By member:
snapplelips
- Jun 25, 2002
Nikon Coolpix 990Strengths: small size ...crisp images Weakness: poor quality . Not what I expected from a Nikon. I have owned this camera for two years, and have had ankle-biting problems since the beginning. Little plastic parts break that can't be repaired because they are integrated with the camera body ( battery compartment door closure/locking system). When the camera completely malfunctioned after a year or so, Nikon told me it was out of warranty and I'd have to pay to have it fixed. When does a Nikon break after a year? This isn't the Nikon your father knew. Now it is a cheap consumer mainstream product that isn't even as capable as it's less pedigreed competitors - Sony, Olympus, Pentax, or Minolta. Also I bought this camera for $1100 - now its price on the market NEW is less than $400. So there is no investment protection with a Nikon anymore, either. Its just a run-of-the-mill consumer product now. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
digitaljpegs
- Mar 21, 2003
Nikon Coolpix 990Strengths: Nikon reputation. durable with an excellent lens. Weakness: Selling it to my buddy. I loved the 990 but really liked the 995 improvements. I would recommend this camera to anyone getting into the digital arena. 0% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
foxy2223
- Mar 11, 2003
Nikon Coolpix 990Strengths: swivel body, crisp pictures, easy to carry Weakness: poor location for flash, power problems I bought this camera from Ebay for $700 and it started to have power problems right away. (sometimes it would turn on and sometimes it would not). After contacting the seller he admitted to having the same problems in the past but had it fixed under warranty by Nikon. I was ready to pack it up and send it back when it started to work without any problems. It worked perfectly for about a year and now it shows no sign of life when switched on. I feel ripped off by Nikon (the seller actually suggested that I return it back to him for a refund). However, after all this frustration I am very impressed with the quality of pictures I took and the versatility of the swivel body so I am looking to buy another Coolpix. (new this time) Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
Reply by member: Bobbotox
May 14, 2006 I am also having power problems. The camera will not turn on with fairly new batteries (each at 1.4 volts). With fresh batteries installed, the camera will turn on momentarily in REC mode and then shut down. I managed to take one picture which I can view in play mode. The LED shows a low-battery flashing image. Any idea what the repair fee might be?
By member:
kadron
- Feb 2, 2002
Nikon Coolpix 990Strengths: Excellent pictures. Lots of advanced features. Great zoom. Weakness: Maybe too many advanced features for the average user. Eats batteries. It took a little while to understand all of the advanced features of this camera, but once I got the hang of it the picture quality came out great. Battery life is not that great. The memory card that comes with it is small, recommend getting a larger one. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
cernydan
- Dec 12, 2001
Nikon Coolpix 990Strengths: rotating lens, macro from 1 inch, color and tonality Weakness: flash, recharg. batteries not included This is a great camera for anyone who is taking shots from other then normal stand-up position. Also the colors I get are excellent. Forget to see this kind of tonal range with anything below $500. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
Explorer101
- Sep 18, 2001
Nikon Coolpix 990I picked up this camera about 8 months ago from Accompany for about $450....Even lower then the current price now. I have very little experience with other digital cameras, so I'm not sure how this camera stacks up against them. What I do know is that the quality of the pictures are clear and sharp. And the basic operation of the camera are pretty straight forward. My biggest complaint is the length of time it takes to transfer images from my camera to the computer (USB). Also, looking back at the 8 months I've owned this camera, I really haven't used it that much. Most of the time I just use my 35MM Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
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Nikon Coolpix 990
Strengths: Have used this camera for the past 3 years and have no complaints about the quality of photos taken.
Weakness: Fixed latch in the battery compartment.
This past month the fixed part of the latch which the battery door attaches inside the battery compartment failed. I sent the 990 to NIKON in New York for a quote to repair the problem. The estimate came back $200+ which seems to me to be an unreasonable cost for a repair to an item which is clearly a defect in NIKON workmanship or design. The camera which I paid $900+ for is now worthless unless the repair is made--I don't believe the door will stay closed with duct tape! I don't mind the idea that a digital camera becomes obsolete and the price drops just as soon as it is purchased, but I do object to quality being substandard especially from a NIKON product which I carried in high esteem until now. Guess I will have to go back to my old reliable Minolta SRT 102 which I have used for 30-years.
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Dec 7, 2005
Glad I found someone with the same problem as mine and it happened only a month ago in 2005. I have my Coolpix 990 since 2000 when it first hit the market. Great camera, especially the macro (I shoot a lot of plant/flower closeup and insect closeup). But now the battery door can suddenly 'release' itself and drop my 4 AA rechargable batteries, making sound on hardwood floor just the other day and caused some embarrasment.: ( Will try Nikon Canada to see what they can do. A BIG try I would say since the Coolpix is out of warranty. Will update here when I hear from Nikon Canada. BTW, I use an elastic band to strap around the grip zone with the elastic band across the battery compartment door at the bottom and across the top across the on/off switch. Temporary solution, but the elastic band sometimes make the switch on and mode switch (like macro, preview) a bit difficult. Well ...
Mar 7, 2006
Experienced the exact same problem. Camera had performed great until December, 2005 when the fixed plastic stud that the battery latch affixes to broke. Tried electrical tape for a while. Doesn't last very long. Also tried duck tape. Bad idea. When it gets warn, the sticky stays on the camera. I have access to a research machine shop. Going to try to fabricate a replacement metal latch and attach via a screw through the camera body just above where the plastic latch broke. Will follow up in a couple of weeks.
Apr 4, 2006
Faced same problem today and repaired by drilling 1.5 mm holes in the rim of the camera body, just level whith the broken plastic latch holders. The body is aluminum.
Then pushed into each hole a round steel pin, 1.6 mm dia with chamfered head, each 5.5 mm long. With a minitool like Dremel it was less than two hours work. Good luck!
Jan Cs