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04/09/2002 03:03:08 PM · #1 |
I've been looking at the info out there on the Nikon coolpix 995. I also went this weekend to a store and checked it out. I want to get a new camera sometime later this year (when the $$funds are in order). So all of you out there that have actually used one of these or own one... could I get some input on how you like it.. why? why not? etc...
Thanks ;)
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04/09/2002 04:03:01 PM · #2 |
Well, this probably won't help since I don't actually own one!:)
But I did consider this one at first when decided to upgrade from my poor little ole' FD-73. I researched dpreview and other various internet sites and found the sony F707 was getting better reviews. Then i looked at the coolpix 5000 and the minolta dimage 7. Long story short, I went into the camera store with $1500 bucks to buy the best I could for that price and wound up coming out (2 hours later!) with the Canon G2! It was a pretty funny scene--everyone in the store, including customers stood around and argued the finer points of the cameras and the general consensus was the G2. I was unsure because I am such a "buy the most expensive--it is bound to be better" person, and to actually leave with cash in pocket? But, I left secure in the knowledge that I could return it if not satisfied. Guess what? I love it! The 4 megapixels are plenty for my 13x19 poster capacity printer and the functions on the camera are wonderful--from macro to fast action (well, we'll see about that one!;)The shutter goes from 15 to
1/1000 and the apature is good as well, not to mention the outstanding picture quality.
Keep in mind that this is just my new-found (only had the camera a week or so) opinion , everyone has their own preferences. Even though I eventually want to upgrade to the Canon D-60, I can't justify spending that much until my picture taking ability becomes better than mediocre! All in all, I think this is a great camera for intermediate beginners to learn the technical nuances of photography.
By the way, it has not escaped me that I just said nothing to you about the Coolpix, I guess I just wanted to let you know that there are other good cameras out there for the money. Good luck!
* This message has been edited by the author on 4/9/2002 4:04:05 PM. |
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04/09/2002 06:01:16 PM · #3 |
I used to have a Nikon Coolpix 900s, but didn't get the 995 because it still has many of the image quality issues that the Coolpix series of cameras has had since it's inception. Mainly this comes down to a lot of barrel distortion and chromatic aberration, and to a letter extent, blooming. Barrel distortion is when normally straight lines get bent when the zoomed all the way out, chromatic aberration is when you get blue or purple fringing in areas of high contrast, increasing as you get closer to the edge of the frame that gives a 'video' feel to your pictures, and blooming is when bright areas tend to leak into the dark areas next to them. Granted, the Nikons still take excellent pictures, but there are better cameras out there that cost less.
My current favorites are the Canon Powershot S40 (own it) and the Canon G2 (co-worker has one). They are roughly the same camera technology wise, the main differences are in the body and the optics. The G2 is bigger, but has a much nicer LCD that you can flip out and twist much like the Nikon split-body design, and I find the controls to be more ergonomic. Due to the bigger lens it has a much broader aperture range at full telephoto and it's macro capabilities are better than the S40. The flexiblity you sacrifice in the S40 is made up for in it's small size. It is amazingly portable, I went with the S40 since I plan on getting a DSLR for when I don't mind lugging around a bigger camera. When I'm playing tourist I want the camera to be as tiny as possible! BOTH the G2 and S40 are considerably smaller than the 995.
Hope this helps you make a decision. Definitely go to The Digital Photography Review to get the real scoop on all these cameras!
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04/09/2002 07:00:55 PM · #4 |
Hi Shannon, welcome. I have a 995 but don't judge them by my shots.
I do really like mine,though it is somewhat hard to learn the manual settings. I have learned more by being interested in this contest for about three weeks than I did the preievousveos(past)six months.(brain stuck). Positive features are: Pivot head,compact flash,long battery life (rechargeable),feels right, handy controls,available attachments,and on and on. The Mouse would know more about the quality than me, but I LIKE MINE! Good Luck.
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04/09/2002 08:29:07 PM · #5 |
Ånyone you ask you might get a different answer to this question. To start off I will let you know that I work in the photo industry and have worked with and sold just about every digital camera on the market. My personal camera is the Nikon Coolpix 5000, bought it before any real reviews almost right when it went on the market. This purchase was based upon all of their other cameras I have used. The thing that is most important to me is porper color, I know some people have other main concerns but if your pictures don't look the right color that is always the first thing you will notice. I have NEVER had or have seen any of my customers have a problem with the colors from a Nikon digital. To me that is saying alot (I probley sell 10-15 mid to high range digital cameras a week) I wish all the other manufatcures were as good.
The color balance of digital cameras is kinda like the color balace of film manufatures. eg. Kodak - usually good flesh tones (reds and yellows) other colors might look a little off, Fuji - really good blues and greens great for landscapes some films the colors will look oversaturated to the point of looking unreal. Same thing with digitals, color balance on Canon and Kodak digitals seem to be a little yello/red for me Fuji dose the same thing with thier digitals that they do with thier film (green is too pumped up for me). The most accurate colors I have seen have been on NIkon and Olympus cameras.
Last thing for this is personally I love to do macro shots and most of the NIkon digitals have an amazing close focusing option (less than an inch) which I use alot. Sorry if I seem to ramble but the being in the photo industry the most important thing to me is making sure that people REALLY enjoy taking picures, the more they take the more I make. And the better results that someone gets from a camrera the more they will use it.
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04/09/2002 10:29:40 PM · #6 |
The Nikon split body *is* really nice, it makes for a very stable camera at any angle because you can use both hands securely. Nikons also blow away the Canons in their macro capabilities. That's why you have to go read the reviews on all the cameras you're interested in so you can decide which pros and cons work for you. :)
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04/10/2002 12:46:16 AM · #7 |
| I have a Nikon Coolpix 950 and I love it. The split body makes for good sturdy handling, the color capabilities are fantastic, and I love the way that it handles light. I prefer to shoot without a flash and the metering is top notch. It is also a very sturdy camera. I have used it for two years and carried it all around the world without a problem. I sell the photographs that I take with it and recently won a photography award with it. It helps me to be a better photographer and it's the best money that I've ever spent. |
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04/10/2002 07:19:06 AM · #8 |
Great, thanks so much everyone for your input. I knew that there would be differences of opinions and that is what I was counting on. I want to get a good overall view of opinions and not get snowed on this. You've all been tremendous! I haven't looked into the Canon G2 very much yet, but I have heard good things about it. All of the things Mousie described are very important issues to me, and like Corey, color is also an issue...I want good true colors, and mostly I want great macro shots. I love macro photography and plan to use it for that so I want something that can handle it and give me good crisp shots, the closer the better. As you said David, I like the pivot head,handy controls, & available attachments, and it did feel real comfortable in my hand. Now to find a store around with a Canon G2 so I can check it out too ;)
Thanks again everyone! I love you guys, this community is great!
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04/10/2002 07:30:36 AM · #9 |
Just watch out for a crack in the Canon G2. See the Canon forum on the dpreview site (posted by Mousie somewhere above) for a billion posts on small cracks appearing in some corners.
I haven't read too much about it (i've got a G1), but current G2 owners are going crazy on the forum. Seems like Canon is beginning to fix up the fault ...
Good Luck
:) |
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04/10/2002 08:33:16 AM · #10 |
| I just thought I would respond to this question as a Nikon Coolpix 995 owner. Choosing a digital camera has to have been THE most difficult decision I have ever made. And having made the decision for the Nikon 995 as my first digital camera, I have NO regrets. I am not to the level of even noticing blue or purple fringing on pictures (unless it is really obvious, which I haven't seen)... but the macro shots I took this weekend don't seem to have any (looking back at them)-- even cropped and printed 8x10. The reason I bought the 995 is because, in searching the reviews and forums (DCRP - Digital Camera Resource Page mainly), I found VERY few if any complaints about the Nikon 995. In fact, Mousie's comments REALLY, REALLY surprised me... I have never seen anyone make those kind of comments. Maybe I haven't visited the right forums??? But the Coolpix 9xx cameras have almost a cult following. People get them, and they love them. I sure love mine. Just this weekend, I showed a photo (the above 8x10 of a bee on a cherry blossom) to a friend who is wanting to upgrade from a two-year-old Sony Mavica, and when he saw the photo, he said, "That's the camera I want." I keep up on the new cameras that come out, and I haven't yet found one that I want to trade my camera in on. That's my two cents worth! |
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04/10/2002 09:21:45 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by faerieaeone:
I love macro photography and plan to use it for that so I want something that can handle it and give me good crisp shots, the closer the better
If you want truly outstanding macro capability get a camera that accepts lens. The G2 has a ring that you can screw adaptors, filters and lenses onto. I have macro lenses and love them. My next step is to try an extension tube to get in even further.
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04/10/2002 09:28:08 AM · #12 |
another great site that does in depth-reviews is:
//www.imaging-resource.com/
When I was trying to determine which camera to get, I spent hours searching through all the reviews they gave.
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04/10/2002 12:29:50 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by aeli2468:
another great site that does in depth-reviews is:
//www.imaging-resource.com/
When I was trying to determine which camera to get, I spent hours searching through all the reviews they gave.
When I bought a camera I read all the reviews, on that site, www.dpreview.com and stevies digi-cams and had pretty much
made up my mind to get a nikon coolpix. Then I went to a local
camera store and tried one, and found out how horrible it was 'in the
flesh' It was clunky, plasticy and i hated the split body. A lot
of this may just be because I'm left handed, but I didn't want to
own something that looked like a toy for 4 and unders.
So all I'm suggesting is read all the reviews, then try to get your
hands on one of the cameras to see how it feels to you.
I bought a G2 the next day. Pictures are fantastic, macro facilities are fantastic, focus is as crap as all consumer digicams it seems.
Love it. Reading about them is only half the research, finding out if
it is something you want to hold and use much is another part of it.
I don't want people to feel that I'm picking on the Nikon 995. It seems to take fantastic pictures. Lots of people love them. All I'm
saying is it didn't work for me - online shopping is great, but things look a whole lot different 'in person'
* This message has been edited by the author on 4/11/2002 7:28:31 AM.
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04/10/2002 12:52:31 PM · #14 |
Hi Shannon, 990 is my second camera for superb macros and backup for my Olympus. Superb 3.34Mp camera with superb colour reproduction also easy to setup and use once you get used to the controls. Full manual overide when you want it and the upgraded 995 with extra telephoto is an excellent buy at the moment around £495.
Vin
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04/10/2002 03:54:24 PM · #15 |
my whole thing is to look at the image galleries and decide. that's what it's really all about. a) it shows you the potential of the camera. and b) if the images from one camera look better to you than another then you know you wont be disappointed. IMHO, the pics from G2 look better than the ones from 995, but that's just me. I've also seen kickass shots from the 995, but then I have seen kickass shots from almost every camera ..............
: ) ..
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04/10/2002 06:29:36 PM · #16 |
At least a couple of the challenge winning photos were shot with a Canon! ;)
* This message has been edited by the author on 4/10/2002 6:30:02 PM.
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04/11/2002 07:14:10 AM · #17 |
Thanks everyone. I looked at some of the reviews for the Canon G2 and you're right it did get really good reviews. And the thought of buying extra lenses for my macro shots is totally acceptable, that's what I have now for my Kodak. I've been digging through some of the shots taken with the Canon and I am impressed, so I will definitely be taking a trip to the store to get a feel of the camera first hand before I decide. You've all been really helpful :)
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