NIKON COOLPIX 990

Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera review and photo examples

Table of contents

Gallery
Impression
Specification
Options
Reference links

Gallery

Impression
I captured it at a junk market of a certain camera shop, where it was sold for four-digit yen. I bought Coolpix cameras when they were first released, including the 900, which had a beautiful solid shape, and the 950, which had a black body with an impressive red line; the 990 had more pixels, but the camera body color changed to gray and the accents changed to purple.
As an aside, as is often the case with Japanese manufacturers, I don’t know if they feel compelled to change the design and color scheme every time. I think it is necessary for a brand to persistently keep a good design, as is the case in other countries.
Also, the timing of the company was also significant in that it was leaning toward digital SLR cameras and rangefinder cameras. This is a digital camera transition due to a love of large sensor size that continues to this day.
The optical viewfinder of the swivel-type COOLPIX is a zoom-type viewfinder that changes the shooting range, but it only checks the shooting range, not the focus position, which is the same system used in AF compact cameras of the film camera era. The rear LCD monitor has a live-view function that allows the photographer to check the shooting range and focus position, but the monitor size is only 1 inch and the resolution is 100,000 dots, so it is not as accurate as a live-view monitor.
Up to the COOLPIX 990, the camera runs on four AA batteries, and it can also run on relatively low-voltage NiMH batteries such as Eneloop. The camera is probably designed to run on a single battery voltage of about 1.2V.
Startup time is relatively leisurely, with a delay of about 2 to 3 seconds from power-on to ready to shoot, and sleep recovery is slow, so it would be faster to turn the power back on.
The recording media is Compact Flash, the image storage format is TIFF or Jpeg, and the recording quality can be selected from four types: HI, FINE, NORMAL, and BASIC. The file size is 10 times larger than that of a JPEG (about 1 MB for FINE), and the writing process requires a 10-second wait, which requires a lot of patience.
The picture quality is not as good as that of today’s smartphones, as this is an old digital camera. Even in daylight at ISO 100, the pictures look a little sleepy and loose, and at night, ISO 400, there is a lot of noise and a loss of resolution. The AF speed is also quite slow, and the camera cannot catch up with the focus at all in a moment’s notice. This is a very difficult specification for those who are accustomed to using modern cameras.

Because Nikon camera options are sold for a relatively long time and are designed to be used with a variety of models, I obtained a 0.63x wide converter and 2x and 3x teleconverters. The teleconverter has almost no use, but I bought it as an extra because of its low price.
The 0.63x wide-angle converter has a slight vignetting on the periphery, but the angle of view equivalent to 24mm is a must for wide-angle lens lovers, but the downside is that it makes the camera very large.
I did not get a fisheye because they are few and expensive, and the 2x teleconverter has the same function as the 3x teleconverter. I also found a strange converter called TC-E3PF (with a phase Fresnel lens). This is a product based on the same principle as Canon’s DO lenses (stacked diffractive optical elements), and by specially processing the lens, it is possible to gain focal length in a more compact size than before. The TC-E3PF is a very rare item on the market, and is rarely seen in used condition.
Nikon’s options for compact digital cameras are extensive and surprising.

Specification

Items	COOLPIX 900	COOLPIX 950	COOLPIX990	COOLPIX995	COOLPIX4500
カメラ有効画素数	1 million pixels	2 million pixels	3 million pixels	3 million pixels	4 million pixels
Focal length	3x zoom Nikkor lens f=7 to 21mm (35 mm film equivalent: 38 to 115mm) F2.6 – F4	←	3x zoom Nikkor lens f＝8～24mm (35 mm film equivalent: 38 – 115 mm) F2.5 – F4	4x zoom Nikkor lens f＝8 to 32mm (35 mm film equivalent: 38-152 mm) F2.6 to F5.1	4x zoom Nikkor lens f=7.85 – 32mm (35mm film equivalent 38 – 155mm) F2.6 – 5.1
Lens Construction	–	–	9 elements in 8 groups	10 elements in 8 groups	←
Leaf blade	–	–	7枚	←	←
Image sensor	1/2.7-inch CCD	1/2-inch CCD(?)	1/1.8-inch CCD	←	←
Max ISO	–	320	400	800	←
Back LCD	2-inch, ? pixels	2-inch, 130,000 pixels	1.8-inch, 110,000 pixels	←	1.5-inch, 110,000 pixels
View Finder	real image type	←	←	←	←
Battery	4 AA Batteries 1.2V*4	←	←	EN-EL1	←
Recorded Media	Compact flash	←	←	←	←
Size(mm) W x H x D	157×75×35	143×76.5×36.5	149×79×38	138×82×40	130×73×50
Weight(g)	360(Only body)	350 (Only body)	390 (Only body)	390(Only body)	360(Only body)
Release date	1998.4	1999.3	2000.4	2001.6	2002.6
Price(Yen/No-tax)	110,000	125,000	125,000	113,000	OpenPrice (105,000)

WC-E63 attached (24mm)

Without wide converter (38mm)

TC-E2 attached(230mm)

Without teleconverter (115mm)

Items	Fish-eye Converter: FC-E8 (0.2x)	Wide Converter: WC-E63 (0.63x)	Teleconverter: TC-2E (2x)	Teleconverter: TC-E3ED (3x)	Teleconverter: TC-E3PF (3x)
Lens Construction	5 elements in 4 groups	4 elements in 4 groups	4 elements in 3 groups	6 elements in 3 groups	6 elements in 3 groups
converter magnification	0.2倍	0.63倍	2倍	3倍	3倍
composite aperture value	No change.	←	←	←	←
Size	?	75*29.5	64*44	75*78.6	61*64.3
Mounting Diameter	28mm	←	←	←	←
Filter Size	–	72mm	62mm	72mm	58mm
Weight	?	150g	240g	260g	175g
Supported models	COOLPIX P5100 COOLPIX P5000 COOLPIX 8400 COOLPIX 5000 COOLPIX 4500 COOLPIX 4300 COOLPIX 995 COOLPIX 990 COOLPIX 950 COOLPIX 885 COOLPIX 880	←	←	←	COOLPIX 8400 (with adapter ring UR-E15) COOLPIX 5000 （COOLPIX 5000 (with UR-E6 adapter ring) COOLPIX 4500/4300 （COOLPIX 4500 /4300 (with UR-E4) COOLPIX 900 Series
Price(Yen/No-tax)	45,000-	14,000-	14,000-	29,000-	80,000-
Note	–	Image quality is better without telecon after 35mm focal length	Vignetting occurs on the wide side.	←	←