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Nikon
CoolPix 995
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Subtle modifications highlight the next stage in the evolution of the popular swivel-bodied 900 series digital cameras from Nikon. The CoolPix 995 has a new popup flash, expanded memory card capabilities, and a single rechargeable battery power supply. Other significant enhancements include shooting priority, a quick review / playback button, and better color reproduction. |
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The original CoolPix (the 900) was the first point & shoot digital that actually produced good pictures. In a class of its own, the unique swivel body let me shoot from all kinds of angles. At eye level, from the floor, over my head, waist level... I found that I could effectively use the LCD screen to frame my shots anywhere I held the camera. And such wonderful macros! It even hooked up to my telescope for some dazzling moon shots. Sure, it had its drawbacks, but it was absolutely head & shoulders above the competition. And it was exciting.
The CoolPix 950 nearly doubled the resolution of the 900. (2.1 vs. 1.2 million pixels.) Exposure priority options, variable ISO, longer battery life, significantly better image quality, and even better macro quality. Definitely exciting.
The 990 kept the excitement going... greatly enhanced (near professional) build quality, 3.34 million pixels compared to the 950's 2.1 million, expanded ranges on exposure factors, even BETTER macro. This was one classy camera.
And now the 995: Had one for a month and a half. Shot over 700 pictures.
Do I like it? Yes, pretty much.
Is it worth buying when compared to other cameras in its price class? Yes, I think so.
Is it exciting? Yes, if you've never owned a swivel body CoolPix (900, 950, 990).
If you're upgrading from a CoolPix 900 or 950, the advantages are strong and clear.
But if you're upgrading from a CoolPix 990, the excitement is limited...
What do I like about it compared to the 990 & earlier models?
- The popup flash, mainly
because I don't have to turn it off for low light
available light shooting... I just leave it stowed away.
For available light shooting with earlier models, I
always made it a point to scroll through the flash button
options and disable the built in flash. (That's because
the earlier models were famous for the "unwanted flash"
if the camera sensed that the shutter speed was going to
be slower than it liked.)
If the 995 senses it needs to flash, it flickers a small red warning lamp in the optical viewfinder. If you want to shoot with available light only, ignore it and simply pay attention to your shutter speed. (Shutter speed can be appropriately accelerated using aperture or ISO adjustments.)
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If you're using the camera's onboard flash with an accessory lens, such as the Nikon WC-E24 Wide Angle Adapter shown at left, the popup unit clears the lens with room to spare*.
Earlier models had the onboard flash mounted right next to the camera lens, flush with the camera body. As a result, the built-in flash was partially hidden behind the accessory lens, shrouding the flash pattern and creating a major shadowed area.
*Note: Nikon's WC-E63 Wide Angle Adapter is too big for the 995 and still gets in the way of the popup flash.
- The rechargeable single
battery. Much (much) lighter than 4 AA's, and much easier
to tote around spare batteries. The camera comes with one
rechargeable battery and a charger. Buy one or two extra
batteries and you'll be all set.
- Color and tone
reproduction. Definitely improved.
- Overall image quality?
About the same as the 990... but again, the 995's
color is better.
- The Quick Review button.
Everybody who likes to shoot digital likes to check out
their pictures easily and quickly. The 995 does a first
class job at it.
- Shooting Priority. Touch
the shutter button while you're in a menu or looking at a
quick review and you're instantly ready to shoot again.
Every camera ought to be built this way. (Most newer
cameras are.)
- Type I and II compact
flash compatibility. Which means it'll take anything from
an old 4 MB CompactFlash card all the way up to a 1 Gig
Microdrive. I have a variety of both Type I and Type II
cards, now I don't have to worry about which one's I
carry for any particular camera.
- Memory card accessibility: Slightly enlarged to accommodate Type I and Type II compact flash cards, it's a lot easier to pop the cards out of the camera. The 990's memory card release button was quite confined, making it an unwieldy target for large fingers.
What don't I like?
- The popup flash has its
disadvantages, too. When you do use it, your left
index finger is in the way of the flash if you just pick
up the camera and hold it two-handed (as most people do.)
You have to make a point of getting your left hand's
fingers out of the way of the flash. (Something you'd
probably get used to after a while.)
And as far as the reduced red-eye likelihood with the added elevation of the popup compared to the earlier models, I haven't noticed much, if any difference.
More popup flash aggravation: If you use an external speedlight (SB-28, etc.), you have to pop up the flash to enable the external flash synch mechanism. And then, you have to scroll through several menu screen to disable the popup flash's "flashability", or it'll flash along with the external speedlight. Now that's kind of a pain...
- Cheaper build quality.
It simply doesn't feel (or look) as good as the 990. This
went backwards, it's much more like the 950. Let me put
it this way... if I had to choose between a 990 & a
995, I'd buy the 990. (I simply prefer the way the 990
looks & feels.... too bad they don't build 'em any
more.)
- The new 4x lens has more lens distortion than the 990 (and earlier models). It's pretty significant at full wide angle.
The bottom line
- For a point & shoot camera, it's an excellent choice.
- For macro shooting there's (still) nothing better. It's really good.
- Overall, the improvements outweigh the disappointments.
- For CoolPix 900 and 950 owners, the 995 is definitely a worthwhile upgrade.
- For CoolPix 990 owners, the upgrade is marginal. The "Quick Review", Shooting Priority, and the added capability of using a Type II CompactFlash card are the only meaningful differences. Other enhancements, such as the added sensitivity level of ISO 800 & the faster 1/2000th shutter speed are nice, but of limited practical use.
For Upgraders
All of the earlier
Nikon 700/800/900/950/990 factory (and aftermarket)
28mm accessory lenses, lens adapters, & filters
fit the 995. Example: The Kenko
8x32mm mini-scope shown at right. This scope and
others are available at CKC
Power, the
best source for Coolpix aftermarket
lenses. The SK-E900
external flash bracket will fit the 900, 950, 990,
& 995.
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Sample Pictures |
Extreme
Macro The tiny Hairstreak
Butterfly pictured at left is only about 1/2"
long. The 990 continues
with the tradition of clean, powerful CoolPix macro
photography. Macro The ultra-fine
detail along the leaves of this brightly colored
rose are a testimony to the sharp focusing ability
of the 995's macro setting. 1X
Optical Zoom Wide angle snapshot
along a downtown Dallas boulevard. Although the
photograph is clean, sharp, perfectly color
balanced, and bright, the barrel distortion is
evident. Notice how the left & right sides of
the picture lean & curve strongly towards the
center. 2X
Optical Zoom Taken from the same
location as the 1x photo. 3X
Optical Zoom Again, taken from
the same location. 4X
Optical Zoom Again (again),
taken from the same location. At 4x optical zoom
I found the 995's lens have a slight pincushion
distortion at the center area. High
Speed Flash Synch The 995''s maximum
shutter speed has been increased up to a maximum of
1/2300th of a second. Bonus: The
built in flash can synch with the shutter all the
way to the maximum. (Now that's
impressive!) At left: 1/2000th
shutter speed flash photo of a sprinkle of water
falling into a bird bath. Point
& Shoot The relatively
small size of the 995 makes easy to just pick it
up, point, & shoot. That's what I did
when confronted with the sudden opportunity to take
a quick picture at Fossil Rim Wildlife Park near
Glen Rose, Texas. The 995 was sitting
on the console, my big SLR was still in the camera
bag. (Sometimes
seconds count.)
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(Full Wide Angle Position)
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(Maximum Optical Telephoto)
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Other Nikon CoolPix 995 Review Sites |
CCD 1/1.8-in.
high-density CCD; total number of pixels:
3.34 million; 3.20 million effective
pixels Image
sizes FULL
(2,048 x 1,536) Lens 4x
Zoom-Nikkor; f = 8-32mm (equivalent to
38-152mm) F2.6-5.1 with macro; 10 elements
in 8 groups; all glass, Nikon Super
Integrated Coating (SIC) applied;
glass-molded aspherical lens elements
included Digital
Zoom 4x
stepless digital zoom Autofocus Contrast-detect
TTL AF Focus
modes 1)
Continuous AF mode (when using LCD
monitor) Shooting
distance 11.8 in.
to infinity Optical
viewfinder Real-image
zoom viewfinder LCD
monitor 1.8-in.,
110,000-dot, low-temp. polysilicon TFT
LCD Auto
OFF mode 30 sec.;
can be set manually (1/5/30
min.) Image
Storage RBG EXIF,
uncompressed TIFF or compressed JPEG
compliant with design rule for camera file
system (DFC) Media CompactFlash
(CF) Card Type I or II Shooting
modes Fully
automatic ([A]-REC) mode Shooting
menu 1) White
balance Capture
modes 1)
Single Exposure
metering 4-mode TTL
metering: Shutter Mechanical
and charge-coupled electronic shutter Aperture 7-blade
iris diaphragm Exposure
control 1)
Programmed Auto with Flexible Program Exposure
range EV
-2.2~+17 (W), EV -0.3~+18.1 (T) (ISO 100
equivalent) Best-shot
Selector Camera
takes up to 10 shots (at approx 2fps) and
records the most detailed image of the 10
using anti-jitter logic which is effective
for telephoto and macro shooting. Not
available when the speedlight is
on. ISO
Sensitivity 100, 200,
400, 800 or Auto; White
balance 1) Matrix
Auto White Balance with TTL control Self-timer 10 sec. or
3 sec. duration Built-in
Speedlight Pop-up
type; Guide number 10 (meters) at ISO
100 Flash
control Flash
modes: External
Speedlight Multi-flash
sync terminal connects to external Nikon
Speedlight SB-50/28/28DX/26/25/24/22
through the Multi-Flash Bracket SK-E900;
built-in Speedlight can be cancelled when
using external Speedlight(s) Playback
menu 1) 1
frame Delete
function Deletes
all frames or selected frames Interface USB
interface Supported
Platforms Windows
98/98SE/Me Video
output NTSC or
PAL (selectable) I/O
terminal Power
input Bundled
Software NikonView
Version 4, Genuine Fractals 2.0 LE,
ArcSoft PhotoStudio 2000, ArcSoft
VideoImpression, ArcSoft PhotoPrinter Pro
2000 and ArcSoft Panorama Maker 2000. The
Reference CD-ROM includes Adobe Acrobat
Reader 4.0, Instructions for Using Nikon
View Version 4, and Nikon's "Guide to
Digital Photography" (Online Camera Manual
for the CoolPix 995). Power
requirements Nikon
EN-EL1 lithium rechargeable (supplied) Battery
life Approx.
110 mins. when using LCD
monitor Dimensions Approx.
5.4 x 3.2 x 1.6 in. (2.5 in. at
grip) Weight Approx.
13.8 oz.
Nikon Coolpix 995
Specifications
UXGA (1,600 x 1,200)
SXGA (1,280 x 960)
XGA (1,024 x 768)
VGA (640 x 480)
3:2 (2,048 x 1,360)
7,123-step autofocus control including
macro range
5-area Multi AF or Spot AF
selectable
2) Single AF mode (when not using LCD
monitor and/or selectable from shooting
menu)
3) Manual [50 steps from 0.8 in. to
infinity with focus confirmation
indication]
0.8 in. to infinity in Macro
mode
magnification: 0.4~1.1x
frame coverage: approx. 85%
diopter adjustment: -2~+1 DP
brightness (5 levels)/hue adjustment (11
steps)
frame coverage: approx. 97%
*Nikon does not officially approve the use
of IBM Microdrives. (Use at your own
risk.)
Custom ([M]-REC) mode (three
combinations of mode settings can be
memorized)
2) Exposure metering
3) Continuous
4) Best-Shot Selector (BSS)
5) Image Adjustment
6) Saturation Control
7) Auxilliary Lens
8) Exposure Options
9) Focus Options
10) Image Sharpening
11) Auto Bracketing
12) Noise Reduction
2) Continuous
3) Multi-Shot 16 (16 frames in 1/16
size)
4) VGA Sequence
5) Ultra High-speed Continuous (approx. 30
fps for 70 QVGA-size images)
6) Movie (40 sec. for QVGA-size images at
15 fps)
1) 256-segment Matrix
2) Center-Weighted
3) Spot and
4) Spot AF Area
Bulb (max 60 secs), 8 sec. to 1/2,300
sec.
3 EV range in 1/3 EV steps
2) Shutter-Priority Auto (with Sensitivity
control)
3) Aperture-Priority Auto
4) Manual; Exposure Compensation (±2
EV in 1/3 EV steps)
5) Auto Bracketing (3 or 5 steps within
±2/3 EV)
Can be controlled in any exposure
mode
2) 5-mode Manual with 7-step fine tuning
(Fine/Incandescent/Fluorescent/
Cloudy/Speedlight)
3) Preset
4) White balance bracketing
1) Auto Flash
2) Flash Cancel
3) Anytime Flash
4) Slow Sync
5) Red-Eye Reduction
2) Thumbnail (4/9 segments)
3) Slide show
4) Zoom playback (25 steps up to 6x)
Histogram indication & highlight point
display
Peaking indication
Hide and protect attributes can be set to
each image
Mac OS 8.6, 9, 9.1
Video output
Digital output terminal (USB)
Sync terminal for external
Speedlight
or 2CR5 one-use lithium
(W x H x D)
(without battery)