Nikon L840 Digital Camera: specifications, customer reviews and professionals

The Nikon Coolpix L840 digital camera has replaced the L830. And if their appearance is not much different, then the characteristics of the novelty have somewhat improved. This is a pseudo-mirror camera with a fairly large optical zoom and an affordable price. What else can the Nikon L840 boast? Reviews of professionals and amateurs, detailed characteristics, pros and cons of the model - all this you will find in our review.

Appearance and usability

The Nikon Coolpix L840 compact camera in the manufacturer's line occupies an intermediate position between conventional digital and SLR cameras. With the latter, he has an exceptionally similar resemblance, and from the former he adopted the simplicity of use.

Even the main buttons of the camera have such an arrangement, as on digital cameras, and its large body fits comfortably in the hand. Rubberized pads eliminate slip, and the shutter button and the wheel for magnification conveniently fall under the index finger.

Shooting at different angles will not cause any inconvenience, because the 3-inch screen is deflected 90 degrees up or 85 degrees down. It has a high resolution of 921 thousand pixels - and very good viewing angles, which will accurately determine the quality of the color rendition and the exposure of the image.

On the bottom of the case there is a tripod socket and a common cover that opens access to the batteries and a memory card.

Settings

A familiar wheel with different shooting scenarios is missing, so to access them you have to click the Scene button to the right of the display. You can choose between the default modes, auto mode and 18 other scenarios, including Panorama mode.

This button also gives access to 9 electronic filters.

Auto mode is very similar to that in digital cameras. The user can adjust the white balance, ISO value and select the point to focus using the Menu button.

In the menu you will also find the mode of continuous shooting, adjustment of the frame size and its quality.

But the exposure compensation (exposure compensation) has a button on the right of the selector to control the settings. Its value can be changed to +/- 2 EV (it returns to the original after turning off the Nikon L840 camera).

The rest of the selector is used like this:

• Top - flash control;
• The left side is the timer for delayed shooting;
• Bottom - macro focus (in auto mode).

The flash itself needs to be manually opened using the button, which is just under the fingers of the left hand. This is quite convenient, because you can be sure that it will not work at the wrong time.

On the lens itself there is a lever for slow zooming. Next is the button for setting the framing when working with lenses with a large focal length.

Specifications

Nikon L840 can not be called slow. It turns on and takes a picture in 1.4 seconds, quickly focuses in good light. The camera slows slightly when zooming and when shooting in dark conditions, but generally works quickly. A few figures:

• Shutter speed - from 1/1500 - 1 sec, up to 4 seconds for shooting in the dark in "Fireworks" mode;
• The maximum resolution of the picture is 4608 x 3456 (file size about 7 MB);
• The sensitivity of the matrix is 16 million colors;
• Range ISO - 125-1600, in auto mode - up to 6400;
• Lens - NIKKOR, 12 elements in 9 groups;
• Focal length of the lens - 4.0-152 mm;
• Zoom - optical 38-fold, digital - 4-fold, Dynamic Fine Zoom 76-fold.

Here's what's included in the basic Nikon L840: instruction, 4 batteries (alkaline), a lens cap, a USB cable, a shoulder strap and the camera itself.

Battery

Power supply is an extremely important aspect for portable technology. Nikon Coolpix L840 is powered by 4 AA batteries. This feature has its pros and cons. Obviously, batteries are much easier to find in emergency situations than to replace a lost or damaged battery, or charge it in field conditions. But their price depends on their quality and the number of pictures that you can make, and eventually they will inevitably lose their characteristics. So, expensive nickel-metal hydride batteries will last longer, and with a full charge they give about 740 shots, and cheaper alkaline batteries (which come with the camera) - up to 590 shots.

Also, the design of the battery compartment is not well thought out, since when opened it can simply fall asleep on the floor.

Wireless connection

This feature was not available in the L830 and was one of the advantages of the Nikon Coolpix L840. The button that allows you to turn on Wi-Fi is on the top, after clicking on it you can easily connect to the smartphone or tablet and use them to control the camera (you need to install Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility beforehand on the mobile device).

The speed of the camera's response to commands is quite high, as is the distance from which the interaction is possible (up to 10 m). To exchange pictures between devices, the NFC communication protocol is also useful.

Quality of photos and videos

Do not expect the Nikon L840 to produce the same shooting result as a SLR camera. Its matrix is identical to what is installed on compact digital cameras, but it can not be said that it does not cope with its functions well.

Pictures taken with good daylight are of high quality and optimal exposure if viewed in typical sizes. However, with a strong increase, the modest capabilities of the sensor make themselves felt: there is a strong graininess and blurring at the edges of the objects.

This feature is even clearer when shooting distant subjects or when using a zoom. The camera tries to raise the sensitivity of the matrix to compensate for the jitter in the case and thus only increases the degree of blur.

Shooting in poor lighting also provokes a lot of noise, despite the availability of noise reduction technology. Noticeable graininess is already apparent at ISO 800, and increasing its maximum to 6400 is more of a marketing ploy than an advantage, as the images become too saturated, grainy and fuzzy.

But the vibration suppression system is not just a beautiful line in the description. For such a focal length of the lens, it is simply necessary and dramatically improves the quality of the photo.

The camera copes well with macro shooting (the minimum distance to the object is 1 cm) and shooting at night. For the latter there are two additional settings - manual mode and tripod.

The possibilities for shooting video are slightly smaller, but still the result is quite good. The camera can shoot it as a Full HD (1920x1080 pixel) with stereo sound recording. Optical zoom, as well as optical image stabilization, are also available during the use of the "Video" mode.

The menu has an interesting option Short Movie Show, which automatically combines short video clips into a 30 second movie, with the ability to set background music and simple special effects.

Built-in Photoshop

Smart Portrait is a function that you can open with the Scene button. "Smart portrait" allows you to automatically level the skin tone and mask obvious shortcomings, soften the contrast and color saturation. The intensity of each parameter can be reduced / increased and, with a reasonable approach, they give a fairly good effect. But it's better not to abuse these settings, otherwise the result of the shooting will be unnatural.

If you want to apply such improvements to an already shot frame, you will need to select it in the gallery and click on the Menu button. Then scroll to the Glamor Retouch function, where there are even more options: reducing the chin or increasing the size of the eyes, eliminating greasy gloss on the skin, red eyes and bags under the eyes, you can even "tint" your lips, cheeks and eyelashes.

If your model is looking directly at the camera, and the face fills almost the entire space of the picture, the program automatically distinguishes facial features and makes quite useful changes. In any case, with the help of this function you can easily have fun.

Money matters

How much does the camera Nikon L840 cost the buyer? The price for it varies between 13-13.5 thousand rubles. This is a popular and relatively new model, so it is easy to find it both on the Internet and in ordinary stores. Accordingly, there is also the possibility to look for a more favorable price or discounts for accessories. At a minimum, you will need a memory card (about 1.5 thousand rubles for an SD-card with a capacity of 32 GB) and a battery charger (from 400 rubles or about 1,5 thousand rubles for a set of 4 batteries and the device itself ).

What do customers say about the compact Nikon Coolpix L840?

The reviews are mostly positive about this model. It is extremely easy to use and even with autotuning gives a good result.

However, many users noted that poor lighting is a challenge that the Nikon L840 does not always handle. The reviews say that the situation is a little saved by the flash, but it is not always convenient to use it and it strongly affects the final result.

As for the use of batteries, opinions are divided: someone finds it very convenient, and someone prefers the battery that is included. So here it is better to focus on your own preferences and goals for which you are buying a camera. If you are sure that you will always find an outlet next to it, then it is probably more profitable for you to buy a model with the battery included, and if you travel a lot, the battery pack in the backpack will guarantee the efficiency of your camera.

Opinion of professionals

More sophisticated experts in phototechnics find other, less obvious at first sight, shortcomings.

First, the dimensions. The camera has characteristics that are pretty close to ordinary digital cameras, for which a 68x zoom is possible, but in the case of the Nikon L840 you will carry a rather large camera weighing just over 0.5 kg, which is not very convenient.

Secondly, the price and competition. In the market you can easily find models with the same characteristics, but cheaper or with about the same cost, but with a larger zoom and a touchscreen.

Summing up

Nikon L840 - this is a very worthy universal camera, which combines ease of use and high quality of images (if not greatly increase them and not carp at trivialities). It quickly focuses, provides good color rendering and exposure. Pleasant additions in the form of a rotary screen, a 38x zoom and Wi-Fi only improve the experience of its use.

But, given the cost, size and similar indicators of models from competitors, we can conclude: it significantly loses its attractiveness. Therefore, it is difficult to make a clear verdict - to buy or to refrain from buying. About the Nikon L840 you will not say anything bad, but it's not good on closer examination.