A review and sample photos of the Nikon Coolpix 900 digital camera with a swivel mechanism.
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Table of contents
Gallery
Review
1．Overview
The NIKON COOLPIX 900 is a built-in lens digital camera manufactured by Nikon and released in 1998.
It’s a fine old compact digital camera, having been released nearly 30 years ago.
The camera’s 1.3-megapixel image sensor has an aspect ratio of 4:3, and can record at a maximum resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels.
Images can only be saved in JPEG format, and there are three recording quality settings: FINE, NORMAL, and BASIC.
The recording media is CompactFlash.
Detailed camera specifications are listed in the table below.
2．Usability
The NIKON COOLPIX 900’s horizontal resolution is 1280 pixels, which is insufficient for photographic purposes. The examples on this website have been reduced to about 1200 pixels on the long side, but with this camera, the images are nearly life-size.
The results are understandable given the camera’s age, but the sensitivity is fixed at ISO 64 and cannot be adjusted. Looking at the results taken with the default setting, the colors are poor, as is typical with complementary filters, and the images have a sleepy feel, perhaps due to the lack of sharpness.
This can be remedied to some extent with image processing software, but the raw images are often disappointing.
Nighttime photography is also a challenge. The low sensitivity of ISO 64 and the lack of image stabilization make handheld nighttime photography quite challenging. Using a mini tripod as a countermeasure increases the likelihood of blurring due to vibrations caused by pressing the shutter button. However, since this camera isn’t a good enough camera to warrant a large tripod, it’s probably best to give up on nighttime photography.
The biggest problem with this camera is its slow startup time, taking around 10 seconds after powering it on before it’s ready to shoot. After 30 seconds of leaving it on, it automatically goes into sleep mode, and waking up from that state takes a fair bit of time, resulting in poor shooting response overall.
At the time, all cameras took a fair amount of time to start up and record images, so I thought that was normal, but in the 2020s, this is a tough specification.
The autofocus speed is also quite slow, and it can’t keep up in sudden situations, which is quite a frustrating specification for someone used to modern cameras.
The Swivel Coolpix’s real-image optical viewfinder changes the shooting range in conjunction with the lens zoom, but all the photographer can see is the shooting range, not the focus position, the same system as AF compact cameras from the film camera era. The rear LCD screen provides live view, so you can check the shooting range and focus, but the small 1-inch monitor and 100,000-dot resolution mean it lacks accuracy.
The COOLPIX 900 can be powered by four AA batteries, and can also run on relatively low-voltage nickel-metal hydride batteries such as Eneloop, so it is likely designed to run on a single battery voltage of around 1.2V.
This specification is carried over to the COOLPIX P990, part of Nikon’s swivel-type digital camera Coolpix series.
3．Summary
To summarize the NIKON COOLPIX 900, it was the camera that marked Nikon’s shift to digital cameras, but its recorded images were 1.3 megapixels (1,280 x 960 pixels), a size that was disappointing even for casual use.
And while I’ve seen reports that its startup time was slightly improved in its successor, the COOLPIX 910, the startup time of its successor, the COOLPIX 950, was improved to about 3 seconds. For this reason, I don’t recommend choosing the COOLPIX 900 even if you’re just having fun with an old digital camera.
In fact, when I was using the COOLPIX 900, I sold it and switched to the COOLPIX 950 when it was released.
Specifications, considerations, etc.
The original COOLPIX 900 was succeeded by the improved COOLPIX 910, which retains the same basic camera elements, with only minor changes including a faster startup time, a new body color, and the addition of a flash sync terminal. The COOLPIX 910’s popularity was its price dropping below ¥100,000, but given that the COOLPIX 950 was released shortly thereafter, the COOLPIX 910 may have been released to clear out COOLPIX 900 parts inventory and depreciate molds.
Compared to the COOLPIX 900’s 1.3 megapixels, its successor, the COOLPIX 950, boasts 2 megapixels (1,600 x 1,200 pixels), while the COOLPIX 990 boasts 3.3 megapixels (2,048 x 1,536 pixels). Both of these pixel sizes allow for a certain degree of image reduction, making them more practical cameras.
| Items | COOLPIX 900 | COOLPIX 950 | COOLPIX990 |
| Camera effective pixels | 1.3 million pixels 1,280 x 960 | 2 million pixels 1,600 x 1,200 | 3.3 megapixels 2,048 x 1,536 |
| Focal length | 3x Zoom Nikkor Lens f=5.8-17.4mm (35mm equivalent: 38-115mm) f=2.4-3.6 | 3x Zoom Nikkor Lens f=7-21mm (35mm equivalent: 38-115mm) f=2.6-f=4 | 3x Zoom Nikkor Lens f=8-24mm (35mm equivalent: 38-115mm) f/2.5-f/4 |
| Lens Construction | – | – | 9 elements in 8 groups |
| Leaf blade | – | – | 7 |
| Image sensor | 1/2.7 inch CCD | 1/2 inch CCD(?) | 1/1.8 inch CCD |
| Max ISO | ISO64 equivalent | 320 | 400 |
| Back LCD | 2-inch, 114,000 pixels | 2-inch, 130,000 pixels | 1.8-inch, 110,000 pixels |
| View Finder | Real image | Real image | Real image |
| Battery | 4 AA batteries 1.2V*4 | 4 AA batteries 1.2V*4 | 4 AA batteries 1.2V*4 |
| Recorded Media | Compact Flash | Compact Flash | Compact Flash |
| Size(mm) W x H x D | 157×75×35 | 143×76.5×36.5 | 149×79×38 |
| Weight(g)(only body) | 360 | 350 | 390 |
| Release date | 1998.4 | 1999.3 | 2000.4 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | 110,000 | 125,000 | 125,000 |
Nikon camera options began with this camera, and the fisheye converter FC-E8 was released at this time and can be used with later cameras. The wide-angle converter is the WC-E24 (0.66x), and the wide-angle converter is redesigned and the model number changes with the release of new cameras.
Options
- Fisheye Converter: FC-E8 (0.2x)…at the time of the COOLPIX 900’s release
- Wide Converter: WC-E24 (0.66x)…at the time of the COOLPIX 900’s release
- PC Connection Kit
| Items | Fisheye FC-E8 | Wide-angle Converter WC-E24 |
| Lens Construction | 5 elements in 4 groups | 2 elements in 2 groups |
| Converter Magnification | 0.2x | 0.66x |
| Composite aperture | same | F2.6 at wide angle side |
| Size | ? | |
| Mounting Diameter | 28mm | 28mm |
| Filter size | – | 48mm |
| Weight(g) | 205 | |
| Compatible camera connection adapter | COOLPIX P5100 COOLPIX P5000 COOLPIX 8400 COOLPIX 5000 COOLPIX 4500 COOLPIX 4300 COOLPIX 995 COOLPIX 990 COOLPIX 950 COOLPIX 910 COOLPIX 900 COOLPIX 885 COOLPIX 880 | COOLPIX 995 COOLPIX 990 COOLPIX 950 COOLPIX 910 COOLPIX 900 COOLPIX 885 COOLPIX 880 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ¥35,000→¥45,000 | ¥9,800 |
Reference links
- COOLPIX 900: Getting started with digital photography・NIKON Official page
- Nikon COOLPIX900 Usage Report・Pc-Watch
- NIKON COOLPIX910・Pc-Watch
- COOLPIX 900 Main Features・Web Archive（Character code ISO-2022-JP）
- Nikon 0.66x Wide Angle Converter WC-E24
- Nikkor Thousand and One Nights: Night 24 Converter Lens for COOLPIX 4300
- A quick look at low magnification binoculars
- COOLPIX 950・Shige’s hobby
- COOLPIX 990・Shige’s hobby
寄付のお願い・Request for donations
Affiliate links
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- NIKON Books・Ads by Amazon
Update history
- 2026.2.26
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