Nikon’s Latest Lives Up to its Name
Getting Results
The CoolPix offers the usual single-image and thumbnail playback modes for reviewing, locking, and deleting images in the camera, including a slideshow function. A histogram view is available for those inclined to trust the technical image data over the visual. Movie playback is also possible, including pause and frame-by-frame functions. You can also print directly from the camera (to an enabled printer) without an intermediary computer.
In addition to the Lexar JumpShot CompactFlash Reader, the CoolPix includes USB and video cables for downloading your pictures to a computer, TV, or VCR. (A serial cable is available optionally.) Bundled software includes NikonView 3 (a rudimentary thumbnail viewer that only lets you preview, rotate, and delete images), Canto Cumulus 5 LE for managing image archives, Altamira Group’s Genuine Fractals compression plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and compatible applications, and an odd freeware program called IPIX Wizard for creating “totally immersive, unbounded images from fisheye photography.”
The photo retouching software Nikon plans to bundle with the camera is unavailable for preview as of this writing. Currently a Mac–only application called Great Photo! from Software Architects, it will be “available for both Mac and Windows on June 1.”
I’ve become so accustomed to immediately color-correcting my downloaded photos that it came as a surprise to find that this wasn’t necessary with many of my CoolPix images. The corrections I did make were far fewer than I make with other digital cameras. The bluish hue I experience with my Epson camera was not in evidence with the CoolPix. This perception was further confirmed when I applied my software’s AutoCorrect function to my CoolPix images and, in many cases, saw no noticeable change. Overall image quality is excellent, even in low-light conditions. Coupled with the CoolPix’s ability to preadjust many image aspects, the final results are likely to be of a consistently higher quality than retouched photos from other cameras.
Conclusion
Features and image quality recommend the Nikon CoolPix 990 to casual and professional photographers alike. I suspect the price is a bit too steep, however, for most amateurs, and it ought to include the case, AC adapter, and above all, a rechargeable battery kit. I would likely recommend it for anyone who could afford it, except for the ergonomic frustrations I outlined earlier. Those, coupled with the high price, make me suggest waiting either for the price to come down or the next version of the CoolPix, which would hopefully address some of these issues. Still, it does get the pictures right, if you can live with its other foibles. And for many photographers, that’s all that matters.
Read more by Marty Beaudet
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on November 10, 2000
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