Nikon Coolpix L21

The Coolpix L21 was the most basic camera in Nikon's 2010 lineup, and that plainness is exactly what makes it interesting now. No optical stabilisation, no wide-angle lens, no HD video — just an 8-megapixel CCD and a straightforward NIKKOR zoom, in a body designed to be cheap enough that nobody thought twice about taking it out. The CCD delivers Nikon's characteristic look: cooler and more neutral than Canon, with clean whites and restrained saturation. Daylight photos hold good contrast without pushing colour, and flash images have the hard, direct quality that defines late-2000s snapshot photography. At 8 megapixels the files are modest by modern standards, which suits the aesthetic rather than working against it. The lens asks something of you. Starting at 38mm rather than the 28mm wide angles that were becoming standard, it's tight for group shots and interiors — you step back more than you'd like. There's no mechanical stabilisation either, only electronic VR, so low light needs a steady hand or a higher ISO. Shoot it in daylight and none of this matters; shoot it indoors and you'll feel the limits. Where it wins is practicality. Two AA batteries mean it never leaves you stranded, standard SD cards mean no format hunting, and the whole thing weighs 171 grams. Macro focusing to 5cm is closer than the specs suggest. For anyone who wants honest CCD colour in the simplest possible package, and doesn't need a wide lens or low-light capability, the L21 is about as uncomplicated as digicams get.