"Unsung Hero" of a Nikon Fleet

Of our little fleet of digital cameras, this is one of my favorites. It's the CoolPix 995 of 2001; a 3.3 megapixel digital that sold for a list price of $899! This was the fourth of the "9" series that started with the 1.2 megapixel 900 of 1998, then the 950, followed by the 990, and finally culminating with the 4.1 megapixel 4500 of 2002. One camera each year with evolutionary refinements till Nikon finally dropped the "split-body" concept. These pre-DSLR-Boom cameras where considered to be some of the most advanced of their day barring entry into the (at the time) fully professional early digital SLRs. The 995 was the first of them that used a rechargeable lithium-ion in place of the 4, AA batteries of the earlier designs. It also has a 4x lens instead of the 3x and gives a 35mm equivalent of 38-152mm vs. the 38-115 of the CoolPix 990 that it replaced. It was also the first to have a pop-up flash which combined with the bigger lens to cause Nikon to move away from the fully magnesium body to a half version with fiber-reinforced polycarbonate on the lens/flash half. This was the cause of much nashing of teeth till the 4500 changed back to the all-metal body.

The 4500 also address the various weird bulges and other not so sleek features features of the 995, but that's not why we're here today. So why the CoolPix 995? Well.....it was $15... on Craig's List. I saw it one day, a few years ago, decided that it was ridiculous and had to buy it on principle alone! Of course it didn't have a memory card, or a charger, or a battery for that matter, but that didn't matter. IT WAS $15!!! Beside, I had had a CoolPix 880 for some time and it was the same sensor and lens repackaged into a smaller/cheaper body.

What did I get for my whopping $15 investment? I'm glad you asked! After reading a lot of the digital photography oriented websites, it occurred to me that digital photography gained serious traction when the number of photo-sites on the sensors reached about 3 megapixels which can give you a resolution that is difficult to distinguish from film on a standard 8" x 10" print. I remembered that it was that resolution that caused me to go out and buy my first digital camera; a Kodak DC4800. Plus, it was pretty obvious that discernible improvement in output on a digital camera require about a doubling of photo-sites. Which is why the major progression of MPs have been 3, 6, then 12 mp! Not surprisingly, that's exactly what I have in my fleet; the 3 mp CoolPix 880 & 995, 6 mp D50 (previously D70/D70s) and now the 12 mp D300.

What do one do with a 10-12 year old digital camera? As you can see (and will see); pretty much whatever I dang-well want! The whole series was made without interchangeable lenses, but with the exact same accessory ring size of 28mm and the manufacturer being Nikon, of course it was created as part of a system. You can see the 4500 above with the "slide-copier" and a few of the lens attachments. Just the lens attachments alone included 4 optics; two wides (one fisheye), a 2x and a 3x telephoto. Right now, I have the WC-E63 which is one of the wides, but would love to eventually get a telephoto as well.

Were you thinking that you couldn't get close enough to your subject, even with the 3x accessory lens? There are scientific instrument adapters that'll get you mounted onto a telescope or a microscope. There are also filters, and if illumination is an issue....well, there's a flash bracket with adapter cord so you can connect standard Nikon shoe-flashes as well!

OK; a little much, I must admit, but the flexibility is certainly there. Although I have other great options, I'll routinely grab this camera if I need to shoot something for an ad and flier of some sort. The files are already much smaller than the D300 or even the D50, so I normally don't even have to cut them down in software. One of the great benefits of this little guy is the split body design. It makes it extraordinarily easy to use in awkward positions. When swiveled back to the flat carry position, this is a very easy camera to stow away in a large pocket. Maybe one day, I'll add some of the other models in the series to my collection, but for now, I'm pretty pleased with my $15 camera!