Rating: 
Summary: Excellent pictures lead to great prints
Review: This is a fantastic camera. I routinely use the second or third highest resolution setting and I am able to take pictures that have excellent detail and color. My preferences are close-up shots and panoramic views and this camera excels at both. The 3.34 megapixels is more than sufficient to print off non-pixelated 8x10 photos from my Canon s900 photo printer (also very good). I've used this camera at night to get some good city-scapes (especially considering that I don't have a tripod) and for shots ranging from dreary days in Ireland to sunny mornings in Santa Fe and the camera is great.I picked the brains of camera-philes before purchasing my digicam and Nikon was repeatedly recommended as one of the best cameras in the price range, regardless of extra features (Sony) and higher pixel concentrations (Olympus, HP, Epson). That advice proved correct. If you can't find this model, look into the CoolPix 4500, which is essentially the 990's replacement.
Rating: 
Summary: Nikon 990
Review: Overall I love this camera and would recommend it, especially considering the price you can get one for now. However, here are the cons:
1) Red-eye problems. Nearly every flash photo has red-eye. I have read that this is because the flash is too close to the lense. However, fixing red-eye on your computer is easy, so it's a tolerable defect.
2) Although the camera body rotates, it's not quite as user-friendly as the flip screen that rotates in any direction on the Canon G-2.
3) Resolution. I always shoot on "fine", but still end up with some photos that I'm not crazy about the resolution. Pictures with lots of detail turn out great, but where there is less detail, you end up seeing the little dots. Although people say a 3.0 megapixel camera approaches film quality, I disagree. I see the pixelation even on 4X6 prints. Conclusion: I'll continue to use (and love) my Nikon 990 until I save enough to replace with a 4-5 megapixel camera like the Canon G-3 or Nikon 5000.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I purchased the 990 as soon as it hit the stores and on-line and have been using it eversince. I have taken pictures in the Lower 48, Alaska, New Zealand, Australia, and Thailand in all kinds of tempertures and humidities and have had no problems what so ever! I have even bounced it off the bottom of a boat with no damage thanks to its metal body.
So far I have taken almost 5,000 pictures and the only problem experienced was when I failed to remove the lense cover.
It excells at all distances from a flower at one inch to the moon. OUTSTANDING!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great in *most* situations, poor in others
Review: In daylight, you can get excellant quality photos, but in dim light, it is impossible to get sharp shots without a tripod. Raising the ISO to anything over 100 will result in lots of ugly noise in the photo. The built in flash is horrible. It is good to use as a fill flash in outdoor shadows, but will give poor results as a stand alone flash indoors. For good indoor shots, I have found the best results using a tripod and the "slow sync" flash mode. The shutter speed will be very slow, so any movement of the subject will result in blur. Again, dim light is this camera's biggest fault. It will ALWAYS set a SLOW shutter speed, making it impossible to hand hold the camera. Manually setting a faster speed such as 1/30 will not work, because the camera cannot set a large enough f-stop to allow a proper exposure. So, in the right conditions, the 990 can take perfect photos, but in night or indoor situations, you will have to really make some carefull settings and use a tripod to get good results. The macro mode is FANTASTIC. It will take stunning close up shots. I really think that is this camera's greatest asset. The rotating head makes taking close ups in ackward positions a breeze. Another couple negatives though, the monitor is impossible to see in bright sunlight, turn it off to save power and use the viewfinder. This brings up the second negative, if you have an accessory lens attached to the head, it will block out your view through the viewfinder. It looks like Nikon has addressed lots of these problems with the new Cool Pix 5700. I suggest you spend just a little more money and get the 5700, (with lots more zoom and over 5 megapixels), instead of the 990 / 995.
Rating:
Summary: TWO YEARS - 990 is still COOL
Review: Have had this camera 2 full years now, this is a follow up
review! I have been researching cameras again and do not
plan to upgrade. The 990 is a great machine for
all serious photographers. Instead of upgrading to a new
camera - I plan to add accessories for the 990.
Do not hesitate to buy the 990, purchase rechargeable batterys and a 128 mb card along with your camera.
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