Nikon COOLPIX L810 Review

The Nikon COOLPIX L810 is a budget super-zoom camera with a 26x stabilised range, a 16.1 Megapixel CCD sensor and a fixed 3in screen with 921k pixel resolution. Announced in February 2012, it replaces the COOLPIX L120, increasing the zoom range from 21x and upping the sensor resoution from 14 Megapixels.

The L810 is powered by four AA batteries, has a built-in pop-up flash and comes with 50MB of built-in memory. Essentially, it's a point and shoot super-zoom, with ease of use, compactness, and affordability being its major selling points.

 

The COOLPIX L810 has 720p HD video but lacks PASM exposure modes and also eschews many of the features that differentiate point and shoot models from other manufacturers. There are no filter effects, no special stacking modes and no 'accessibility' modes designed to avail novices of features like exposure, white balance and depth of field control. As such, it has a bit of a 'no-frills' feel about it, but it does have two auto modes - one with scene recognition - face detect AF and a range of conventional scene modes.

 

As such the COOLPIX L810 could prove an attractive option for point-and shooters looking to upgrade from a compact to something with a much longer zoom reach without the additional complication that might go with some of the more advanced super-zooms. I've compared the COOLPIX L810 with Canon's PowerShot SX500 IS, a more advanced and expensive super-zoom that nonetheless also has a lot to offer the novice.

Lens and Stabilization

The COOLPIX L810 has 26x optical zoom with an equivalent range of 22.5 to 585mm and a maximum aperture of f3.1-5.9. The zoom can be controlled by one of two zoom rockers, one surrounding the shutter release and the other on the left side of the lens barrel. Just because I'm comparing it with the 30x Canon PowerShot SX500 IS, don't be fooled into thinking the COOLPIX L810's range is somehow inadequate. A 26x zoom will get most people as close into the action as they are likely to want to go. 585mm is a long telephoto by any standards.

At the other end of the range, the COOLPIX L810 has a super-wide 22.5mm wide angle that beats anything the competition has to offer. Most super-zooms, like the PowerShot SX500 IS, don't go any wider than 24mm and the Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ with it's 40x zoom starting at 22mm is the only model I can think of that goes (marginally) wider.

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