Nikon L15 Performance

A bit on the slow side for a consumer camera.

The Coolpix L15's performance here is very slow, starting with its slow startup time of 3.5 seconds.

Mode switching times are on the slow side as well.

Shutter response is on the slower side of average for both zoom settings, at 0.85s and 0.97s respectively. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a lag time of only 0.184 second, which isn't the fastest on the market, but not too bad.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are also a little slower than average, at about 2.19 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera appears to capture shots continuously in single-shot mode without having to stop and clear the buffer. Continuous burst mode is also quite slow, at 1.03 frames-per-second for more than 20 large/fine JPEG frames, and even slower at the lowest resolution setting (0.83 frames per second). The flash takes a whopping 12.1 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot.

Download speeds are slower than most cameras these days.

Overall, the Coolpix L15 isn't the fastest camera on the market. However, it should be responsive for most normal shooting conditions, though using the flash will slow you down.

Battery
Good life for standard AA alkalines, though we strongly recommend rechargeables.

The Nikon Coolpix L15 uses two AA batteries for power, and ships with a set of ordinary alkalines. We strongly recommend you pick up a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Nikon Coolpix L15 accepts SDHC/SD/MMC memory cards, and includes about 25MB of internal memory.

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SDHC or SD memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)