This review is from: Nikon COOLPIX L310 Compact Digital Camera – Black (14.1MP, 21x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD (Electronics)
Because this camera looks like a bridge camera, it’s natural to assume it should have lots of controls, and then be disappointed when it doesn’t. If you turn that thought on its head, you begin to see that this is actually a very good all-automatic compact camera, but with such a good lens that it couldn’t fit into the compact shape. It can manage pretty good wide-angle shooting for indoors, and has a long 21x zoom, which is very good for taking pictures of birds on the birdfeeder in the garden.
The downside is that the big lens means it doesn’t really fit into most pockets. The up side is that this camera takes astonishingly good pictures for this sort of camera, and you don’t need to be an expert to use it. It uses 4 x AA batteries, which I actually prefer to rechargeables as it’s easy to carry spares and there’s no worry about recharging when you’re out and about. You get your first set of batteries in the box, but you need to buy yourself an SDHC card (such as Transcend 8GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card), which fits in to the camera beside the batteries. A strap, and a lens cap are provided, together with a manual and some CDs that I haven’t looked at.
Best resolution is 4320 x 3240. Choose the resolution with the star beside it, because that gives a higher-quality result. You can also take HD video, but note that this is at 720 pixels, not the higher 1080 standard.
I bought this camera from Argos, not Amazon, because it was cheaper at the time. Actually, I tried to buy a Nikon Coolpix L120 Digital Camera – Black (14MP, 21x Optical Zoom) 3-inch LCD, a Which? Best Buy, but Argos swapped it for the L310 without telling me. As it happens, the only differences (and I have read through the specifications very carefully) is that the viewing screen on the back of the camera has a lower resolution (it’s the same size, just with fewer dots, and you probably wouldn’t notice the difference), and that the battery life is a fair bit better.
The only real downside I can see (if we accept that this is a camera for people who want to be able to point and shoot) is that there’s no optical viewfinder, so it can get a bit hard to hold the camera still when it’s on it maximum zoom.
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This review is from: Nikon COOLPIX L310 Compact Digital Camera – Black (14.1MP, 21x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD (Electronics)
I purchased this for my girlfriend, who hasn’t got time to learn a dslr, aswell as messing with all those lens changes etc. We both went out to give it a test shoot, and i also took along, my D7000 and 55-300mm lens. No joke, the L310 bridge camera zooms in further, and the quality of the images are 100% on par. Shocked to be honest, and i’m now looking to get one myself, as a back-up camera. Just switch it on, point, and the auto functions do the rest. Impressive, and enough said!
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This review is from: Nikon COOLPIX L310 Compact Digital Camera – Black (14.1MP, 21x Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD (Electronics)
Seems quite well made but the pressure required to secure the batteries -4 AA-using part of the outer casing does not bode well from a longevity point of view and if you buy new at present there is a 2 yr warranty option offered on the label on the box -take it!. The viewing screen is quite proud and flush to rear of the camera which should be protected otherwise it will be a mass of scratches/scuffs after a few outings. Very good Zoom and the anti-vibration VR function works very well allowing sharp hand held shots at the far end of the range in good light. If you tried to cover the max zoom length with conventional DSLR lenses you would need a lot of bulky and not to say very expensive gear! The reaction time between pressing the shutter and capture is very good allowing quite spontaneous shots of children running towards you (for instance)and is much better than the majority of point & shoot cameras in this respect. There is -however generally no control over exposure or depth of field -I say generally because it is possible -via the menu-to access the considerable number of scene modes to tailor Sports/Landscape etc, but there is no manual or program facility. The difficulty in accessing the in depth info relating to these modes is further exacerbated because the instructions are provided on a disc which -to me -is stupid in the extreme!!! These instructions -in themselves are not intuitive either and you end up going back and forth through a series of links to find what you want. In common with this cameras’ rivals the viewing screen is not easy to see in bright conditions -and spectacle wearers with long sight rather than short will find the screen (which is only 230K and not the more recently seen 480K resolution) in ‘no mans land’ therefore will find that a bridge camera with a viewfinder may suit better. The supplied View NX2 software is excellent it includes the Nikon D plus tweak which seems able to rescue shots that have been overexposed and is as good as many editing programmes costing £30 or more. Batteries rather than Lithium suit me and the original non rechargeables show full charge after about a month’s use.
Pros :- 21X Zoom Lens good wide angle (equivalent 25mm) to 525mm (equivalent 10x+ magnification) – decent picture quality but my Samsung L600 takes as good a picture on 6mp up to 10′ x 8″. -easy and convenient to carry about (a lot of cases sold for this camera are just too big-mine measures only 150mm x150mmx 100mm and is imported) -good hd video performance with a/f accommodated for changes in focal length – clip length limited only by sd card size -get 8GB -excellent software provided. -good flash performance
Cons :- Little manual control -what there is will be lost to most who will never bother to access the frustrating links on the disc!! Crackerjack and non-intuitive instructions on disc. Flimsy and poorly designed battery compartment cover Viewfinder to provide more versatility (for some but probably not all) No hdmi output.
Summary
Very good ‘point and shoot’ upgrade with versatile Zoom and useable hd video for users with little interest in controlling settings or creativity.
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A superb compact camera, with a huge lens,
Because this camera looks like a bridge camera, it’s natural to assume it should have lots of controls, and then be disappointed when it doesn’t. If you turn that thought on its head, you begin to see that this is actually a very good all-automatic compact camera, but with such a good lens that it couldn’t fit into the compact shape. It can manage pretty good wide-angle shooting for indoors, and has a long 21x zoom, which is very good for taking pictures of birds on the birdfeeder in the garden.
The downside is that the big lens means it doesn’t really fit into most pockets. The up side is that this camera takes astonishingly good pictures for this sort of camera, and you don’t need to be an expert to use it. It uses 4 x AA batteries, which I actually prefer to rechargeables as it’s easy to carry spares and there’s no worry about recharging when you’re out and about. You get your first set of batteries in the box, but you need to buy yourself an SDHC card (such as Transcend 8GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card), which fits in to the camera beside the batteries. A strap, and a lens cap are provided, together with a manual and some CDs that I haven’t looked at.
Best resolution is 4320 x 3240. Choose the resolution with the star beside it, because that gives a higher-quality result. You can also take HD video, but note that this is at 720 pixels, not the higher 1080 standard.
I bought this camera from Argos, not Amazon, because it was cheaper at the time. Actually, I tried to buy a Nikon Coolpix L120 Digital Camera – Black (14MP, 21x Optical Zoom) 3-inch LCD, a Which? Best Buy, but Argos swapped it for the L310 without telling me. As it happens, the only differences (and I have read through the specifications very carefully) is that the viewing screen on the back of the camera has a lower resolution (it’s the same size, just with fewer dots, and you probably wouldn’t notice the difference), and that the battery life is a fair bit better.
The only real downside I can see (if we accept that this is a camera for people who want to be able to point and shoot) is that there’s no optical viewfinder, so it can get a bit hard to hold the camera still when it’s on it maximum zoom.
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|Awesome! I want one!,
I purchased this for my girlfriend, who hasn’t got time to learn a dslr, aswell as messing with all those lens changes etc. We both went out to give it a test shoot, and i also took along, my D7000 and 55-300mm lens. No joke, the L310 bridge camera zooms in further, and the quality of the images are 100% on par. Shocked to be honest, and i’m now looking to get one myself, as a back-up camera. Just switch it on, point, and the auto functions do the rest. Impressive, and enough said!
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|Brilliant if you are happy with all-Auto control.,
Seems quite well made but the pressure required to secure the batteries -4 AA-using part of the outer casing does not bode well from a longevity point of view and if you buy new at present there is a 2 yr warranty option offered on the label on the box -take it!. The viewing screen is quite proud and flush to rear of the camera which should be protected otherwise it will be a mass of scratches/scuffs after a few outings. Very good Zoom and the anti-vibration VR function works very well allowing sharp hand held shots at the far end of the range in good light. If you tried to cover the max zoom length with conventional DSLR lenses you would need a lot of bulky and not to say very expensive gear! The reaction time between pressing the shutter and capture is very good allowing quite spontaneous shots of children running towards you (for instance)and is much better than the majority of point & shoot cameras in this respect.
There is -however generally no control over exposure or depth of field -I say generally because it is possible -via the menu-to access the considerable number of scene modes to tailor Sports/Landscape etc, but there is no manual or program facility. The difficulty in accessing the in depth info relating to these modes is further exacerbated because the instructions are provided on a disc which -to me -is stupid in the extreme!!! These instructions -in themselves are not intuitive either and you end up going back and forth through a series of links to find what you want. In common with this cameras’ rivals the viewing screen is not easy to see in bright conditions -and spectacle wearers with long sight rather than short will find the screen (which is only 230K and not the more recently seen 480K resolution) in ‘no mans land’ therefore will find that a bridge camera with a viewfinder may suit better.
The supplied View NX2 software is excellent it includes the Nikon D plus tweak which seems able to rescue shots that have been overexposed and is as good as many editing programmes costing £30 or more.
Batteries rather than Lithium suit me and the original non rechargeables show full charge after about a month’s use.
Pros :- 21X Zoom Lens good wide angle (equivalent 25mm) to 525mm (equivalent 10x+ magnification)
– decent picture quality but my Samsung L600 takes as good a picture on 6mp up to 10′ x 8″.
-easy and convenient to carry about (a lot of cases sold for this camera are just too big-mine measures only 150mm x150mmx 100mm and is imported)
-good hd video performance with a/f accommodated for changes in focal length – clip length limited only by sd card size -get 8GB
-excellent software provided.
-good flash performance
Cons :- Little manual control -what there is will be lost to most who will never bother to access the frustrating links on the disc!!
Crackerjack and non-intuitive instructions on disc.
Flimsy and poorly designed battery compartment cover
Viewfinder to provide more versatility (for some but probably not all)
No hdmi output.
Summary
Very good ‘point and shoot’ upgrade with versatile Zoom and useable hd video for users with little interest in controlling settings or creativity.
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