Nikon Coolpix L610

The ; has an above-average feature set for its street price, including a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor and 14x zoom, and uses AA batteries for power.

Shooting performance, while better than most in this category, is too slow for photos of kids and pets. Battery life is short with alkaline batteries. Flash must be manually popped up and the optical zoom doesn't work while recording video.

Though nothing extraordinary, the Nikon Coolpix L610 is a decent entry-level compact camera that shoots slightly above its price.