HISTORY OF THIS CAMERA
My professional and private background is all about electronics, audio and 'The Arts' but NOT really photography! My photographs on this website will atest to that!
Over the years, I seem to have gathered together a bunch of strange camera's (some are odd looking) and instead of sitting in a plastic box under the house (which had the lid on! although I know this is not the ideal environment for a camera!) I am seeking someone who may find a use for this camera (display, spare parts or heaven's forbid - use it!)
I am not a photography enthusiast so this camera is offered as-is (described to the best of my abilities below)
In our professional capacity we worked with some broadcast Betacam video gear and these domestic market film & early digital camera's seemed to have come into my hands as well - I really have very little interest in old camera's.
Actually I have a number of camera's (all digital still or video types plus a number of different chargers etc) I am sorting out and testing (if I can) ... keep an eye out for more camera's (and some related accessories) here ...
I offer the description below as best I can but this camera MAY have a fault(s) or the lens system could be dirty (I am not prepared or knowledgeable enough to evaluate the optics)
I am not even sure anyone is interested in old camera's but I am very big on sustainability and if this fits into someone's museum of photography or even spare parts for other Nikon's this would please me greatly.
PLEASE read the description completely and decide if this camera may be of interest to you.
There are no returns or refunds offered, this is second hand and offered 'as-is"
I have described this NIKON as 'funky' because it has this unusual (to me anyway) twisting action, as though the camera has two halves horizontally, one half is rotateable in relation to the other half.
I guess this could give more flexibility to the camera user when setting up the shot.
NIKON Camera
Technology: Early digital electronics
Early 2000's release to the market
Model: CoolPix 990 (also on the base E990)
Printing on the body indicates this is a 3.34 Megapixel camera
Made in Japan (metallic label on the camera 'underside')
NO carry case could be found
Lens cap is present
Weight: 450g (without batteries loaded) - much much lighter than the Ricoh I had listed a few days ago
Nice comfortable 'easy to hold' size
Dimensions: 145mm wide x 60mm front to back and 90mm high
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Clean
NO camera body damage at all, but a couple of 'scuff' marks here and there - nothing bad and not deep scratching.
I checked the battery compartment (which opens fine) and the contacts inside look clean and shiny
NO batteries are supplied with the camera, I just used my own AA batteries for testing - you need 4 of those batteries
I looked through the viewfinder and I get a nice clear framing of the scene I am looking at although this can't be 'through the lens' as I still had the lens cap on!
I examined the front of the lens, no fogginess or fungal growth noticed but I am no expert on optics.
I also checked the two screens, one at the rear and a smaller screen on the top and cannot see any physical damage/spotting or cracks to either.
NO issues noticed with the 'user access ports' such as opening the backdoor to access the battery compartment or for external connections to equipment.
The 'twist' rotatable action of the camera works fine, no sticking or reluctance to move
TESTING:
Until today I had not used this camera, please excuse the obvious 'newbie' aspects of my description.
First I grabbed the same batteries I had used to test the Ricoh cameras I had, they are AA rechargeables (1.3V fully charged each), inserted them and turned the knob on the top until something happened! I had NO lit up monitor screen in top switch positions at all - DEAD!
Ok, I had heard these old cameras can be fussy about the battery type and changed them over for 'normal' AA which are 1.6V each. Again I turned it on (Position A and PLAY) and hey presto! It's alive! But then it tells me, insert a memory card! Geez!
I again used a 2Gb CF card I keep here for my audio gear and inserted it - now we are in business!
Just one thing that I felt was weird - with the CF card inserted, the little 'door' cannot close because of the EJECT button sticking up - I presume that is 'normal' (even though the card insert area is now not covered) because if I try to push the door shut, it releases the card! Back to having no card inserted!
*** Solved! *** the EJECT button tilts sideways so it will not obstruct the door - problem fixed!
Anyway I then went to the SETUP menu, looked at the various choices - it's looks as though this camera also takes video as it has choices of NTSC or PAL format. After setting up a few things (and all selections worked fine), I then exited from setup and I can see the photograph about to be taken 'thru the lens' on the rear monitor screen - I like this, much better than the Ricohs I played around with.
During this time I also noticed the smaller top screen is showing me battery condition and various other things - I don't know what those 'other things' are but appear to be related to the storage space left on the CF card, date time etc - most importantly (to me) there are NO errors showing.
It is night time here, although I found the ability of the camera optics to deal with low light levels was pretty good (didn't drop into a horrible grainy mess) and more importantly I was looking for imperfections in the scene displayed on the monitor screen - NONE OBSERVED! Very nice (and again, a much better screen resolution that the older Ricoh's I have played with).
I was a little put off by this peculiar faint/whirring and movement I could feel in my hand through the camera body as I moved the camera around and then 'the light came on!' as I realised this is the camera continously altering settings for the different light levels as I moved around! Doh!
I also checked the manual ZOOM control, all fine here - it has an audible whirring too but it works smoothly and completely.
Next I took a number of photographs (I did not even touch the video if it does indeed have this) and I was greeted with nice pictures on the rear monitor screen which appeared well flooded with light by the built-in automatic flash unit.
The photographs look fine, nothing startling but after almost 25 years since it's release this NIKON still does what it is supposed to do without any fuss.
One thing I do NOT have is any cables to suit, I would have liked to 'dump' the photographs onto a PC and look at them closely but alas it is not to be.
So in summary, it's a funky little camera that is just a bit different to others of it's time and it appears to be functioning fine - if it is for your 'digital museium' or you may actually want to use it! It is a nice little camera (if camera's are your 'thing')
Since checking out the camera I have now sealed it in plastic, to at least keep it in the present condition and it is our spare room, which has a controlled temperature environment so the overall condition should not deteriote further.
