Nikon Coolpix L25: Is This AA Camera Worth Buying?

The Nikon Coolpix L25 is not a camera anyone buys for its specifications. It is a 2012 budget compact, it sold for very little when new, and the reviews at the time were polite rather than excited. It is also one of the most sensible first cameras you can hand to someone today, for reasons that have little to do with image quality.

Buy the L25 if you want a real camera that runs on two AA batteries, has a proper 5x zoom, and is simple enough for a child or a complete beginner to use without instruction. Skip it if you already take good photos on a recent phone and want a step up in image quality, because in bright light this camera will not give you one.

What You Actually Get

A 10.1-megapixel CCD sensor, a 5x zoom covering 28mm to 140mm equivalent, a 3-inch rear screen, and 720p video. The lens starts genuinely wide, which is more useful than extra telephoto for rooms, groups and street scenes. The body is rounded plastic — the design makes no secret of the price — but it is light, it fits a jacket pocket, and there is very little on it to break.

The controls are minimal on purpose: a simple auto mode, a handful of scene modes, and not much else. For a beginner that is a feature. There is nothing to get lost in and nothing to set wrong.

The AA Batteries Are the Point

Most cameras of this era used a proprietary lithium-ion pack, and many of those packs are now dead or hard to replace. The L25 takes two AA cells. You can run it on disposable alkalines in an emergency, on rechargeable NiMH cells for everyday use, and buy replacements in any shop in any town.

That single decision is why the L25 has aged better than cameras that were far more impressive on launch day. A camera you can always power is a camera that keeps getting used.

Where It Falls Short

Be clear about image quality. Reviewers in 2012 noted that the L25's noise reduction smears fine detail even in good light, so textures like foliage and hair can look soft and painted when you zoom in. At normal viewing sizes — a phone screen, a small print, a social post — this matters much less than it sounds, and the CCD colour has a pleasant, slightly old-fashioned look.

The stabilisation is electronic rather than optical. Nikon's Electronic VR helps a little, but it cannot physically steady the lens the way an optical system does, so at the long end of the zoom or in dim rooms you need to hold the camera still or use the flash.

There is no manual exposure, no raw file and no fast burst mode. None of that was ever the point of this camera.

Who It Suits

A child's first camera, where the AA batteries and the lack of settings are both advantages. A beginner who wants to learn framing and zoom before worrying about exposure. A cheap travel spare that will not ruin a trip if it goes missing. And anyone who wants the CCD digicam look without paying the prices more fashionable models now command.

Before You Buy One

Open the battery door first. AA cameras are the ones most often left in a drawer with old cells inside, and leaking batteries leave white or green corrosion on the contacts. Light residue cleans off; contacts that are eaten through mean the camera will stay unreliable whatever you do.

Check the battery door latch itself. It is plastic, it takes the most wear on the body, and a door that will not stay shut makes the camera useless.

Extend and retract the zoom several times and watch for hesitation, grinding or a Lens Error message. Zoom all the way to 140mm and back, listening for any change in the motor sound.

Look at the 3-inch screen against a bright background for scratches and pressure marks, fire the flash a few times in a row to confirm it recharges, and shoot a white wall at the widest setting to check for dust on the sensor.

Finally, bring a memory card and confirm the camera formats it and writes to it before you pay.

Stock changes often at Silver Cam, so check the shop for whether an L25 is available right now. Every AA-powered compact we list has its battery contacts, zoom, flash and screen checked first, and we clean corroded contacts and repair stuck lenses on cameras like this one. We also buy old Coolpix cameras you no longer use.