Nikon COOLPIX L120 Pro Reviews

The strength of the Nikon Coolpix L120 is its lens versatility and affordable price tag. It's a decent all-purpose camera, with a nice selection of auto modes oriented around snapshots of friends, family, and pets. Headline controls include the intelligent placement of a zoom toggle on the lens barrel, dedicated movie record button, stereo microphone, and HDMI output. Drawbacks include autofocus difficulties in telephoto shots and limited effectiveness in low light, despite claims to the contrary by Nikon. Image quality is adequate, though not stellar, and video footage struggles to maintain focus and fluidity. The stereo soundtrack is crisp and more robust than most digital cameras; however, the built-in wind filter was not able to keep wind noise from overtaking outdoor audio.

For £219, the Coolpix L120 is definitely worth it if you want a big-zoom camera, but just bear in mind that it will struggle to properly expose images when there is lots of bright light or dynamic range. Apart from that, its image quality is decent and photos taken at the maximum zoom will look clear if the light is good. We also think it's a very comfortable and easy camera to use, making it a good choice for novice photographers.

The Nikon Coolpix L120 is a solid all rounder, with exceptional macro performance. Features compared to some of the competition seem a little low, for example there is no built in panoramic stitching, HDR, or other new modes. Handling is particularly pleasing with the excellent large rubber hand grip. Image quality is generally very good under good lighting, and respectable under poor lighting, although you will need to be aware that using the full optical zoom you will not always be able to hand-hold the camera, and a tripod is recommended to get the best out of it. Value could be better, however, if you want a good performing camera with an excellent feel then the Nikon Coolpix L120 is worth looking at, especially if you're interested in macro photography.

The Nikon Coolpix L120 stands up well against other 'super-zoom' compact cameras. While image sharpness begins to drop off towards the edges, on the whole the level of detail and colour replication exceeded our expectations.

An odd mixture of cut-price and highly capable features, but solid image quality and a competitive price add up to an attractive deal.

The Nikon Coolpix L120 is a moderately priced superzoom that delivers a solid performance on most fronts. Despite the UK price hike, we'd still recommend it to anyone looking for an easy-to-use, do-it-all camera that won't break the bank.