Loyal readers may recall that I bought my wife a Nikon 7900 digital camera back in June for her birthday. It took great pictures, very sleek and a big improvement over the hulking 3 megapixel Kodak DC4800.
My kids loved the camera, too. Apparently they loved it too much and it was dropped recently on our hardwood floors. The lens happened to open and extended and that contributed to the death blow (how about a sensor that retracts the lens when a drop is sensed like those systems in notebooks that protect hard drives?).
We have three little ones so being without a camera was not an option. I startted digging around and found a Nikon L1 - it's slightly thicker than the 7900 but has a few key differences:
- 6.2 megapixles rather than 7 - a minor point
- Uses standard double AAs rather than proprietary brick on the 7900 - great feature when on the go
- Has a 5x zoom rather than the 3x of the 7900 - great for capturing the kids
- Simplified menu and layout but same features
- A bit of a textured grip rather than smooth plastic
- Bigger screen on back
- Power button is a bit more recessed to prevent accidental shutdown
The great news was that it only cost me about $250 at J&R, about $150 less than Ii paid for the 7900 just six months ago. I also ditched my iSight camera on eBay (barely used) for $120 so my net payout was only $130.
All in all, very impressive work by Nikon.
This is a very nice camera however, when compared to the Olympus 310 or 350, I find it a little less than perfect. Good Review!
Posted by: Bob Danna | February 13, 2006 at 10:05 AM