s inevitable sacrifices have to be made. What you do get for your money is a 10MP sensor, a wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom and a close focusing distance of 5cm. But one area that shouldn’t suffer at any price is image quality.

Looking back over the test shots, the quality represented is hit and miss. The camera struggles in difficult lighting conditions (this is to be expected of a camera at this price point) and its macro capabilities leave a lot to be desired, resulting in poor detail and depth of field. Meanwhile, for landscape shots, they can appear reasonable at first, until you look closer and see the purple fringing around the edges of high contrast areas, and a lot of detail hasn’t been properly replicated.

The L23’s processing power also means you may encounter slow response times, which could mean you miss a shot. When you do capture the action, it’s very difficult to see the results for the glare on the 2.7-inch screen.

Moving on to the camera’s ease of use, we’d have to agree with Nikon in that it is very simple to shoot with and, would be ideal for beginners to photography. There are 17 scene selections to choose from, which are ideal for newcomers to technology; however, more often than not you’ll find the Auto function will suit most of the photographic situations you encounter.

For more experienced users, the COOLPIX L23 does not offer any manual functions to take creative control of your camera. However, even the kids will easily be able to point and shoot with this compact.

Overall, Nikon’s COOLPIX L23 is an affordable option for many would-be photographers out there. However, we feel that the image quality has been compromised to suit the budget price tag. For under £70, you’re unlikely to find many cameras that offer more features or better image quality in such an easy-to-use package. If you simply want a camera you can take anywhere without any worry for setting it up, the L23 is value for money.