Nikon Coolpix 990

Opinion: Coolpix 990 - beginner's problem???

Opinion: This camera is awesome. I swear I was one of the first few guys to get this camera. I got it on very day it was released in Japan and paid around USD900 for it back in 2000. It was a version 1.0.

Then I sold it when the Cybershot F707 was released as I couldn't resist the 5.0 mega wave. After 4 years, I saw this mint condition 2nd hand Nikon 990 at a 2nd hand store for only 120USD. I couldn't resist and brought it again.

The controls and options are rich and extensive. White balance is good. Exposure is nice, Sharpness is excellent.

At this moment I have 4 other cameras in my possession.
Sony S70;
Sony F505v;
Sony F55v;
Sony F828.
The Nikon has better control than most of them above and is worth collecting.

If you print 6"x4" (4R), this Nikon Coolpix would be enough for your needs under any situation.

If you don't believe me, try this on your friends. I took some identical photos using the Sony Cybershot F828 (8.0 Mega pixels) and the Nikon 990. Then I had these printed at a photo lab at 4R (at the maximum resolution without any resize, cropping, highest dpi possible). Then I asked various friends to pick out which shot was 8.0 mega and which was 3.3 mega. Interestingly most would could not.

The point I am driving at is the Nikon 990 is excellant on its own. That main advantage the Cybershot F828 has over it is resolution. In terms of control, the Nikon is really good.

[Yeh yeh yeh, I know, if you want larger prints, more resolutions is better. And this NIkon 990 with 3.3 mega pixels is not enough for 8"x10" prints. BUT just remember 95% of time, we are printing 3R, 4R prints of friends, family, etc.]

Opinion: Excellent macro with tripod but TTL Flash is still missing. Therefore sharp hand held macro shots difficult to take.

The small film sensor makes possible the long depth of field. The lens focuses from infinity down to extremely small minimum frame area. These both properties are needed in macro shots.

Opinion: Still a great choice, despite it's age. I have taken over 10,000
photos on this gem, and it is still going strong. It's really a
workhorse. But the amazing thing is that it actually takes as good
or better pictures than the newer 4500 I just bought. They have a
very smooth, realistic quality, and are a little sharper than the 4500
shots. They stack up very well against any current offering. Build
quality is a little better on the 990 too. Manual control is excellent
too - comparable to a mid range SLR. The twist body design is a
work of art. It seems odd to the uninitiated, but once you get used
to it, it's the only way to go.

Pros:

Twist body design

reliability

Image quality in bright light is amazing. You'll have to move to the
5700 to see much of an improvement.

When used with the Nikon 3X tele-converter, it provides a sharp
maximum zoom of 345m equivalent.

User interface is superior to newer Nikons.

Battery life with good high output rechargables is excellent.

3MP is more than adequate. If you compare the actual picture size
to a 4 or even 5Mp shot, it's not really that much smaller. You need
to jump to the 6-8Mp range to really see an increase in size.

Opinion: Thousands of tattoo photographs later I am still charmed by this
camera. I have been using it 3 years, and it brought me out of the
stone age, letting me take so MANY shots of each piece I do and then
decide later in my computer which to keep. I just broke the battery door
and decided to shop online for a replacement new camera, but the
comments on this forum have convinced me to pay the repair fee
instead.

Opinion: The feel of the split body was unusual at first,than the more you work with the camera ,the more you appreciate the possibilities of difficultties postions that would have made shooting much harder with a regular camera.For a point and shoot camera,it sure has more bells and whistles than some of the other cameras in it's class that I've work with.
As for the sharp photo's that it produces for a 3.34 meg,I'm pretty impress.I've heard some bad stories that this camera is not as sharp as a SLR,well,the problem is that,I use a tripod and I- take- my -time,if I want that good SLR photos.The Auto white balance is right in there and a good one at that.I like the Matrix zone for my exposures and the spot when it's difficult on some situations where I couldn't get it correctly with the matrix.
It's color and contrast is up on par and if I don't like the shot ,I can go in the menu and adjust what needs to be done.The swivel head is very firm and it doesn't tend to droop with any heavy lens that is attach to it.I like the features for sharpening in the menu where if the sharpness is to sharp, I can go in and tone it down to a softer shot,to get that mood I'm looking for.There's more to this camera than you can think of.It's a great camera if you study it inside out.Than,if your just want to point and shoot,just setup the camera in the menu and you shouldn't have any problems.Read the instuctions manual.

Opinion: - Great value for money
- Puts out wonderful images in a variety of situations, beautiful colors that are often very accurate and can be easily manipulated to meet my needs in Photoshop.
- Exceelent swivel design, I've used it SO much!
- Good beginner digital camera - not too many options to confuse.
- Beautiful macro mode. High quality.

Opinion: I've used this camera for a couple years, but only casually for vacation
travel photos. I cosnidered it a starter digital camera, but it really proved
itself to me this past week at a photography workshop. I spent five days
in Tuscany, photographing in various locations in the country and in
villages. Took more than 1500 photos with great results -- beautiful
color, focus, lighting. The camera functioned really well despite
incredible heat and dust. Having the two-part body allowed me to get
shots from various heights and in and around corners that would have
been nearly impossible otherwise. It also made it possible to capture
nice candids of people in cafes and on the street. I have the telephoto,
wide angle and fish eye lenses -- easy to change on the go to get
specific shots. I hope to keep using the camera for a few more years.

Opinion: Had this for almost a year and works wonderfully. Beautiful camera, nice design, comfortable in hands.