  Easy, fun, compact, and cool: I really like my coolpix!
This is a great little camera, that is easy to use ... just point and click and the picture comes out pretty good pretty much all of the time. Sure there are better cameras, but you've really got to know how to use them to get anything better than what comes almost automatically from this camera. For the price it would be very difficult to surpass the quality and ease of this handy little item that fits nicely in the pocket and is ready to go when you need it.
I own a Mac and a PC, and have had absolutely no difficulty uploading my images to either computer. I am not a professional photographer, but just want to be able to share images with my friends and family, mostly by sending them over the internet and posting them to facebook. For those purposes, this camera is ideal.
I've owned earlier versions of the Nikon "Coolpix" and what I really like is that with each upgrade they have added valuable features but have found a way to avoid making the camera feel more complicated. I love the new automatic red-eye removal feature, and the image stabilization works very well. (By the way, I still have my older "Coolpix" cameras, and they still work fine -- as far as I can tell, they are built to last.)
LGBFELT
I picked out two prespective camera as a possible gift for my wife (semi-handicap with plural nueropathy in hands and fingers). Simplicity and easy of button use are the prime criteria. My choices were Nikon Cool Pix L18 and the Canon PowerShot A590IS. I believe the better of the two is the Canon A590 (good reviews, 4x optical zoom, optical stabilization, etc), but the wife chose the Nikon because of the 3" preview and review screen and the "Awesome Red Color." Go figure? Camera has worked out so far so good. Time will tell. I have owned and still use a Nikon CoolPix 500 since 2000. It is bulletproof. I expect nothing else from Nikon and the Coolpix L18.
Great camera... until!
This was a great camera, but unfortunately the key word is "WAS". I purchased the camera for general shooting, nothing fancy, and it worked great. I replaced my Fujifilm FinePix with this Nikon Coolpix. I enjoy the thinner design, making it easier to keep in a small purse. The red shell adds nothing to the photos, but I'll take that over a dull gray any day. Aside from aesthetics, there are many features packed into this stylish hardware, probably more than I've fully utilized. As with any digital camera, the most important feature is point and shoot picture taking. I hate the cameras that have 17+ picture modes and the rotating "option wheel" on top. 99 times out of 100 I am just turning the camera on and snapping a shot... I don't need to change any shutter settings. This Nikon has a handy toggle on top that allows for picture taking, picture viewing, or video taking.
The large LCD screen is vibrant and makes it easy to view photos. It saves space by eliminating the old-fashioned "eye hole," which is fine with me because I rarely use it anyway. I'll take the larger LCD. Red-eye was always a problem with my Fujifilm, but this Nikon did a great job of eliminating it; every photo seemed very clear and bright.
I've also used the video feature a few times. Unlike my Fujifilm, you can actually zoom in and out while taking video. Video quality is nothing spectacular, but it is tolerable for short clips.
Downloading the pictures and videos to my computer was a snap. Again, Nikon won big points with me because this is the easiest camera I've used... and one of the cheapest too.
However, as I mentioned earlier, there was a catch. After only 4 months of use, my photos began to have a hazy ring around them. It looked like there was some fog or a smudge on the lens. I've wiped the lens carefully, but the problem remains, causing me to believe that this problem somehow lies inside the camera lens - a problem I, of course, can't solve without having to call the distributor and get the run-around on how to get it fixed, despite my free one-year warranty-with-purchase. A digital camera that takes blurry photos is no better than a paper weight, even if the paper weight is colorful and shiny. Either the lens is out of alignment or my entire family has developed astigmatism.
This is the worst camera I've ever owned.
I bought the Nikon L18 specifcally over other compact digital's beacuse
of it's AA batteries. That was a mistake. Using the manufacturer's
batteries and charger, if I put a fully charged set of batteries in on
Saturday, and turn the camera on on Monday, I'm rewarded with "Battery
exhausted". Alkalines work better, but not much.
When combined with transfer software that can only be described as lame,
compared to the typical "appears as drive d:" camera interface (You can't
transfer from the camera except via this special application), this
camera is junk to be avoided at all costs.
Great camera, but "EATS" batteries!
My wife needed a "SIMPLE" camera. The L18 does the job. It is super easy to use and she loves it. Her only complaint is that she is constantly feeding it batteries.....she used alkaline. We could start using rechargeable, but haven't tried that yet. But the camera is GREAT! Connection to computer for transfer works fantastic. Recommended.
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