A bridge camera with some semi-pro specs yet
easy to use
The Nikon L310 is a bridge camera, a camera
that sits between compact cameras and much more expensive, pro-level DSLR
units. Housed in a fairly small, traditional-style camera body, it features a
14 megapixel sensor and the highlight of this camera a large lens with 21x
zoom. The plastic body feels good in the hand, thanks in part to the rubber
hand-grip, and it’s fairly light considering that it’s powered by four AA
batteries. Unlike many bridge cameras, it’s mostly an automatic,
point-and-shoot camera. Rather than giving the user full control over things
like aperture size and shutter speed, the L310 instead relies on some general
purpose automatic modes and a collection of preset scene modes such as those
for indoor, close-up, sport and portrait photography. The 3” 230k pixel screen
is a bit stingy but gets the job done, and the menu system is fast and
efficiently organized.
Easy Auto us the simplest mode of
operation, as it assesses the current shot and tries to select the correct
scene preset for the situation. In this mode, you’re almost guaranteed a
good-quality shot, and at glance, it should be clear that these shots didn’t
come from a cheap compact or a phone camera. Shots in natural light are clear
and accurately capture the overall mood. Close up shots with the macro mode are
of especially good quality and approach the level you’d expect to see in a
glossy magazine.
However, there are problems with image
quality due to the relatively small sensor. Zooming in on images on a computer,
we find that the pixels become visible sooner than they should on a 14MP
camera. It’s not obvious at first but the camera defaults to LQ rather than HQ
mode. Why has Nikon done this in an era of high capacity SDHC memory cards and
massive hard drives? It’s a shame that 4320x 3240 (14MP) is the only resolution
that offers the lower compression rate. Indoor with low light was also a
disappointment. At high ISOs, the camera attempts to compensate by selecting
shutter speeds as long as a full second, leading to blurry pics unless a tripod
is used. The ‘best shot mode’ that takes multiple shots and chooses the
clearest one helps here, and thankfully shots that make use of the powerful
flash are clear and bright. Video performance was okay but didn’t blow us away,
and this camera is not a substitute for a similarly priced camcorder.
It’s a basic, stripped-down camera with a
zoom and wide angle capability that puts it ahead of most compacts, but a compact
camera in this price range could also offer good-quality pictures and come with
features such as GPS, WIFI and integration with social networking sites. For an
extra $64 or so, a better bridge camera might offer more manual controls and
would be a better bet for someone who wanted to learn about photography.
Importantly, overall picture quality is good.
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Details
Price: $217.5 (Amazon UK)
Manufacturer: Nikon
Website: europenikon.com/en_GB/
Required spec: Windows or later, Mac OS X (10.5.8+), Linux
Specification
·
Focal length: 4.5-94.5mm (35mm equiv.
25-525mm)
·
Optical zoom: 21x
·
Max resolution: 14M [4320 x 3240]
·
Video: 480p/720p
·
Power: Four AA batteries. Optional charger
·
Scene types: Portrait, landscape, night
portrait, party/indoor, beach, snow, sunset, dusk/dawn, night landscape,
close-up, food, museum, fireworks shows, black and white, backlighting,
panorama assist, pet portrait
·
Modes: Easy auto, auto, smart portrait, sport
Verdict: Some problems, but
produces good quality shots
Ratings
Quality: 7
Value: 6
Overall: 7
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