The NIKON L810 RED digital camera is an affordable bridge camera that is perfect for the casual user. Its wide range of specs at the relatively low price makes it great value for money that will provide great looking photos. Bridge style digital cameras bridge the gap between easy to use Point and Shoot cameras and the more professional DSLR.
The key specifications
The dimensions of the L810 red are quite handy at 4.4×3.1×3.3 inches. Its weight tops out at 15.3 ounces including batteries and storage media. It has a 3 inch LCD display that is wide enough for easy viewing. The available file formats are JPEG, MPEG-4 and MOV. The highest resolution size is 4,608 x 3456 pixels and 1280×720 pixels at 30fps. The storage media are SD/SDHC/SDXC. The View NX 2 bundled software included is compatible with both Windows and Mac.
The Design
The design of the menu screen is quite commendable and unlike many cameras in its class you have relative little hassle to go through while scrolling through the menu. The LCD menu system is classified into the movie, setup and shooting tabs. There’s relatively little to adjust in the menu settings allowing for immediate use. The Nikon L810 red is powered by 4AA batteries that also give the camera a nice weighty feel in the palm of your hand. The weighty feel leaves the user with that impression of the camera being solid and durable. The L810 uses lithium, alkaline or NIMH rechargeable batteries. The body design includes a door on the bottom that gives easy access to the memory card slot and the battery compartment. One side of the body includes an AC port for an AC adapter as well as a micro USB and a mini-HDMI port for better viewing access.
The Features
The major features of this camera that will catch the eye of casual users are the Auto modes. The Nikon L810 red has two auto modes: The first is what Nikon calls the easy auto mode or scene auto selector while the other is the regular auto mode. The easy auto mode uses scene recognition based on six preset scenes to auto adjust settings. In the case that the scene isn’t recognized it auto reverts to the general auto setting.
The regular auto mode is similar to what you find in other bridge cameras of this class. It gives the freedom to adjust the ISO, white balance, colour, flash, exposure compensation and many other settings. There are 16 preset scene modes that could be matched up with any scenes the user might be shooting. The smart portrait feature is also one that stands out in the shooting menu. It combines some vital features into a single mode for greater looking photos particularly in the self portrait mode. The user gets the best of face priority and blink warning features.
The performance
The camera seems a bit slow while shooting even though it’s still more than good enough for the casual photographer. Shutter lag is also a slight concern on this camera as it takes 0.8 seconds in dimmer conditions while it takes 0.5 seconds in brighter conditions.
Conclusion
The Nikon L810 red is a handy camera that would be a good buy for the casual user considering the price of between £170 -£200 pounds but it would take a lot more functionality to be considered impressive.
US readers can order the Nikon L810 red from Amazon.com.
Image Source – Comet Nikon Cameras Page
