The Nikon Coolpix L19 is the entry level camera in the Nikon range. This means the big attractions of the Coolpix L19 are its simplicity and its low price tag. This is one of the cheapest cameras from a leading brand.

Standard features include 8 megapixels and a 3.6x optical zoom lens. The LCD screen is a good size at 2.7 inches. This is slightly larger than you find on most entry level cameras. Power is supplied by two AA batteries. With cameras like the Coolpix L19 it is likely to pay in the long run if you budget for some high powered rechargeable batteries.

Although the majority of people that buy this camera are likely to use it mostly in fully automatic mode there are one or two extra features worth a mention. There is a smile mode that makes the Coolpix L19 automatically fire off a shot when it detects someone is smiling. It can also give you a blink warning if someone had their eyes closed when the shot was taken.

One feature I like is D Lighting. This becomes available after a shot was taken. It can come to your rescue if the shot looks too dark or if the photo is blighted by shadows. There is also an automatic red eye fix. Here the Coolpix L19 will attempt to clean up any red eye in portrait shots taken using flash.