Trying out the legendary Nikon COOLPIX 990 from 2000, 25 years after it was launched! Buy used gear from MPB: prf.hn/l/YLqwRAP // Sell used gear: bit.ly/3ULU9yL Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries: amzn.to/41IxMAk Replacement battery for Sony F828 / F717 / F707: amzn.to/4cCxFsY Replacement Canon BP-511 battery: amzn.to/3VBgBfd Buy Gordon a coffee: www.paypal.me/cameralabs Gordon's In Camera book: amzn.to/2n61PfI / Amazon uk: amzn.to/2mBqRVZ Cameralabs merchandise: redbubble.com/people/cameralabs/shop Check out Gordon's travel tips channel: www.youtube.com/@GordonsTravelTips Find vintage gear on eBay: rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574908462&toolid=10001&campid=5338329149&customid=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg Lost photos? I recover mine with: www.dpbolvw.net/click-100568658-13808570?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stellarinfo.com%2Fphoto-recovery-software.php Equipment used for producing my videos DJI Osmo Pocket 3: click.dji.com/AIOhqT-LWUFDq-bGk8hD4Q?pm=link MacBook Air 15in (M3): amzn.to/4cPat9S DJI Osmo Pocket 3: click.dji.com/AIOhqT-LWUFDq-bGk8hD4Q?pm=link Panasonic Lumix S5 II: amzn.to/3Hf5IcI Sony A6400: prf.hn/l/pRO0wp5 Sony e 24mm f1.8: amzn.to/2TqWNzk Rode NT USB mic: amzn.to/3AdHcUp Rode Wireless Go II mic: amzn.to/3xkCvGo Rode Lavalier Go mic: amzn.to/3ygzzKY Godox UL150 light: amzn.to/2VpVbXE Godox QR-P70 softbox: amzn.to/3yQfGdF Music: www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
my first “real” digital camera was a coolpix 950 (i still have it, and take it out for a spin every once in a while - works as well as when i biught it new 1000 years agi!) … Gordon, thanks so much for these trips down memory lane … they are all such a joy! 😊
@ of course! i suspect i’ve watched all, to be honest - as i said, so much fun (speaking from my “old timer” perch of 64 years). your reviews are a joy to listen to/watch 😊
Same here... my first digital camera was the Coolpix 950...after my purchase, I was heart broken because a few days later the Coolpix 990 was released with a whooping 3.3 MP sensor...went straigt back to the dealer and resold the 950 and bought the 990..still have the Coolpix 990 today, and I really wish Nikon would have kept that series and developed it further into the years...that swivel lens was very unique and made for great perspective photos...btw, my 990 works as good today as from the first day I bought it...cheers and all the best... Matthias
This style of camera completely passed me by around the turn of the millennium. I wasn’t following consumer tech closely at the time (that would begin in 2001) so these old cameras are genuine revelations to me. In 2000, my parents were still rocking a Pentax Zoom 70-S from 1988. It wasn’t until 2004 that we got our first digicam, the Sony DSC-P10. Great little camera that. And today I’m still using my old but well looked after Nikon Coolpix S8000 that I use for product photography believe it or not!
Dude. Those photos were fantastic. I am blown away. Please Gordon can we arrange a photo walk with your around Brighton? Maybe only 5-10 people but it would be wonderful. Lovely stuff dude.
That’s a camera I want to buy back when it was released but didn’t have the money! Thanks for the review Gordon and merry Christmas to you and your family
Me too! It was one of the cameras I really hated returning after I reviewed it! But treat yourself Richard to one from eBay! And a Merry Christmas to you too!
My first digital camera in 1999 was a Nikon Coolpix 950. I sold it to a coworker sometime around 2003. A year or two ago I bought a Coolpix 950 for $25 for my neighbors son. At the same time I also bought a Coolpix 990 for $40 for me. I was impressed with the design improvements of the 990, especially the much improved battery door and the repositioning of the CF slot. I kept it and have it on the shelf next to my Canon R7. Thanks.
I still have two of those. One with the tipical door problem and the other just fine. Was used to make 360 vr with Ipix software ( and hardware), and to make 3d photos, as you can take two cameras and place each lens close enough to mimic human eye distances. And works!!
Wonderful video! I love these styles of cameras. The ergonomics are great. Never had a Nikon, but I really liked the Pentax MX4 as a different approach to the a camera design. Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas Gordon!
This was my first digital camera. I liked it a lot and still have it. I also have the wide angle attachment and I have a Part that allows to mount it together with a large flash. It's kind of an early cage and I used it to take pictures in the company I worked for. I also saw people from my local newspaper with this setup. They said it is the first time they got everything they where used from the big analog SLRs and this way it helped to speed up the workflow.
I hear from quite a few people who started using these in various publications. You're right, Nikon designed them to be familiar to those who used either early DSLRs or their film SLRs.
Hello I really like the warm colors that these cameras give their output. The design makes it quite good for stealth street photography because many people don't notice it's a camera. Have a 995 myself, which has been well looked after.
I had the 990 in the 2000s. Loved it... especially the tele-macro abilities. It served me very well for 8 years until it decided not to power on one day all of a sudden. Now that I looked at it again, I just realized it was the perfect body design for selfie shots, let alone high angle and low angle. Too bad we weren't as into selfies back in those days. It's definitely a camera ahead of its time. ⭐⭐⭐ Nikon should do a redux of the same body style (maybe a bit more compact) but with contemporary guts... .
I still have a 990 with me today. I bought it the year it was released and it has sentimental value. I used it a lot until the shutter button started to fail, the battery compartment door broke and I can't find a replacement. I was impressed with how well this camera has been maintained. It looks brand new. My first digital camera was a Kodak DC210, then the 990, the next Nikon was the Coolpix 5000 and years later I was able to buy a Nikon D60 DSLR.
At least it still looks good on a shelf even if it;'s hard to get working now. The battery doors on these things can be a nightmare. So many of them are otherwise fine apart from that.
I’m just about to watch this video, but every time I see this camera, I think that it is part of the foundation of the Internet becoming what it has become. Back then I remember that a few of the most successful websites featured models photographed using this series of Nikon cameras. I remember being fascinated that they could trigger studio strobes, unlike most of the non-professional digital cameras of the era. This and the Sony Mavica showed up the EXIF of a lot of photos back then.
I have a CP 950 in great cosmetic condition which I absolutely loved to use, but after several months of using it as a daily the battery latches have cracked, so it's now better kept as a display piece. I just ordered a CP 990 as an upgrade and hope to use it for many more months, if not years, to come.
I was always fascinated by the 900 series but never owned one. However, tucked away in the back of a cupboard somewhere, I DO have a Nikon SQ which I barely used as the DSLRs were coming along. I hadn't realised what was happening to the values so maybe I should dig it out again.
Oh god, I had the 995 back then with the wide and fisheye adapters. Sadly they went to some lucky buyer on eBay. You are making me regret that I ever let it go. But I also sold off my FM2 and my D700 and my dF and my D5 eventually. Fastest turnaround was the D5. I drank the high mp Koolaid and sold all my excellent Nikon f/1.4 glass too and made a definitive jump to Sony. Favorites of all were that 995 twist and the D700. Also I had a D200 for awhile.
Loved my 950, that split body was super useful, whether shooting from a low view point, or holding the camera high over a crowd for example. Why isn’t that design still used?!
I relish your videos and it's a good day when you post a new one. Especially when I'm not working and have time to watch it. Very interesting camera, although I myself wouldn't be seen in public with such a hideous thing.
I had the 990 (and later the 995 which I didn't like as much). If Nikon were to update this camera keeping the form factor / design matched to current sensor and systems in side - I'd be first in line to buy one.
The Nikon 900 series cameras were pretty great, though it did disappoint when trying to use it for professional purposes. I tried, I tried. But I would love to have one today.
Phil Askey (DPReview) in 2000 on the Nikon 990 >>>>> "In my personal opinion we'll reach a maximum pixel count, a level at which pro-sumers (those willing to spend upward of $1000 on a digital camera) will have enough pixels (probably around the 6.6 million pixel point - 3000 x 2200) and already demands are rising for increase CCD dimensions (physical size, to deal with some of the lens expense and problems)" 😂
I actually re-read that again last week. It's funny, but we were all hearing similar things or being told it by the industry. I interviewed someone from Nikon who also said 6mp would be as far as we needed to go. In fact if you look at the best 6-10mp cameras today, their images are good enough for most of us.
Remember the local newspaper bought some of these for the freelance journalist, for “great if you takes some photos while your there” usage. At the time I worked in a camera store/lab and the idea did not impress me, quality suitable for 10x15 cm prints ( in 300 dpi, newspapers use 150?) Of corse a camera geek disagrees 😂 I still had my F4 to lug around with and lots of Fujifilm P800 to spend.
Trying out the legendary Nikon COOLPIX 990 from 2000, 25 years after it was launched!
Buy used gear from MPB: prf.hn/l/YLqwRAP // Sell used gear: bit.ly/3ULU9yL
Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries: amzn.to/41IxMAk
Replacement battery for Sony F828 / F717 / F707: amzn.to/4cCxFsY
Replacement Canon BP-511 battery: amzn.to/3VBgBfd
Buy Gordon a coffee: www.paypal.me/cameralabs
Gordon's In Camera book: amzn.to/2n61PfI / Amazon uk: amzn.to/2mBqRVZ
Cameralabs merchandise: redbubble.com/people/cameralabs/shop
Check out Gordon's travel tips channel: www.youtube.com/@GordonsTravelTips
Find vintage gear on eBay: rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574908462&toolid=10001&campid=5338329149&customid=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg
Lost photos? I recover mine with: www.dpbolvw.net/click-100568658-13808570?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stellarinfo.com%2Fphoto-recovery-software.php
Equipment used for producing my videos
DJI Osmo Pocket 3: click.dji.com/AIOhqT-LWUFDq-bGk8hD4Q?pm=link
MacBook Air 15in (M3): amzn.to/4cPat9S
DJI Osmo Pocket 3: click.dji.com/AIOhqT-LWUFDq-bGk8hD4Q?pm=link
Panasonic Lumix S5 II: amzn.to/3Hf5IcI
Sony A6400: prf.hn/l/pRO0wp5
Sony e 24mm f1.8: amzn.to/2TqWNzk
Rode NT USB mic: amzn.to/3AdHcUp
Rode Wireless Go II mic: amzn.to/3xkCvGo
Rode Lavalier Go mic: amzn.to/3ygzzKY
Godox UL150 light: amzn.to/2VpVbXE
Godox QR-P70 softbox: amzn.to/3yQfGdF
Music: www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
my first “real” digital camera was a coolpix 950 (i still have it, and take it out for a spin every once in a while - works as well as when i biught it new 1000 years agi!) … Gordon, thanks so much for these trips down memory lane … they are all such a joy! 😊
You're very welcome! Hope you've seen my 950 video!
@ of course! i suspect i’ve watched all, to be honest - as i said, so much fun (speaking from my “old timer” perch of 64 years). your reviews are a joy to listen to/watch 😊
@@andrewilachinski9427 thank you!
Same here... my first digital camera was the Coolpix 950...after my purchase, I was heart broken because a few days later the Coolpix 990 was released with a whooping 3.3 MP sensor...went straigt back to the dealer and resold the 950 and bought the 990..still have the Coolpix 990 today, and I really wish Nikon would have kept that series and developed it further into the years...that swivel lens was very unique and made for great perspective photos...btw, my 990 works as good today as from the first day I bought it...cheers and all the best...
Matthias
My second digicam
This style of camera completely passed me by around the turn of the millennium. I wasn’t following consumer tech closely at the time (that would begin in 2001) so these old cameras are genuine revelations to me.
In 2000, my parents were still rocking a Pentax Zoom 70-S from 1988. It wasn’t until 2004 that we got our first digicam, the Sony DSC-P10. Great little camera that. And today I’m still using my old but well looked after Nikon Coolpix S8000 that I use for product photography believe it or not!
Nice! I remember the P10, hopefully you've seen my P1 video...
@@DinoBytes Yep, watched it. Right up my alley!
Thanks for this retro review, love it! Always amazed that the photos from these old digital cameras are still quite good.
You're welcome! yes, for social or TH-cam use, they're all fine!
Dude. Those photos were fantastic. I am blown away. Please Gordon can we arrange a photo walk with your around Brighton? Maybe only 5-10 people but it would be wonderful. Lovely stuff dude.
I'd like to do a photowalk around Brighton sometime
I really love these charming walks down memory lane... thank you very much for doing this series, Gordon!
Glad you enjoy them!
That’s a camera I want to buy back when it was released but didn’t have the money! Thanks for the review Gordon and merry Christmas to you and your family
Oh and lovely photos too!!
Me too! It was one of the cameras I really hated returning after I reviewed it! But treat yourself Richard to one from eBay! And a Merry Christmas to you too!
I remember ogling these in camera mags back then. They are iconic as you say.
I was always upset I couldn't afford one back in 2000. But today...!
My first digital camera in 1999 was a Nikon Coolpix 950. I sold it to a coworker sometime around 2003.
A year or two ago I bought a Coolpix 950 for $25 for my neighbors son. At the same time I also bought a Coolpix 990 for $40 for me. I was impressed with the design improvements of the 990, especially the much improved battery door and the repositioning of the CF slot. I kept it and have it on the shelf next to my Canon R7. Thanks.
You're welcome, and I agree, the 950 and 990 were the best in this series.
I did lust after that camera at the time. It's nice to know that Gordon guy knew what he was talking about a quarter century ago ;-) Happy holidays!
Ha ha, yes, I got some things right back then! Happy holidays to you too and thanks for all your support this year!
Wow, I was positively blown away by the photo quality! I'll have to get me one.
Are you being sarcastic?!
@@DinoBytes No, I promise I'm not. If you'd shown me those photos without context, I'd have thought they were from a current model.
@@pyroMaximilian it is surprising how good some images from old cameras still look today... the video on the other hand...!
@ I know, but there is a certain charm to your pixelated beard in the video, you have to admit.
I still have two of those. One with the tipical door problem and the other just fine. Was used to make 360 vr with Ipix software ( and hardware), and to make 3d photos, as you can take two cameras and place each lens close enough to mimic human eye distances. And works!!
Nice application!
Wonderful video! I love these styles of cameras. The ergonomics are great. Never had a Nikon, but I really liked the Pentax MX4 as a different approach to the a camera design. Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas Gordon!
Thanks! I need to add some Pentax models to my collection...
Also my first digital camera. I loved the design you could also shoot high or low angle photos due to the rotating lens, now we have flippy screens.
Cool video Gordon and great shots of Brighton which is looking decidedly chilly. Merry Christmas! P.S. Cool puns intended.
Thanks! It was a bit stormy that day I shot around Brighton for this video, but it's actually fairly mild
I love these videos, such nostalgia!
Thanks, glad you enjoy them! Many more to come - and many more to watch if you haven't seen the full series yet!
This was my first digital camera. I liked it a lot and still have it. I also have the wide angle attachment and I have a Part that allows to mount it together with a large flash. It's kind of an early cage and I used it to take pictures in the company I worked for. I also saw people from my local newspaper with this setup. They said it is the first time they got everything they where used from the big analog SLRs and this way it helped to speed up the workflow.
I hear from quite a few people who started using these in various publications. You're right, Nikon designed them to be familiar to those who used either early DSLRs or their film SLRs.
Hello I really like the warm colors that these cameras give their output. The design makes it quite good for stealth street photography because many people don't notice it's a camera. Have a 995 myself, which has been well looked after.
Hope you're still using your 995, it'll be one I cover early next year
I had the 990 in the 2000s. Loved it... especially the tele-macro abilities. It served me very well for 8 years until it decided not to power on one day all of a sudden.
Now that I looked at it again, I just realized it was the perfect body design for selfie shots, let alone high angle and low angle. Too bad we weren't as into selfies back in those days. It's definitely a camera ahead of its time. ⭐⭐⭐
Nikon should do a redux of the same body style (maybe a bit more compact) but with contemporary guts... .
I'd love to see it updated!
I still have a 990 with me today. I bought it the year it was released and it has sentimental value. I used it a lot until the shutter button started to fail, the battery compartment door broke and I can't find a replacement. I was impressed with how well this camera has been maintained. It looks brand new. My first digital camera was a Kodak DC210, then the 990, the next Nikon was the Coolpix 5000 and years later I was able to buy a Nikon D60 DSLR.
At least it still looks good on a shelf even if it;'s hard to get working now. The battery doors on these things can be a nightmare. So many of them are otherwise fine apart from that.
I’m just about to watch this video, but every time I see this camera, I think that it is part of the foundation of the Internet becoming what it has become. Back then I remember that a few of the most successful websites featured models photographed using this series of Nikon cameras. I remember being fascinated that they could trigger studio strobes, unlike most of the non-professional digital cameras of the era. This and the Sony Mavica showed up the EXIF of a lot of photos back then.
Hope you enjoy it!
Cool! :)
Have a happy holidays!
Thanks, you too!
I just bought this at the thrift for $1.99 today. The batteries I bought cost more than the actual camera! Thanks for making this video lol
1.99?!! Does it work? That's an amazing deal!
The 990 was a legend back in the time.
It still is in my view!
I have a CP 950 in great cosmetic condition which I absolutely loved to use, but after several months of using it as a daily the battery latches have cracked, so it's now better kept as a display piece.
I just ordered a CP 990 as an upgrade and hope to use it for many more months, if not years, to come.
Yeah, I worry about those battery doors.
Its interesting to see the rear control dial in that position. Maybe that's where the Z6/7 series get that position!
It is amazing how much design and layout they finalised back then
We adapted these to microscopes back in the day. Research submissions were so much faster compared to film.
Yep, they were good for that - some adapted them to spotting scopes for birding too.
I was always fascinated by the 900 series but never owned one. However, tucked away in the back of a cupboard somewhere, I DO have a Nikon SQ which I barely used as the DSLRs were coming along. I hadn't realised what was happening to the values so maybe I should dig it out again.
Pretend you didn't see that part of my video, and sell me it!
Oh god, I had the 995 back then with the wide and fisheye adapters. Sadly they went to some lucky buyer on eBay. You are making me regret that I ever let it go. But I also sold off my FM2 and my D700 and my dF and my D5 eventually. Fastest turnaround was the D5. I drank the high mp Koolaid and sold all my excellent Nikon f/1.4 glass too and made a definitive jump to Sony. Favorites of all were that 995 twist and the D700. Also I had a D200 for awhile.
Don't feel bad, at leats you had some good times with it! Plus you can still pick one up for the memories from eBay at a low price - for now...
Loved my 950, that split body was super useful, whether shooting from a low view point, or holding the camera high over a crowd for example. Why isn’t that design still used?!
I think as sensors and lenses got bigger, it became an impractical design. That's why we now have flip screens instead.
Had Nikon 995 which is almost same
Iirc this is one of not so many cameras that had CYGM filter so the colours is outstanding
I have a 995 here and will be covering it in the near future. And the 4500!
I wish i could get one of these models
You can on eBay for about 40 bucks or less!
Do you still write for mags ? Love your style bud!
Thanks! No, I've only written for myself for the last 15-20 years or so
I do miss the innovative body designs of the late 90s & early 00s before everyone settled on the "35mm" compact design.
I agree! That's what this channel is all about!
We have a 995. These days it sits with our other older cameras. I now use a D850.
Both classics!
I relish your videos and it's a good day when you post a new one. Especially when I'm not working and have time to watch it. Very interesting camera, although I myself wouldn't be seen in public with such a hideous thing.
Hideous?!! I love the way it looks! Glad you enjoyed the video none the less!
I had the 990 (and later the 995 which I didn't like as much). If Nikon were to update this camera keeping the form factor / design matched to current sensor and systems in side - I'd be first in line to buy one.
Me too! And I agree the 995 lost some of the charm
That was probably my first digital camera. I almost wish I kept it.
You can grab one from eBay!
The Nikon 900 series cameras were pretty great, though it did disappoint when trying to use it for professional purposes. I tried, I tried. But I would love to have one today.
Pick one up before the prices get too high!
I shot a lot of images with these!
Phil Askey (DPReview) in 2000 on the Nikon 990 >>>>> "In my personal opinion we'll reach a maximum pixel count, a level at which pro-sumers (those willing to spend upward of $1000 on a digital camera) will have enough pixels (probably around the 6.6 million pixel point - 3000 x 2200) and already demands are rising for increase CCD dimensions (physical size, to deal with some of the lens expense and problems)" 😂
I actually re-read that again last week. It's funny, but we were all hearing similar things or being told it by the industry. I interviewed someone from Nikon who also said 6mp would be as far as we needed to go. In fact if you look at the best 6-10mp cameras today, their images are good enough for most of us.
had one! but sadly breakable battery latch door faulty design just pull me away to use it.
Yes, it's a big problem for many older cameras
I have the camera and still lot pictures taken by it.
Remember the local newspaper bought some of these for the freelance journalist, for “great if you takes some photos while your there” usage. At the time I worked in a camera store/lab and the idea did not impress me, quality suitable for 10x15 cm prints ( in 300 dpi, newspapers use 150?) Of corse a camera geek disagrees 😂 I still had my F4 to lug around with and lots of Fujifilm P800 to spend.