Wow, this takes me back..! My newspaper had a Nikon Coolpix 950 (which followed an Agfa 1280e!) as our digital camera when we were shooting 35mm film in with Nikon F5s. I was really impressed with the image quality from 2mp, and speed of use on news jobs was mind blowing! It was 2-3 years until we re-equiped with Nikon D1, but the Coolpix was still in use for some time.
NICE! Everyone goes on about the 950 and 990, but the 900 is the OG which gets little attention, so respect for finding one! Glad you found this channel, I'm sure I must have tried pushing it to you before!
G'day Gordon. Finally subscribed to your latest channel. I have a Nikon 775, that was my first digital camera. It uses rechargeable battery or expensive alkaline battery of uncommon shape. Start up speed was very slow even by the expectations of those days, I bought a Nikon add on lens for wider angle. Best thing about the camera. It could take photos of close up photos of yellow Oxalis weed without needing to examine settings or focus.
Using AA batteries was one of the things I looked for in digital compact camera a few years ago. We still have it a Canon Powershot SX120 IS and it still gets used occasionally too!
I think I may have to do a video about AA batteries as it's never a forgone conclusion anything will remain available, but they have certainly lasted...
@@DinoBytes There are a lot of items still using AAA and AA batteries, not many with PP3 batteries or the big PP9's (Showing my age!!) As a side note, all the retro tech that uses specialist battery packs that I own no longer work, where as my Psion 5Mx and the Powershot are still serviceable... I have an old HP iPaq that no longer recharges or will run from an external supply.
I started my digital journey with the Nikon Coolpix SQ (cunning twistable body). It would be nice to watch your review of it. Thanks for your high quality videos.
A really good point about how we all favoured those electronics that had the lithium ion batteries back in the 90's (cameras, minidiscs etc) but now they're a real pain compared to devices with AA batteries. It's possible to keep old lithium ion batteries working, I've got an original Sony MD battery that holds a decent charge that dates back to around 1998... I keep checking it every few months and give it a bit of a top up to stop it going flat. That seems to keep it alive.
Great video. I really like that split body design and wish camera manufacturers would be more experimental with their designs. This is a slight aside, but I've never been to the UK, do all beaches have rocks like this one? I've never seen a beach with rocks instead of sand.
How awesome!!! Love it! The photos were great too! My first digital was back in 2006 but don’t recall the brand at the moment but I still have it and it works! Lol 😂
I finally made a vid about the 990… The swivel feature is actually very practical… Would be cool to see another camera design like this with a modern sensor
My first Coolpix was Coolpix 2000. I bought it for around RM 1000 in a camera shop in Penang, Malaysia. Pure happiness! It was also my first digital camera. Used it for a year then upgrade it to the legendary CP5000 and then to a Canon 3 MP DSLR D30.
I found and bought a Nikon Coolpix 800 in a thrift store a while back. I thought the images would be junk but they're not half bad. The menus on the back screen and the top display panel on the 800 have a very similar look to the 900. An interesting video about an interesting time in photography. Great work!
I had (and still have) a number of Nikon split bodied cameras, and you are so right... They were and are great cameras. Interesting, clever designs and (for its time) very good image quality. Thanks for reminding me!
It was a cool camera series that I had my eye on. Definitely bigger than I remember. For me, I watched digital cameras, waiting. The first one I really used apart from getting to play with a friend's Elf was a Nikon D70. With the Nikon D200 digital finally achieved a level where I've still used it in the last few years to take some great images that want for nothing (as long as you have enough light). Those first 12 years or so, the image quality kept being better, but remained rather terrible compared to even a cheap negative film like Kodak Gold. Even those first two generations of DSLRs with their horrendous grey skin tones and blown-out highlights.
@@DinoBytes I’m sure, in fact I too was thinking of making a video to revisit my 1ds mark 2 , I just find believe it or not that the DR of the older 1 series is really quite amazing up until this day, of course it isn’t great in really low light though but the Dynamic range is still amazing in my opinion, especially when you shoot strongly lit backlighted subjects. It really handles shots like that really well in my opinion , even putting some more modern EOS cameras to shame, also the white balance dialled in is just amazing in my opinion
Really interesting camera! Pentax made an Optio X like that. I enjoy the cameras that tried different looks than traditional film cameras. Pictures are really good on that Nikon! I have 2 Pentax MX4, pistol grip design, still love the ergonomics of these types of cameras! I would agree cameras that take AA batteries are awesome!
I've still got my Coolpix 950 in the closet and it still works with off-the-shelf AA batteries. That was the camera that really got me out of film and into the digital era. I agree these were fun cameras and the size limits on CompactFlash cards did not seem as great because I was coming from 35mm film which were just 24 or 36 photos per roll. You could get similar numbers of photos on CompactFlash cards of that era.
You get a USB compact Flash memory card reader and connect it to your phone. Or you copy them onto a computer and email them to your phone or sync them using something like dropbox
I had the Coolpix 4500 (similar twisty form factor). Loved that thing... until I dropped it down a flight of stairs during a holiday in Malaga one summer.
@@DinoBytes I understand where you are at! It's a pleasant affliction though. I couldn't believe I got a working Fuji Finepix F601 Zoom and a working Panasonic DMC-TZ60 for £5.00 at a flea market in Devon on Sunday! The Panasonic is like a space ship compared to a horse cart as far as the Fuji goes, but I love them both. I have over 30 digicams now and my whole collection has cost less than £400.
Really interesting to see what camera manufacturers thought of as the benefit to digital cameras - being able to decouple the sensor from the rest of the ergonomics resulting in the split-body design. Also I'm surprised that design persisted all the way until 2006!
I wish the tough-cam followed this split-lens-body design - you could have a 1 inch sensor (maybe bigger)without the periscope-lens set up that reduces the image quality.
My first digital camera was the Canon A550. A beautiful camera with nice video to boot. I remember being surprised that it actually retained detail better than newer Canon PowerShot models like the SX220 due to its less aggressive noise reduction.
@@DinoBytes I used 950 my dad had. The 32 MB card held 80 photos with the option of review and deleting, which felt unlimited when compared to the 36 exposure film roll.
That is a neat-looking device! And the image quality still seems to be ok for today, considering the low MP count. I really wish they would make such swivel-body cameras again. Like these from Nikon, Sony F717/828 and similar!
More fun stuff from my favorite decade! I loved that Nikon named these cameras "Coolpix," which I thought was both sweet and quaint, even for those relatively unsophisticated times. And they've stuck with it too! 😎
@@DinoBytes I will watch video on F1 a little later. If I remember correctly F505 came in late 1999 which was followed by 707, 717, etc. Another interesting thing from early days of Digital compacts is the folded optics that Minolta brought to market and now cellphone makers are waking upto.
These images hold up to time a LOT better than the few VGA cameras you reviewed before. 1.2 megapixel are at least not that far off from normal computers screens, and it includes enough information to show detail better than a still taken from Monkey Island. Or did I just out myself as the last person not already using a 4K screen? At least your portrait and the image from that donut thingy are quite alright. On another topic: I wonder if one could base a collecting hobby just on all the obsolete data cable plugs from the 90s and 2000s?
The quality looks good. But somehow the sky behind the pier looks bad… Maybe the highlight roll-off? I know the dynamic range is very limited comparing to today's sensors.
Don't beat yourself up, I've seen some going for less. I think all collections need one of the 900 series, but maybe the 950 or 990 would be more usable.
This was my first digital camera at about £1,000 in 1999. I PX'd my entire Nikon F90X kit with an almost new 24mm lens. The shop assistant must have thought I was barking mad. I HATED the E900 with a vengeance. It continually hunted for focus and often refused to take the shot. I lost out on so much content. I almost gave up photography as a result. I don't recall what I did with the hateful thing. Perhaps it was an early eBay success.
Not for too long! From that I went to a Coolpix 5000 followed by Coolpix 5700, Coolpix P5000, Coolpix P6000, Coolpix S1, D70, D3200, D200, D800 and am finally extremely happy with a D850!
interesting that some of the features seem to belong to the DNA of the company, sony wanting the smallest possibile size, nikon using a new type of memory card....as it is today...
Er... what d you think? It was great fun to try out this first model in the series again, but if I were too seriously use one of them, I'd go for the 950 or 990.
I'm saying it the way the Japanese pronounce it, as it's a Japanese company. This is also how we pronounce it in the rest of the World. It's only North America that mis-pronounces it for some reason.
The image quality was a lot better than i was expecting from 1998. neat.
Yeah, they're better than you might expect!
Thanks for the review Gordon. 23 years later and it continues to take great looking photos.
Thanks!
I wonder if having had the Minolta D’Image V influenced me to buy the Nikon Coolpix 990, which I still have, though the battery door latch is broken.
It's funny how many door latches or battery latches broke on these cameras.
Love your new series on vintage digital, especially the cameras; looking forward to seeing some more episodes!
Thanks, more to come soon!
I love this series of old cameras, thank you very much for it!!!
You're very welcome, more to come soon!
Wow, this takes me back..! My newspaper had a Nikon Coolpix 950 (which followed an Agfa 1280e!) as our digital camera when we were shooting 35mm film in with Nikon F5s. I was really impressed with the image quality from 2mp, and speed of use on news jobs was mind blowing! It was 2-3 years until we re-equiped with Nikon D1, but the Coolpix was still in use for some time.
Just got one of these off eBay!!! Oooo awesome second channel this is right up my street Gordon 😁📸
NICE! Everyone goes on about the 950 and 990, but the 900 is the OG which gets little attention, so respect for finding one! Glad you found this channel, I'm sure I must have tried pushing it to you before!
Absolutely loved my 950. Essential for eBay sales in the early days.
I loved it too! I think the 990 was my favourite as the 995 got a bit to chunky.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video! Great information and I just picked up a 995 📸🤩
Nice buy! I loved all the 900 series and hope to one day own them all!
These throwback vids are so great! I would love to see a modern reveiw of the Panasonic DMC-LC5.
Thanks! Hope you get to watch some of my other videos here too! PS - yes, the LC5 would be a good one, a bit like the Canon G1
G'day Gordon. Finally subscribed to your latest channel. I have a Nikon 775, that was my first digital camera. It uses rechargeable battery or expensive alkaline battery of uncommon shape. Start up speed was very slow even by the expectations of those days, I bought a Nikon add on lens for wider angle. Best thing about the camera. It could take photos of close up photos of yellow Oxalis weed without needing to examine settings or focus.
Welcome on-board, and thanks for subscribing! I think I remember the 775...
Using AA batteries was one of the things I looked for in digital compact camera a few years ago. We still have it a Canon Powershot SX120 IS and it still gets used occasionally too!
I think I may have to do a video about AA batteries as it's never a forgone conclusion anything will remain available, but they have certainly lasted...
@@DinoBytes There are a lot of items still using AAA and AA batteries, not many with PP3 batteries or the big PP9's (Showing my age!!)
As a side note, all the retro tech that uses specialist battery packs that I own no longer work, where as my Psion 5Mx and the Powershot are still serviceable... I have an old HP iPaq that no longer recharges or will run from an external supply.
I started my digital journey with the Nikon Coolpix SQ (cunning twistable body). It would be nice to watch your review of it. Thanks for your high quality videos.
Thanks, and good call on the SQ
Cool! :)
Keep up the good work!
I always try for you!
A really good point about how we all favoured those electronics that had the lithium ion batteries back in the 90's (cameras, minidiscs etc) but now they're a real pain compared to devices with AA batteries. It's possible to keep old lithium ion batteries working, I've got an original Sony MD battery that holds a decent charge that dates back to around 1998... I keep checking it every few months and give it a bit of a top up to stop it going flat. That seems to keep it alive.
Good tip, thanks
Great video. I really like that split body design and wish camera manufacturers would be more experimental with their designs. This is a slight aside, but I've never been to the UK, do all beaches have rocks like this one? I've never seen a beach with rocks instead of sand.
We have a mix of beaches. Brighton has a pebble beach, but we have lots with sand.
Interesting review Gordon. Camera showing Brighton at it's best.
Thanks! Brighton always looks nice! It was a bit busy when I filmed this one though!
How awesome!!! Love it! The photos were great too! My first digital was back in 2006 but don’t recall the brand at the moment but I still have it and it works! Lol 😂
Glad it still works!
I had its precursor.. Agfa Ephoto 1280 from 1997. Same swivel layout. 0.7mp...! Thank you.
I remember reviewing that one too!
Nice! Hope some day we see a nikon D700 retro-review! Thanks for the video!
I remember the D700 very well! It's actually one of my early video reviews on my main channel, have you seen that ne?
I finally made a vid about the 990… The swivel feature is actually very practical… Would be cool to see another camera design like this with a modern sensor
My first Coolpix was Coolpix 2000. I bought it for around RM 1000 in a camera shop in Penang, Malaysia. Pure happiness! It was also my first digital camera. Used it for a year then upgrade it to the legendary CP5000 and then to a Canon 3 MP DSLR D30.
I found and bought a Nikon Coolpix 800 in a thrift store a while back. I thought the images would be junk but they're not half bad. The menus on the back screen and the top display panel on the 800 have a very similar look to the 900. An interesting video about an interesting time in photography. Great work!
Nice! I remember the Coolpix 800, I may try and cover it or one in that series. Thanks, hope you get a chance to check out some of my other videos!
@@DinoBytes I plan to watch them all!
@@billr6983 correct answer!
I had (and still have) a number of Nikon split bodied cameras, and you are so right... They were and are great cameras. Interesting, clever designs and (for its time) very good image quality. Thanks for reminding me!
you're welcome, hope you get to catch some of my other reviews here!
It was a cool camera series that I had my eye on. Definitely bigger than I remember.
For me, I watched digital cameras, waiting. The first one I really used apart from getting to play with a friend's Elf was a Nikon D70. With the Nikon D200 digital finally achieved a level where I've still used it in the last few years to take some great images that want for nothing (as long as you have enough light).
Those first 12 years or so, the image quality kept being better, but remained rather terrible compared to even a cheap negative film like Kodak Gold. Even those first two generations of DSLRs with their horrendous grey skin tones and blown-out highlights.
Man it’s amazing to see that it still cam take descent shot even till this day 😊👍
It's really fun shooting with them over two decades later!
@@DinoBytes I’m sure, in fact I too was thinking of making a video to revisit my 1ds mark 2 , I just find believe it or not that the DR of the older 1 series is really quite amazing up until this day, of course it isn’t great in really low light though but the Dynamic range is still amazing in my opinion, especially when you shoot strongly lit backlighted subjects. It really handles shots like that really well in my opinion , even putting some more modern EOS cameras to shame, also the white balance dialled in is just amazing in my opinion
Loved this, my first digital camera was the Coolpix 4500, still have it!
Nice!
I've just got a 4500. How do you find it? I'll be reviewing mine after I've played with it.
정보 감사합니다!☺
Really interesting camera! Pentax made an Optio X like that. I enjoy the cameras that tried different looks than traditional film cameras. Pictures are really good on that Nikon! I have 2 Pentax MX4, pistol grip design, still love the ergonomics of these types of cameras! I would agree cameras that take AA batteries are awesome!
There were so many interesting designs back then!
I've still got my Coolpix 950 in the closet and it still works with off-the-shelf AA batteries. That was the camera that really got me out of film and into the digital era. I agree these were fun cameras and the size limits on CompactFlash cards did not seem as great because I was coming from 35mm film which were just 24 or 36 photos per roll. You could get similar numbers of photos on CompactFlash cards of that era.
Yes, you're right, the 4mb card which came with it was only good for about 6-8 best quality shots!
I had the 950, loved that thing.
It was a nice step up from the 900 indeed.
Hi! I just got this camera and I was wondering how you got the photos from the camera onto your phone
You get a USB compact Flash memory card reader and connect it to your phone. Or you copy them onto a computer and email them to your phone or sync them using something like dropbox
I had the Coolpix 4500 (similar twisty form factor). Loved that thing... until I dropped it down a flight of stairs during a holiday in Malaga one summer.
Oh no! Maybe you should try to find one on eBay for old time's sake!
Loved the video Gordon. You need to get a 100% functioning one.
Thanks! Hope you've also seen my one on the 950. I also have the 990 and 995 here!
@@DinoBytes I understand where you are at! It's a pleasant affliction though. I couldn't believe I got a working Fuji Finepix F601 Zoom and a working Panasonic DMC-TZ60 for £5.00 at a flea market in Devon on Sunday! The Panasonic is like a space ship compared to a horse cart as far as the Fuji goes, but I love them both. I have over 30 digicams now and my whole collection has cost less than £400.
@@moviebod nice one! I never see anything in any flea markets, antique stores or car boot sales around Brighton. It's eBay only for me these days.
Nikon Coolpix 995 was my first digital camera. I found the twisted body is a very useful design.
It was a lovely design and the 995 was a great camera! Do you still have it?
@@DinoBytes No, I no longer have it. I think I sold it when I bought my Olympus E-10 later.
@@CMC5961 the E10 was also a nice camera, I remember reviewing it!
Me too glad that some old digital compact camera using AA batteries,my favorite is Canon powershot SX100IS and it's still usable today :0
Exactly, those other ones are effectively dead, or if you're lucky you may find a third party replacement, but at a cost.,
Really interesting to see what camera manufacturers thought of as the benefit to digital cameras - being able to decouple the sensor from the rest of the ergonomics resulting in the split-body design. Also I'm surprised that design persisted all the way until 2006!
It was quite fashionable at the time!
I wish the tough-cam followed this split-lens-body design - you could have a 1 inch sensor (maybe bigger)without the periscope-lens set up that reduces the image quality.
cool for review old camera
Thanks! Hope you see some of my other videos!
Hi! Do you know what type of SD card is used for this camera. I found one at my house and was trying to figure out which memory card to buy.
It uses compact flash cards as I show in the video, did you watch it?
My first digital camera was the Canon A550. A beautiful camera with nice video to boot. I remember being surprised that it actually retained detail better than newer Canon PowerShot models like the SX220 due to its less aggressive noise reduction.
Some cameras definitely had sensors which struck a sweet spot!
lol brought back memories of seeing Digicams at the local Electronic Store, but I never had a digital until the late 2000s.
My other videos will show you the other kinds of camera around in these early days!
Bought my 950 for $900, still have it.
Great camera! Does it still work?
@@DinoBytes Yes, it works just fine. It was mine very first "high end" camera after college. :)
I used my dad's and it was great
@@ssthapit the 900 or one of the later models?
@@DinoBytes I used 950 my dad had. The 32 MB card held 80 photos with the option of review and deleting, which felt unlimited when compared to the 36 exposure film roll.
That is a neat-looking device! And the image quality still seems to be ok for today, considering the low MP count.
I really wish they would make such swivel-body cameras again. Like these from Nikon, Sony F717/828 and similar!
Yes, I loved the F series!
More fun stuff from my favorite decade! I loved that Nikon named these cameras "Coolpix," which I thought was both sweet and quaint, even for those relatively unsophisticated times. And they've stuck with it too! 😎
Thanks!
It's quite interesting that moving above 1 megapixel gives you that much clarity in comparison to VGA🙂
If I remember correctly Sony had superzooms(F828, F1, etc) with similar designs where lens rotated independently of body.
You're correct, but the 717 828 etc were a little later I think. The F1 did have a neat mechanism, have you seen my video about it?
@@DinoBytes I will watch video on F1 a little later. If I remember correctly F505 came in late 1999 which was followed by 707, 717, etc. Another interesting thing from early days of Digital compacts is the folded optics that Minolta brought to market and now cellphone makers are waking upto.
Hi! i am about to buy a used S4 Nikon, i beleive it must be newer than this? - do you have any rev. on the S4? greets Levi from Sweden
The S4 is newer, but I don't have a review
@@DinoBytes thanks for answer!
I had the 990 and it was a fantastic little camera for the day. Replaced it with the D100 and away we go.
Loved the 990!
These images hold up to time a LOT better than the few VGA cameras you reviewed before. 1.2 megapixel are at least not that far off from normal computers screens, and it includes enough information to show detail better than a still taken from Monkey Island. Or did I just out myself as the last person not already using a 4K screen? At least your portrait and the image from that donut thingy are quite alright. On another topic: I wonder if one could base a collecting hobby just on all the obsolete data cable plugs from the 90s and 2000s?
I had a lot of these cables, but had to get rid of many of them - ARGH!
Can you please review a smartphone camera? Specifically the Galaxy A33 5G
Any time I review a phone it flops in views. There's too many others reviewing them.
@@DinoBytes But wouldn't it be interesting to hear your take on a smartphone camera giving great photography details about the product and such?
@@Russell970 yes, but given this is my full time job, I can't work for free for a week, which is the shortest time I spend on any review.
Pretty impressive results. Just proves it's not just about the megapixels.
Thanks! Yes, I think the pictures from these cameras are better than a lot of people might expect!
Can this camera shoot video?
No
I have a 4500 sitting on my desk right now. I'll be out shooting with it tomorrow.
Have fun! Do you use it much nowadays?
@@DinoBytes Not that much, but I have about 50 cameras to choose from!
I managed to find one of these at a local flea market for cheap. but sadly all the images are solid black :/ not sure what to do from here. oh well
Hmm, that's a shame. It's always a gamble with old electronics.
My first digital camera was the Kodak DC 210: 1 megapixel, it was simple like a toy!
I hope to retro review a Kodak camera soon!
My first digital camera was Intel pocket pc, it was 4MP and I bought in 1996. I chose it over Kodak as it had manual focus ring on the lens.
I do prefer AA or AAA for my small gadgets. No battery degradation issues down to line.
I certainly like them for these old reviews!
canon g6 next please!! love series
I have a G1...!
I just played with my Coolpix 4500, decent image, with several hot pixels, and extremely hungry for battery power.
Hope you take it out again!
Ive just attached a huge battery to it, with elastic bands and feed it power. Tomorrow I will shoot with it.
@@petepictures nice one!
The quality looks good. But somehow the sky behind the pier looks bad… Maybe the highlight roll-off? I know the dynamic range is very limited comparing to today's sensors.
Yes I know what you mean, some photos looked really good, but others less so. It may not be working at it's best though.
Gah! I saw one of these a few months back in a pawn shop for 70 dollars. I probably should have bought it !
Don't beat yourself up, I've seen some going for less. I think all collections need one of the 900 series, but maybe the 950 or 990 would be more usable.
This was my first digital camera at about £1,000 in 1999. I PX'd my entire Nikon F90X kit with an almost new 24mm lens. The shop assistant must have thought I was barking mad. I HATED the E900 with a vengeance. It continually hunted for focus and often refused to take the shot. I lost out on so much content. I almost gave up photography as a result. I don't recall what I did with the hateful thing. Perhaps it was an early eBay success.
Not for too long! From that I went to a Coolpix 5000 followed by Coolpix 5700, Coolpix P5000, Coolpix P6000, Coolpix S1, D70, D3200, D200, D800 and am finally extremely happy with a D850!
@@anselspear6931 Nice! Obviously a Nikon fan through and through!
interesting that some of the features seem to belong to the DNA of the company, sony wanting the smallest possibile size, nikon using a new type of memory card....as it is today...
Definitely, the groundwork was set back then!
Leave it to Nikon to include a selfie-capable screen on their third digital camera but not the Z6 or Z7 😂
Ha ha, YES exactly!
That selfie is passable today... Another proof resolituon isnt everything
Yess, especially since most selfie camera on phones are lower quality than the main ones.
"Coolpix 900 is it still good in 2021? Opinion" 😂😂😂
Er... what d you think? It was great fun to try out this first model in the series again, but if I were too seriously use one of them, I'd go for the 950 or 990.
Even though it might be correct..."Nick - On" is super annoying. Just say it like everyone else says it.
I'm saying it the way the Japanese pronounce it, as it's a Japanese company. This is also how we pronounce it in the rest of the World. It's only North America that mis-pronounces it for some reason.
If by 'everybody else', you mean North America, the rest of the world might disagree with you.