Nikon Coolpix L2

The 6-megapixel Nikon Coolpix L2 offers only the bare necessities for picture taking but, for its class, delivers excellent photos that require minimal effort. The Coolpix L2 squarely targets snapshooters, and more experienced users may be frustrated by the camera's lack of controls. Cash-strapped entry-level photographers may want to check out the L2's cheaper siblings: the 5-megapixel Coolpix L3 or the 4-megapixel Coolpix L4.

The Nikon Coolpix L2's battleship-gray plastic body is slender and lightweight at 6 ounces when loaded with two AA batteries and an SD card. This attractively designed camera will fit easily in larger pockets and feels comfortable worn around the neck on a lanyard.

Although the camera's 2-inch LCD seems small in comparison with other models' 2.5-inch screens, it's bright and viewable in almost all conditions--an important characteristic since the Coolpix L2 lacks an optical viewfinder. Under low light, the display takes longer than usual to brighten, but the control layout is roomy and comfortable to use.

To the right of the LCD sits a rocker for the camera's 38mm-to-118mm (35mm equivalent) 3X zoom lens, plus menu, playback and delete buttons. A four-way controller near the bottom edge of the camera switches between automatic shooting, the 15 scene modes, and a VGA movie mode.

Nikon equipped the Coolpix L2 with several useful features, such as Face-Priority autofocus, scene assist, D-lighting, automatic red-eye removal, and Best Shot Selector. D-Lighting is extremely handy, allowing you to automatically brighten underexposed images in playback and to save the adjusted picture as a copy.