Nikon Coolpix L18 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Navy)

I bought this camera as a present for my wife. When I got it I took it out and played with it a while to see if I liked it. Great look and feel easy button operation too (there is not to many to get confused with). After giving this to my wife she quickly caught on to the functionality of each button (she used to not know how to delete pics she didn't want on our old camera). When I got to use it the other day I figured out how to crop photos on the camera and save them later to be downloaded off the camera. I still have not figured out all the things that it can do but it has an 'easy' mode that makes for a simple way to take pictures. It also has a user preference mode that lets you set it up the way you want it to take pictures. Our old digital camera made this awful sound of focusing and took forever to get ready to take the next photo. Not with this camera. Its back and ready to take another shot in a snap (we just used normal Duracell batteries too). I would say that for the price of the camera you get more than expected. I let everyone use it to convert them over to Nikon Coolpix cameras. If I knew you I'd let you use it!!

Nikon has lost my loyalty with this camera; horrible customer service. The camera lasted all of 5 months with a maximum of 2 hours of use then a battery change resulted in "lens error." Nikon claims that there was "lens impact" as reason for not repairing under warranty. They explain the lens was crooked. The lens became crooked when I turned the camera on after changing batteries; apparently they suspect impact or that it was dropped. I suspect a faulty mechanism on this camera. This camera was sent in for repair without a scratch on it; this camera was never dropped or had impact. The repair costs comes to $102 and some change for a camera valued at $99. If you plan on purchasing this camera plan on it coming to you void of any type of warranty; my experience gives the impression they simply blame a faulty camera on the customer.

This is one terrific camera. It's all highs and no lows. It was a great value at $140 and at $100 it's amazing. I started looking for cameras by ruling out any that use proprietary batteries. When you're in the jungle (as I sometimes am) or it's really cold, then battery replacement can be an issue, so I wanted standard AA or AAA batteries. (I took 9 rechargeable batteries into the jungle last time I went-- they cost more altogether than the camera they were for). I've used my camera for well over a year-- the screen is big, the controls are easy, the programs are useful, battery life is good, the resolution is excellent, the optical zoom is marvelous, it's light, it's compact. You simply can't do better in the point and shoot world unless you're prepared to spend quite a bit more money, and what quite a bit more money buys you is just slightly better. When my son needed a camera recently, this is what he got, and it's plenty. Use it with the 4GB card and it will hold nearly a thousand full res photos. I'd say buy it now before they replace it with something "better" that's not as good.

I love point-and-shoots and have no desire at this point to get intoDSLR, and this LITTLE thing works great to have with you all the time. I have bigger P&S from the other mfgs (and Nikon) that do very well but you can't carry them around in your pocket like this one.Have a Fuji A500 which did just average, this one is much clearer, LCD is huge in comparison, pictures are not grainy.So for that time when you say "I wish I had my camera with me" get this and keep it by your side at all times (or use it everyday for all your pictures) and you'll be ready. And it comes in red or blue-- no more boring silver or black only.

I have used high end digital cameras, but not SLRs. It is important to keep in mind the Price of this product when reviewing performance. I have found that it is what you should expect in a "Bigger is Better" society. The large MP are for marketing, not for beautiful pictures. Compared to other sub $150 cameras, it is not bad. Get a Canon a570/590 for entry level performance, but this camera is for my older parents. The large 3" screen and simple Nikon interface was what sold them. The picture are not worth bragging about, but it will be enough for their use. Not disappointed, but nothing I didn't expect when spending as few dollars as possible.