The Nikon LiteTouch 120ED/QD is a very cute little camera. It is very nicely finished in gold. The wide end of the zoom lens is 38mm which isn't that wide. The camera is powered by a CR123A battery. The clamshell front cover, when slided to the left, will turn on the camera, let lose the zoom lens from its housing and prop the flash up. This arrangement offers good protection of the lens when the camera is not in use. A neck strap is also provided. The bottom of the camera reads "made in China" and it has a sub US$200 price tag, is this Nikon going to disappoint?
| Lens | 38 - 120mm f/5.3 - 10.5 |
| Shutter | 1/3 - 1/400 sec plus B |
| Battery | One CR123A |
| Dimensions | 4 1/2 x 2 3/8 x 1 5/8 inches |
| Weight | 8 ounces with battery |
The camera feels small in my hands. Keeping it steady while taking a picture was a little awkward at the beginning due to its small size. This certainly needs to get used to. We had some problems using the MODE/SEL and ADJ buttons. The instruction manual was not very clear on how to set the time. We had no problem setting the date but we had to try a couple of different ways to get the time set properly. The built-in adjustable diopter is an interesting feature which we did not find to be very useful. The zoom lens setting seemed to occur in steps rather than continuously.
Now here's the question: does this camera take good pictures?
The short answer is `It depends'. The camera is capable to delivering reasonably sharp pictures. However, its small size make hand-holding a little bit challenging. If you can keep it steady while pressing the shutter release, this little gem can really delivers. In addition, the camera seemed to use the pop-up flash a lot, probably due to the slowness of the zoom.
In short, Nikon again delivers a nice compact camera. Its smallness also you to take it virtually anywhere in a shirt pocket or a purse. However, the camera is so small that holding it steady is something that has to get used to.