Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34203 in Camera & Photo
• Size: Medium Size
• Brand: Nikon
• Model: 990
• Released on: 2000-05-01
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Platforms: PowerMac, Windows NT 5, Windows NT 4, Windows NT 3.5, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Mac, Windows NT, Windows, Mac OS 9 and below, Mac OS X, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, Windows Me
• Dimensions: 1.50" h x 5.90" w x 3.10" l, .81 pounds
• Memory: 16MB
• Display size: 1.8

Features

• 3.34 megapixel sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality prints at 8 x 10 inches and beyond
• 3x optical plus 4x digital zoom lens with autofocus
• Included 16 MB CompactFlash memory card holds 20 images at default resolution
• Connects with Macs and PCs via USB port
• Uses 4 AA batteries alkalines, included; special features include movie mode, slide-show playback, and 9-image review

Amazon.com Product Description
The Nikon Coolpix 990 takes all the features of its popular predecessor, the Coolpix 950, and improves upon them. This 3.34-megapixel CCD offers true (noninterpolated) image resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 for easy cropping and high print quality. The built-in 3x zoom Nikkor lens provides 38-115mm coverage (35mm equivalent) for clear, sharp images with 4x stepless digital zoom. It also features a 1.8-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD screen for easy composition and playback. Nikon's own 256-element matrix metering and white balance promise outstanding exposure and color balance in every image.

Fully automatic with manual capabilities, the Nikon Coolpix 990 provides 4,896-step multi-area autofocus for quick composition without interruption. It provides a built-in five-mode flash and seven capture modes, including 1.5 fps (frames per second) full-resolution image capture, 30 fps QVGA, and 15 fps QVGA movies for 40 seconds in motion-JPEG mode. The 50-step manual focus gives complete creative control, while the macro focus mode allows you to shoot pictures from as close as 0.8 inches. You may choose between shutter priority and aperture priority exposure modes for greater artistic flexibility without added hassle. This camera also accepts all optional Coolpix lenses and accessories, including fisheye, wide angle, and telephoto lenses and up to five Nikon speedlights (with optional bracket) to light up any scene.

Convenience features of the Nikon Coolpix 990 include its easy-to-use and easy-to-upgrade CompactFlash memory (16 MB card provided). This camera is capable of both NTSC and PAL video playback, and it works with both Macintosh and IBM platforms. Although the Nikon Coolpix 990 can connect to your PC via serial connection, it also offers high-speed USB connectivity for plug-and-play simplicity and faster picture downloads.

Customer Reviews

Great camera, with one major flaw....
My needs in a digital camera were simple, or so I thought. I take a lot of photos, 10-15 or more rolls at a time, which can get very expensive when you take into account the cost of film, developing and printing. It is also time consuming, as I scan the best ones and print them out as 8 x 10s. Not to mention a pain, carrying lots of film, lenses, filters, etc. around with me. My aim was to save money and time, but I didn't want to sacrifice quality, either.

The Nikon Coolpix 990 takes excellent photos, and 8x10s print very nicely. I added a $400 flash card and that has plenty of room for lots of pictures (about 80 at fine quality), as poor shots can be deleted immediately. Downloading the pictures to my laptop is a breeze with the included usb cable (another review said that cut and paste doesn't work, but it works fine for me). It's rather heavy on batteries, but once I switched to rechargeable AAs there was a big improvement. One plus digital cameras have over film is being able to adapt to current lighting conditions - no fiddling with filters if taking photos indoors without a flash, for example. So far, I was very pleased.

The major flaw, for me, came when I used the optional 2X lens (bought at the same time as the camera). Nowhere in the literature I read before I bought the camera did it mention that attaching the lens disables the flash. You can't even use an external flash with it. I take many shots in poor light and at a distance, and this renders the camera unusable in those circumstances as I am often also unable to use a tripod. I was more than a little annoyed to find that after spending close to $2000 total, I still had to take my 35mm camera with me. I don't know if this is peculiar to the Nikon or common among digital cameras, but I didn't see it mentioned anywhere.

Despite this, I am pleased with the camera, and would recommend it, especially if most of your photos are taken outdoors or in bright indoor lighting. On my last trip I shot only two rolls of 35mm film. At this rate the camera will have paid for itself within the year in film and film developing savings, and it's worth its weight in gold for the time I save on scanning and retouching photos.

My unbiased opinion on this camera
First off, let me say that this camera is incredible, and worth every penny. I've owned mine for about a week, and I've taken some incredible photos that look like they came out of a magazine (and I'm an amateur at best).

Now, let's get realistic about the camera. I want to provide enough factual information to allow people to make their decisions about whether or not this is the right camera for them. TheCoolpix 990 has tons of great points. Most notably, it's 3.34 megapixels (3.24 effective), and thus produces top-quality images with incredible sharpness. Another thing that was had me sold was the fact that you can go into full manual mode with this camera. You can choose either shutter priority, aperture priority, or full manual (including fully manual focus). This aspect of the camera should appeal to the professional or "artsy" photographer who wishes to customize the camera to get the exact effect they want.

After you upgrade the firmware to v1.1, the speed of certain camera operations are a bit faster, but the camera is already originally very fast. Reviewing photographs in "Play" mode is a breeze, and there's not much delay when paging through them.

Buy rechargeable NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries and a charger before your camera ships. The alkaline batteries that ship with the camera will die within hours,guaranteed. Also, grab the amazing Maha C204F charger. It allows you to leave the charger plugged in with batteries in it indefinitely, without ruining the batteries at all. The charger will save you several hundred dollars in batteries.

A few drawbacks about the 990 (yes, they do exist): BSS (best shot selection) feature is kind of weak. It's supposed to let you take 10 shots and it chooses the best ("the one with the most detail" I believe the manual says, whatever that means). On some occasions it has actually chosen blurry photos over the sharp ones. I've no clue how this works, but Nikon needs to reevaluate this function. And a warning: don't rely on this camera for good long-exposure shots. Shutter times of 4 seconds and longer in a dark setting will sometimes show a lot of noise in the photograph. This is a very noisy camera (audibly and graphically), so try to limit your exposure times. Also, please note that you will NOT be able to access the "info.txt" file that people in other reviews have mentioned. Yes, the camera saves all photo details (shutter speed, ISO, flash, aperture, etc.) to a file called "info.txt", but you CANNOT access the file unless you're using a card reader. The NikonView software will only let you pull photos from the camera, nothing else.

I'll conclude this here because I could rant on for a while on other great points. The camera is truly amazing, buy it now. Yes, it has drawbacks, but no camera is perfect--and this one comes pretty close to perfection. This camera is comparable to the Olympus C3030, so check that out as well. The features of the C3030 are similar, and in some ways the camera is a little better (the movie mode actually records audio!), and a little worse (uses SmartMedia only).

Read before you buy.
This is a review for users of 35mm cameras who are thinking of moving over to their first digital camera. (Gadget junkies can safely ignore this post.)

Let me start by saying that this is a great camera. For my purposes the 3M pixel resolution is as good as film. But if you are just moving over from a 35mm for the first time you are in a for a few rude surprises. Some which are endemic to all digital cameras, some Nikon 990 flaws.

1. The built in flash is worse than useless for indoor portraits. The redeye problem is horrendous and unsolvable with the built-in flash. You'll find yourself buying an external flash (~$150)and bracket (~$50). Why they didn't put a hotshoe on the camera is beyond me.

2. If you bought the camera for it's 3m pixel resolution you will find the 16M card supplied as useful as a 16M Windows machine. You need at least one 128M card (~$250) which holds ~80 pictures (unless you plan to tether yourself to a computer.)

3. The LCD display and autofocus eat Alkaline batteries for lunch. You'll go through a set every 1.5 hours. At minimum you need rechargable NiCad's. If you're going to be outdoors for awhile consider a rechargable external Nicad pack (~$50)

4. Shutter lag time seem a lot longer (worse) than 35mm cameras. About 1 1/2 seconds from when you push the shutter to when the camera goes "click" in auto mode. Ouch.

5. If you are used to "motor drive" on your 35mm this camera will drive you crazy. There is a 1.5 second delay between photos for the first two photos and 7 (yes seven!) seconds for the following one. You simply cannot shoot a series of "action" pictures at high res.

6. Oh, hope you didn't expect a carrying case when you bought your camera. It's ok because once you buy the external flash and bracket you need a larger one anyway.

7. Getting pictures into your PC via the compact flash cards are a no brainer if you have either a) USB or b) PCMCIA adapter for a portable. In either case you need an compact flash adapter (~$50 for the PC ~$10 for a portable computer). Of course you can connect your camera directly to the computer, but trust me, get an adapter. Make sure your USB port works before buying the camera.

8. Hope you bought an Epson 1270 or a printer with equivalent quality (~$450)to print your photos. If not, get a cheaper (less resolution) camera.

9. Get familar with Shutterfly.com to send photos to your relatives.

Summary: Great camera. If you're happy taking pictures of the family on a 35mm the resolution of this camera won't disappoint or embarass you. However, the amount of work and manual reading may. Plan on spending another $500+ for peripherals. Learn battery management skills. Learn how to make every shot count.