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Point and Shoot cameras have always been a favourite with the masses. Smart chips process images in digital formats at blazing speeds giving us the ability to capture stunning photos with a single click. And between the mighty SLR and plain Jane Point and Shoot, we have the Advanced Point and Shoot cameras which give a little best of both the worlds.

Every vendor worth his salt has a range of models in this category. But for simplicity sake, we will focus on the Coolpix series of Advance Point and Shoot cameras by Nikon. Available in stunning colours like red, plum, silver and black, the Coolpix series has taken the market by storm. Basic models are L320, L820 and P520 with L330, L830, P530 and P600 being respective upgrades. They are typically characterized by the looks and handling of an SLR with the ease of operation of a Point and Shoot.

A common point for all models is long range high optical zoom, excellent image quality even at highest zoom and low light conditions. Users have to familiarize themselves with the customization options or will end up messing the snaps in manual mode, and not to forget, the use of Tripod at high zoom is recommended.

The Coolpix range features both CCD and CMOS image sensor. Both use different techniques to capture and process images, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. CCD offers high quality image capture with higher power consumption and complex design, while CMOS is less expensive, consumes less power and is simple to manufacture and design and fits in small spaces which incidentally make it popular with mobile handset manufacturers.

Nikon Coolpix L320

This basic model features a 16.1 MP CCD Image Sensor. It has 26x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom. It has 3 inch TFT monitor to instantly playback your photos. It features HD video recording and is powered by 4 x AA batteries.

The base model is most affordable and feature rich with good optical zoom and customization options. On Flipkart it scores an average 4.3 stars out of 5 from 89 ratings and 33 reviews.

L330 is a slight upgrade of the optical image sensor resolution from 16.1 MP to 20.2 MP.