The Macro King needs a Usability Overhaul.
Written: Apr 15 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: macro ability can't be beat, and the nikon lens is amazing.
Cons: size, design and usability can be beat. Ridiculously expensive accessories.
The Bottom Line: Superior Nikon optics, macro ability and faithful color reproduction (and image quality) are let down by usability, design, and expensive accessories.
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| Coffee_Kid's Full Review: Nikon Coolpix 990 Digital Camera |
I'm a veteran of digital cameras. I've owned them for over 5 years now, dating back to my first model - the venerable Epson PhotoPC, circa 1996. The Nikon CP990 is my 6th digital camera. It won't be my last.
There's a lot to really like about the CP990. The macro ability was the biggest selling point for me - I do a lot of still life work, close up work for my website (www.coffeekid.com) and for work, and the CP990 fit the bill in this aspect. The ability to focus down to an inch or two without additional lens attachments is killer. The relatively wide aperture allows for stunning macro photography with DoF that is as little as a half centimetre.
The Nikon is also built very ruggedly - not much of the plastic crapola that many other cameras in the $750-$1200 price range seem to have. The camera feels exceptionally solid in your hands, exuding a sense of confidence in using it.
The lens quality and the quality of attachments (save one, read below) is first rate. Nikon takes a lot of pride in their optics, and it shows in this product.
Photo quality is also first rate, once you figure out how to use the camera (more on that below). Colors are vivid yet not overly so (like the Kodaks). Range in color is superior, and overall, I find the color reproduction to be extremely accurate in many aspects, under many different lighting conditions. The highest quality jpg setting has a nice super small compression setting which ends up giving almost no visible artefacts in the files, even at 600% magnifcation in Photoshop. Gotta love that. By comparison, some Sony digicams I've used have had horrifying jpeg artefacts visible, even at their "best quality" settings.
That's most of the good stuff - and many others have raved about the great qualities. But now I'm going to rant about some of the not so great qualities.
First off, this camera is far too difficult to use. And I'm speaking as a 35mm and digicam vet, having used Oly C2020s, Sony 505s, PhotoPC 600 and 800s, Casios and more. Of all the cameras I've ever owned, the Nikon is by far the most confusing and difficult to master. Intuition was not a strong suit in the design of the controls of this camera. I could write pages and pages on this, but suffice to say, most digicam makers suffer from "featuritis", and Nikon leads the pack. I like how Oly finally started to tackle this problem with their amazing E-10 camera that offers most of the functionality in "analogue" mode, via buttons and dials - no surfing the LCD required.
Second, coming from an Oly C2020, one thing I really missed was the wireless remote the Oly had. Nikon has no such feature. When they came out with their obscenely expensive remote cord ($150Cdn), I had to have it, due to all the still life work I do. Well guess what. It's a piece of crap. The digital cord is buggy, and believe it or not, often "crashes" the camera, and this is after I put the latest firmware update on the Nikon.
My other main problems with the camera have to do with something I also counted as a benefit: the size and weight. The camera is very heavy - too heavy. Sure the Oly E10 is even heavier, but hold an E10 in your hand - it feels perfect. The CP990 feels like it's just a bit too heavy for what it is. I also have come to really dislike the swivel design. I thought it would be a boon (it was one of the selling points to get me to buy the camera), but after 6 months of use, I don't like it. The camera is not neck-friendly at all, you can't put it in your pocket, so you're stuck carrying it in a camera back when out and about. By comparison, every other digicam I've owned over the past three years has been very neck-friendly and felt good in my hands.
I may sound a bit negative here, I know, but for the price I paid for this camera, I sort of expected more. Aesthetics, industrial design, usability and the remote cords are all big let downs for me. My 35mm kit is all based on the Nikon F4 family, and I'm a long time Nikon fan, but I feel a bit let down by this camera. I don't think it will be too long before I put it up on eBay and move on, possibly to the very expensive Oly E10. Or maybe I'll wait for the next wunderkind to hit the market.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Coffee_Kid
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Location: Vancouver, BC
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
Hey, I may be the CoffeeKid, but I have other interests as well... :-)
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