The Nikon Coolpix L26 is simply an excellent camera for an excellent price

I wanted to love this camera based on the other reviews, but it came up short for me. Because I do a lot of high-resolution scrapbooks and greeting cards featuring my kids, I needed a camera that could outshine the 8MP camera on my iPhone (and let's face it, the iPhone's zoom feature is a joke). 16MP was more than enough, and the pictures came out beautiful, but there's a fatal flaw on this camera I just can't ignore:

It's useless for children. My toddlers move -fast-, and the shutter speed on this camera is absolutely appalling. By the time the camera is able to capture the shot, the moment is completely lost and gone, and that's 50% of the reason I wanted a new camera (the MP resolution being the other 50%). At least now I know when I go to buy a different camera to watch for this feature. I find it incredible that my phone captures photos more instantaneously than a Nikon.

If all you take is still shots, this may be the camera for you. I was impressed with the photo quality, the make of the camera, the ease of use, and the controls. The zoom feature is great but again, much too slow to capture the nanosecond of time children are stationary. The 3" LCD is also very good quality and the auto-focus works very well. The auto scene settings are really all you need to create great photos.

All in all, this is a good, but not a great buy. I can't overlook the Achilles' heel of the ultra-slow shutter, but I would recommend this for someone who only needs still or landscape portraiture.

UPDATE 4/5/12: after returning this camera (thanks Amazon), I purchased the Panasonic DMC25K. Although about $35.00 separates these cameras, I was more than satisfied with my new purchase. The Panasonic's shutter speed, controls, and scene modes are far superior for such a small price difference. If you're shopping around with a little flexibility in price, I can't recommend the Panasonic DMC25K enough over this Nikon.When buying electronics on the internet you never really know what you're getting; sure the details of the device sound impressive but are they really, and is it the best deal possible with the constant progress in technology? (Hopefully this review will answer those questions.)

The Nikon Coolpix L26 is simply an excellent camera for an excellent price. 16 mega pixels make the photo clear and crisp; good for landscapes, amateur photography, and candid photos. The 5x Zoom is adequate and suits the camera very well. Best of all, the camera is very easy to use and because its battery operated all you need to do is insert the batteries and a memory card and you're good to go.

In conclusion if you want a good camera for a low price that's pretty idiot proof this is the one for you and apparently is for me as well.

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