27/Jan/2000, 8AM Tokyo Time: Today Nikon announce the Nikon Coolpix 990. They've built on the strength of the 950, fixed some of the problems with the 950 and added a new 3.34 megapixel CCD, some new features, case is the same design but button layout is different with the addition of the new command dial and some professional features taken from their SLR range such as focus area selectors. Expected availability? April.

Apologies for the poor quality of these images, my scanner is dead so I had to build
a make-shift medium format slide scanner out of a coolpix 950 & lighting rig

Significant improvements / new features (IMHO)

• 3.34 megapixel CCD
• Positioning of CF Card slot on side of camera (keep it on the tripod!)
• New buttons ergonomics
• USB connectivity
• AF Area selection (5 point - very F100)
• Command Wheel for easy settings adjustment
• QuickTime movie mode
• Fine-tunable white balance
• Sharpening control
• Improved buffering of images, no wait between shooting
• Sensitivity control in Shutter-Priority mode
• Addition of a Full Manual mode
• Addition of a 3 second self-timer (hopefully it'll work in macro mode)
• Addition of Histogram and highlight point display in playback mode
• Brightness and Hue adjustment of LCD
• New Slide Copy Adapter accessory ES-E28
• Improved now FLAT tripod mount

Things people had been waiting for but appear to be missing (IMHO)

• Support for CompactFlash Type II (boo, hiss)
• Supplied NiMH batteries & charger
• Magnified image "loupe" during manual focus (ala Oly C2020Z) or any other time
• Bigger zoom (3x is starting to feel limited)
• Anti-reflective coating on LCD
• Almost lossless JPEG mode (1.2+ MB JPEG image)
• Histogram / highlight point display in image review (as with D1) - not confirmed

Details below are from the official Nikon Coolpix 990 press pack - apologies for the sales-y talk.

Nikon Coolpix 990 Features

Images

• 3.34 megapixel 1/1.8" CCD ultra-high definition 2048 x 1536
• Newly designed 3x Zoom Nikkor lens (38-115mm 35mm equiv)
• Nikon new image processing algorithm
• Advanced image control: 256 segment Matrix Metering, Matrix Auto White Balance, 5-area Multi-AF
• High-precision AF with 4,896 steps including macro range with shortest working distance of 2cm (0.8")

Speed

• Quick startup and approx. 0.1 sec shutter release lag (fast)
• Short exposure interval and fast data processing enable continuous shooting
• Overall high-speed operation from zooming and autofocus to data processing and transfer
• USB interface for high speed transfers back to your computer
• Movie mode, QVGA (320x240) QuickTime for 40 secs @ 15fps
• Ultra High Speed Continuous mode captures 80 QVGA (320x240) images @ 30fps

Easy Operation and new Versatility

• Slim compact swivel design with tough molded magnesium exterior
• Superb operability with ergonomic button layout, directional focus area selector and command dial
• Easy-to-see 110,000 pixel TFT LCD
• Exposure control: four exposure modes including full Manual, Exposure compensation and Auto Bracketing
• 7-blade Iris Diaphragm
• Advanced 5-mode built-in Speedlight (flash)
• Extended battery life
• Compatible with Telephoto, Wide-angle and Fisheye Converters

Nikon Coolpix 990 Specifications