Nikon Coolpix 995 Review: Digital Photography Review

Compared to...

When Canon announced the G1, it was clearly a competitor to the 990. With a very similar feature set, lots of manual controls, the same 3 megapixel imager and 3x optical zoom, it was instantly a new contender for the top 3 megapixel prosumer digital camera position.

In my review of the G1 I compared it to the 990 (both on features, specifications and image quality), my overall conclusion was mixed. The G1's colour was definitely better but on the whole the two cameras were fairly evenly matched for image sharpness and resolution. Feature wise however, the G1 took the lead. Now along comes the 995, still 3 megapixels, but now with a 4x optical zoom lens, a pop-up flash, CF Type II support (albeit not Microdrive) and various new features.

Obviously if you're considering the 995 the G1 would be its nearest contender, so this is the camera I've chosen to use for our main comparison. First of all, let's compare specifications and features:

	Nikon Coolpix 995	Canon PowerShot G1

Street price	US$ 900	US$ 900
Body	LCD portion magnesium alloy, Lens portion plastic	Magnesium alloy front, Plastic rear
Body design	Split body	Single body with flip-out LCD
Ergonomics	Good, nice hand grip	Average, no hand grip
Lens zoom	4 x optical zoom, 35 - 152 mm equiv.	3 x optical zoom, 34 - 102 mm equiv.
Lens aperture	F2.6 - F5.1	F2.0 - F2.5
Lens thread	28 mm	58 mm with optional adapter
CCD	1/1.8" 3.3 megapixel	1/1.8" 3.3 megapixel
CCD CFA	C Y G M	C Y G M
Max resolution	2048 x 1536	2048 x 1536
Aspect ratio	4:3 or 3:2	4:3
Lower Resolutions	1600 x 1200 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 640 x 480	1024 x 768 640 x 480
Image modes	TIFF, JPEG	RAW, JPEG
JPEG modes	Fine, Normal, Basic	Super Fine, Fine, Normal *1
Digital Zoom	x1.2 - x4.0 in x0.2 steps	x2 or x4
Sensitivity	Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400, 800	Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400
AF mode	Single, Continuous	Single, Continuous
AF illumination lamp	No	Yes
AF focus areas	5 selectable	1 automatic
AF distance	Normal: 30 cm Macro: 2 cm	Normal: 70 cm Macro: 6 cm (W), 70 cm (T)
AF / MF confirmation	Yes, very visible	Yes, slightly visible
Auto bracketing	Yes, 3/5 images, +/-1 EV	Yes, 3 images, +/-2 EV
WB auto bracket	Yes	No
WB fine tuning	Yes	No
WB manual preset	Yes	Yes
Noise reduction	Yes, menu option	Yes, auto above 1.3 sec exposure
Exposure modes	Auto, P, AP, SP, Man	Auto, AP, SP, Man, 6 scene modes
Metering	256 segment, center-weighted, spot, spot AF area	Center-weighted, spot
AE Lock	Yes	Yes, single button, plus stitch assist
AE compensation	+/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps	+/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps
Shutter speed	8 - 1/2300 sec (plus Bulb)	8 - 1/1000 sec
Shutter priority	15 positions	40 positions
Aperture priority	10 positions	13 positions
Continuous	1.8 fps @ 2048 x 1536 3 frames @ Fine resolution	1.3 fps @ 2048 x 1536 10 frames @ Fine resolution
Quick review	Yes	No
Contrast control	Yes	Yes
Saturation control	Yes	Yes
Sharpening control	Yes	Yes
Movie clips	320 x 240, 40 sec, no audio	320 x 240, 30 seconds, with audio
Audio clips	No	Yes
User memories	3, selectable	1
Self timer	3 or 10 seconds	10 seconds or IR remote
Remote control	Optional accessory	Supplied IR remote
PC remote control	No	Yes, supplied software
LCD	1.8" on twisting body section	1.8" flip-out and twist + anti-reflective
Viewfinder	Optical	Optical
Play magnification	1.2x - 6.0x	2.5x - 5.0x
Flash	Pop-up (designed to reduce redeye)	Fixed internal
Flash range	7 m (22.9 ft)	4.5 m (15 ft)
External flash	Synch terminal	Hot-shoe
Tripod mount	Metal	Metal
Power	Nikon EN-EL1 Lithium-Ion rechargeable	Canon BP-511 Li-Ion rechargeable
Battery power	4.8 Wh (2 hr 30 mins)	8.1 Wh (3 hrs)
AC adapter	Optional	Supplied
Storage	Compact Flash Type I or II	Compact Flash Type I or II
Storage supplied	16 MB	16 MB
Microdrive supported	Not officially	Yes
Weight no battery	410 g (14.5 oz)	418 g (14.7 oz)
Weight inc battery	454 g (16.0 oz)	494 g (17.4 oz)
Dimensions (inc. Grip)	138 x 82 x 63 mm (5.2 x 3.2 x 2.5 in) (w x h x d)	120 x 77 x 64 mm (4.7 x 3.0 x 2.5 in) (w x h x d)
Volume *2	502 cm³	407 cm³
Startup speed	Fast	Average
Operation speed	Fast	Very Fast

*1	Super-Fine offers virtually lossless JPEG quality.
*2	Calculated by measuring individual body components.

As you can see, despite being in the same market area the two cameras both have their own strengths and weaknesses. It's clear at least from a specifications and features point of view, that you would have to go down this list and decide which features are more important to you before choosing a winner at this stage in the race.

Image Quality Comparison

Here we turn to my now standard still life scene, A few notes about this sample shot: Lighting - 2 x 800W studio lights with dichroic daylight filters bounced off a white ceiling reflector. Both camera set to aperture priority and auto white balance. All other settings factory default. Both cameras aperture was stopped down to get the optimum sharpness from the lens.

What became clear early on in this comparison is the apparent difference in what each camera's sensitivity actually equates to. We found that the G1 at ISO 50 was just as sensitive (required a very similar exposure for the same brightness image) as the 995 at ISO 100. Thus the 995 is probably over-reporting its sensitivity and the G1 is probably underreporting.

Image portions below are of a 120 x 90 crop which has been magnified 200% using nearest neighbour re-sizing, apart from the last which is a 240 x 180 crop.

Nikon Coolpix 995 @ ISO 100 vs. Canon G1 @ ISO 50

Nikon Coolpix 995 ISO 100, 1/6 sec, F5.5	Canon G1 ISO 50, 1/4 sec, F5.6






Nikon Coolpix 995	Canon G1

Although there doesn't appear to be a huge amount of difference we can clearly pick up on a few details: As we expected the G1's ISO 50 images are cleaner (less noise). The G1 also seems to handle blues better than the 995, the 995 handles reds better (last crop, much better red / orange than the G1), otherwise they are pretty evenly matched. Kudos to Nikon for keeping the noise down at ISO 100.

The G1 also seems to gain from its larger, faster lens. Detail is sharper and better defined (though it's clear that the 995 has applied less in-camera sharpening that the G1). The apparent softness of the batteries in the 995 shot was so surprising that I went back and re-shot the scene but there was no improvement. Is the "9 series" lens structure starting to show its age?

Nikon Coolpix 995 @ ISO 100 vs. Canon G1 @ ISO 100

Nikon Coolpix 995 ISO 100, 1/6 sec, F5.6	Canon G1 ISO 100, 1/8 sec, F5.6






Nikon Coolpix 995	Canon G1

Here things start to get more interesting. The 995 is clearly cleaner (less noise) at ISO 100 than the G1. It's somewhere between the G1's ISO 50 and ISO 100.