Nikon Coolpix L10 review

Though certainly not fast in our tests, the L10 wasn't too bad for a rock-bottom budget camera. After a two-second wait from power-on to capturing its first shot, we could take a new photo every 2.2 seconds with the flash turned off.

With the onboard flash enabled, that time more than doubled to a very disappointing 4.5 seconds. While its shutter only lagged 0.7 seconds with our high-contrast target, our low-contrast target made it pause for an arduous 2.2 seconds. Burst mode worked well, capturing 14 5-megapixel stills in seven seconds for a satisfying 2 frames per second.

Image quality
The camera reproduces colours faithfully, and its automatic white balance appeared neutral even when shooting under our warm tungsten lights. While its automated ISO sensitivity prevented us from performing our full set of noise tests, you should expect a fair amount of noise when the camera decides to up the ISO.

Thankfully, Nikon does a decent job of keeping that noise under control, so that it shouldn't take away from prints until you get up to the camera's highest couple of sensitivity settings. However, if you don't mind shooting with flash when necessary, the camera probably won't have to push the ISO too high and you should get decent prints a good portion of the time.

Conclusion
For such an unassuming little camera, the Nikon Coolpix L10 actually works pretty well. It's responsive enough for casual shooting, and, though small, its 5-megapixel photos look great.

If you're looking for a simple, functional camera for less than £100, this makes a great choice. If you're willing to spend a bit more for slightly higher resolution photos, the L10's bigger brothers -- the Coolpix L11 and L12 -- offer 6 and 7-megapixel stills for less than £200.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday