Nikon Coolpix 990 -- Best In Its Class
Written: Oct 25 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great LCD screen, rugged, customizable
Cons: Price, supplied CompactFlash card is small
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| saguarostock's Full Review: Nikon Coolpix 990 Digital Camera |
The Nikon Coolpix 990 is a high-end, sophisticated, weird-looking, ruggedly-made, not-for-the-timid digicam that became my entrance into digital photography.
I have used 35mm Nikon cameras for many years, and I'm a big Nikon fan. But that's not why I bought the Coolpix 990. Sure, I knew Nikon had a good reputation, but no company achieves success in everything they do.
When I heard about the 3+ megapixel cameras, and how their pictures could be enlarged to 8x10 inches with near-35mm quality, I began to consider adding digital to my "bag of tricks". Then I heard about all the photo-quality inkjet printers, and inexpensive, user-friendly photo manipulation software, and I really became serious about adding digital.
I compared all the high-end 3+ megapixel cameras available. They were in the $800 to $1,000 range. What impressed me about this Coolpix were: 1) the wide range of the zoom lens, 2) the clarity and brightness of the LCD screen on the back of the camera, 3) the rugged alloy body construction, 4) its ability to use CompactFlash cards (which are more durable than Smart Media cards), 5) the extreme close-focusing capability of the lens, and 6) the ability to fully customize the camera operation. What I didn't like: 1) the price $1,000 (when I bought mine), and 2) the meager 16MB CompactFlash card that came with the camera. A happy note: the price is coming down. I've seen it sell for less in printed ads.
That 16MB CompactFlash card will only hold ONE picture shot at the camera's highest resolution. The file from that resolution is a little over 9MB. The next lower resolution setting is the FINE mode. That mode will give you 13 pictures on the supplied CompactFlash card. So... expect to invest in more CompactFlash cards if you want to take the camera out of the house.
The camera is very customizable, and has settings that will be familiar to late-model 35mm Nikon shooters. It has two main operating modes: Manual and Automatic. Manual is for those who like to tweak everything from the selection of the autofocus area to the fine-tuning of the flash output. Automatic is for those like my wife who just want to turn the camera on and shoot. As you may have guessed, this is a camera the whole family can use. I believe it was mainly designed for those who are REALLY in to photography in a big way. So, if you are mainly the easy-to-use point-and-shoot type, you would probably be better off with a smaller, less-sophisticated model. Just remember, with electronics, as in many things, you usually get what you pay for.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
saguarostock
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Reviews written: 2
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