Note: Review images are of Nikon Coolpix L4
Viewfinder
As is the case on many entry level digital camera models, there is no optical viewfinder on the LS/L3/L4, just the LCD screen on the back for framing your shot. I think this is too bad; some beginning digital camera users might prefer a big bright LCD, but those still hesitant of making the switch from analog to digital might feel more comfortable with the familiarity of an optical viewfinder.
LCD Screen
The LCD screen on all three models is just two inches which is fairly typical for cameras in this class. What is unusual is that the lower-end model of the three – the L4 – has the highest resolution. According to spec sheets provided by Nikon, the L4 is rated as having 115,000 dots of resolution while the L2 and L3 have only 86,000 dots. After brief experimentation during the PMA show, the resolution of the LCDs didn’t appear to be remarkably different but we will look at this issue further in the full-length review. We’re still not sure why Nikon put so much more resolution in the lower-end L4’s LCD, but we’ll investigate further. All three screens do have brightness adjustment, which is a great feature especially since there’s no optical viewfinder. The adjustment will help the user see the shot even on bright days when there’s lots of glare.
Flash
Though the flash is close to the lens, we’ve seen it in worse positions on other models; red-eye should not be much of an issue on the L2/L3/L4, especially if you use the Auto flash mode with Red-eye Reduction that utilizes Nikon’s exclusive In-Camera Red-Eye Fix technology. The built-in flash on the L2/L3 has a range of approximately 1’ – 9’10”(W) and 1’ – 5’ 9”(T). The L4 has a reported range of approximately 1’ 4” – 9’10”(W), and1’ 4” – 5’7”(T). Flash modes include Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction (In-Camera Red-Eye Fix), Flash cancel and Anytime Flash with Slow sync. We’ll examine how effective all these modes are – especially Red-eye Reduction – in an upcoming full review.
Zoom Lens
The L2/L3 uses a 3x Zoom-Nikkor lens with a range of 38 to 116mm in 35mm format. Aperture on this lens goes from f/3.2 to f/5.3. The lens is comprised of 5 elements in 5 groups. Digital zoom – for those who care to use this feature – goes up an additional 4x. The lens on the L4 is slightly different from the other two models. It’s a 3x Zoom-Nikkor with a range of 38-114mm equivalent in 35mm format. It’s a slightly faster lens than the one in the L2/L3 too, with a range of f/2.8 to f/4.9. It’s composed of 7 elements in 6 groups and also has a digital zoom of 4x.
