Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Red-primary)

This is a great camera for everyday use, vacation shots, sports photos, and more. We take low-light, no flash photos with this on the "sports" setting for dance recitals and plays. The photos turn out terrific, and people always ask what camera we use because they are so impressed with the clarity of the shots.This camera has numerous features and settings. The navigation between settings is pretty intuitive, and the instruction manual has lots more ideas too. It has good video capability for capturing something in a video file when you don't have a camcorder handy. You don't need special software to upload photos from this camera - I have a card reader in my computer to do all that.The camera does a good job conserving battery life. We use rechargeable AA batteries without any problems for hundreds of photos per charge. It's compact and fairly lightweight, and it fits into a shirt pocket with ease.The large screen makes reviewing photos easy, and deleting ones from the camera is simple with just a touch of a button plus an "are you sure?" question to keep you from potentially erasing something in error.The 3.6x optical zoom is an improvement over the previous Nikon Coolpix we had, so this is now the favorite camera in my home! If you've had a Coolpix in the past and are thinking about getting a newer version, definitely do it! You'll find the operations and menu choices very similar to what you're used to, but with added improvements that you'll appreciate.We've not had any problems with the battery cover on this camera or the previous Coolpix cameras we still own. If you break the battery cover, it's time for a new camera, unfortunately. But it's very sturdy and reliable, so we've never worried about it much.

This is the 4th Nikon Coolpix that I purchased. I owned the Coolpix L6 and liked it very much. The L6 was a great little camera to have in your pocket or purse. It took great photos. The only bad thing - which was big - that I didn't like about that camera was the shutter lag on flash photos. In spite of that, I liked the small size and very nice photos. I purchased two more as gifts. Unfortunately, I dropped mine and wanted to replace it. I purchased the L22 and took it to a wedding. Out of 50 photos, I only have one nice one. I tried it in the garden both on regular and on macro - again did not perform well. Most photos are blurry. Thank goodness for the great return policy at Amazon.com! I will be selecting another camera soon.

I've always felt that you get better pictures out of a "normal size camera" as opposed to these tiny ones that fit in your pocket. While I still feel that way, I must say that so far I am pleased with this Coolpix L22. I still love my bulkier Sony camera, but let's face it... sometimes you wish you had a small camera that would just slip in your pocket. I was hesitant to choose one, but after spending some time reading reviews here, I decided to give it a try.There are mixed reviews here but overall I find that it takes pretty nice pictures. I've always had better luck with digital cameras if you give it some time to focus by holding the shutter half-down before taking the shot. Sure you can just slam the shutter button down to take a pic, but it seems to me that this method tends to rush the focus, sometimes resulting in a bad pic that otherwise might have been okay.So does this camera ever take bad pics? Sure it does, and so does my Sony that cost several hundred dollars more. If you are using automatic settings and you are not a professional photographer, you will always take an occasionally bad picture. And virtually all cameras have difficulty with focus and grain in low light (unless you use manual settings and know what you are doing.... and have a tripod that would allow you to use proper low light settings without creating a huge blur). Overall though for what it is and the convenience it offers, I am quite pleased with it (and I can be picky sometimes). I have taken some of my best pictures with my Sony and also some of my worst. This camera is no exception.I've also seen some reviewers complain about the fact that it uses AA batteries. Normally I agree with that too.... I'd rather use a rechargeable battery pack. Keep a spare always charged and you are good to go. They usually last much longer than a couple AA batteries too. HOWEVER, one of the reasons I chose this camera is *because* it uses AA batteries. We tend to use this camera when we are in the middle of nowhere (i.e. in the forest) and it's nice to know that all you need with you is a pack of batteries that you can buy virtually anywhere. Our flashlight, GPS and camera all use the same AA batteries which is very convenient for us.