Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Nikon Coolpix L120 produces images of acceptable to good quality for a small-sensor superzoom camera. We have seen better image quality from cameras that cost significantly more, but at the price point it is being marketed at, the L120 does a commendable job. The lens is pretty sharp in the centre, and generally passable along the edges. Images taken at longer focal lengths tend to be less sharp than those captured in the wide to moderate telephoto range. Note that distortion correction is applied to all images automatically, with no manual override available. Chromatic aberrations are noticeable along contrasty edges, but are perfectly acceptable for a 21x zoom. Noise reduction is pretty heavy-handed, with the result being that none of the photos appear truly noisy, but the images lack fine detail, especially at the higher sensitivity settings. Photos taken at ISO 800 in neutral light print OK at 10×15cm / 4×6”, but ISO 1600 is best reserved for on-screen display only. The highest sensitivity settings of ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 - which are only available at a resolution of 3 megapixels to begin with - can really only be enjoyed if downsized to 640×480 pixels or less, i.e. Web size.

Noise

The Nikon Coolpix L120 has 8 sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 80 to ISO 6400, although ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 are only available at a resolution of 3 megapixels. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Nikon Coolpix's 21x zoom lens provides a very versatile focal length of 25-525mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

25mm	525mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops - the right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are slightly soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can't change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

At full resolution, there are two JPEG quality settings available including Normal and Fine, with the latter being marked with a star in the menu. The L120 does not save images in a Raw format.

Fine (5.08Mb) (100% Crop)	Normal (3.28Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Nikon Coolpix L120 kept chromatic aberrations largely under control during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)	Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Nikon L120 has a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 1cm away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Nikon Coolpix L120 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Off, On and Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m. Vignetting is not a major issue with the L120, irrespective of whether you use the flash or not.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (25mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (25mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (525mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (525mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the On or the Auto/Red-eye Reduction settings caused any red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red Eye Reduction	Red Eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Coolpix L120 is hardly the ideal tool for night photography, as the longest shutter speed is 2 seconds and you cannot set it manually. The shot below was captured at a shutter speed of 1 second at ISO 400.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Vibration Reduction

The Nikon Coolpix S8100 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Off (100% Crop)	On (100% Crop)
1/8th sec / 25mm
1/2 sec / 525mm

Colour Options

The Nikon Coolpix L120 offers a range of colour options including Standard, Vivid, Black-and-White, Sepia and Cyanotype. The images presented here show the differences across these options.

Standard	B/W
Cyanotype	Sepia
Vivid

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Nikon Coolpix L120 camera, which were all taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Lens Extended

Front of the Camera / Pop-up Flash

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The new Nikon Coolpix L120 follows in the footsteps of last year's L110, adding just enough new features to warrant its release. The gorgeous high-resolution LCD screen, longer 21x zoom and the inevitable megapixel increase are joined by the genuinely useful side control lever for smooth zooming, a refreshingly unique innovation. Strangely though, the L120 has undergone a big price increase in the UK, jumping from £179 to £249 on launch, although thankfully it costs the same as its predecessor in the US and Europe.

The longer and wider-angle 21x zoom is very welcome, extending the camera's reach at both ends of its range without making it physically bigger than its predecessor. The ability to operate it with either hand via the new side control lever and the conventional zoom lever proves surprisingly useful, and is something that we'd like to see on more superzooms. The L120's screen is excellent, so much so that it feels a little over-specced for what is a budget super-zoom - still, we're not complaining!

The image quality of the Nikon Coolpix L120 is best described as good rather than outstanding, especially if you don't plan on making big prints. The highest ISO speeds are really only usable for Web display - and even that might be a stretch in some cases - but ISO 800 is perfectly adequate for the kind of small prints most target users will be making. More advanced photographers will, however, find the noise reduction applied to the images way too aggressive, but then again, the L120 is not really targeted at the advanced user in the first place.

The Nikon Coolpix L120 is a moderately priced superzoom that delivers a solid performance on most fronts. Despite the UK price hike, we'd still recommend it to anyone looking for an easy-to-use, do-it-all camera that won't break the bank.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	3.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4

Specifications

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