Good back-up camera

I bought the Nikon CoolPix 4800 a couple of years ago, and absolutely adore it. I *love* the 8.3x zoom, and the picture quality is fantastic. The only drawback is that it's too large to take everywhere.

So when I had a few extra dollars, and was going away on vacation, I decided to get a less expensive "back-up" camera that could be popped in my purse and go anywhere. After doing a bit of research (I'd done a LOT of research on the 4800 a couple of years ago), I decided to stick with Nikon, and figured if I had to give up the extra zoom, I'd better up the megapixels, thus ruling out the L4 (4 MP).

The L3 takes GREAT pictures in good light, and is ready for the next picture relatively quickly. However, in low-light or flash situations, the camera takes a significant amount of time to write to the memory card.

Battery life is not bad on regular AA batteries - about 100 shots, depending on how long it's left on in between shots.

The scene modes can be very helpful - sports mode allows for several pictures in quick succession; landscape mode takes beautiful pictures with both close-up and distance in focus; face priority truly helps with portraits.

Despite the specs on the first page, there isn't a proprietary battery (takes 2 AA's), and there is a tripod mount.

All in all, I'm very happy with this camera for the purpose it was purchased for - to have in my purse for those "right now" moments. I still use my 4800 whenever possible, though.