Rating: 
Summary: Great stuff!!
Review: We are using the 990 in a manufacturing setting with great results. We are able to go down to nearly two centimeters on objects that we used to pay $200-$300 for pics from the net. This camera is simply amazing. In addition, new software that can be downloaded into the camera itself makes the manual settings even better. I have been a 35mm film guy for over 15 years. This camera, the 990, has changed all of that. I think the 990 has put us on the threshold of a new era of photography. Throw on the extra lenses and this camera can do almost anything. I recommend it highly. We are using photos for a small trade magazine and even some trade show graphics. While you are unable to produce the much larger scale graphics, this little camera is simply out of this world.
Rating: 
Summary: Nikon Coolpix 990 -- Six Months and Six Thousand Pictures
Review: I bought from Amazon.com and it has paid for itself many times over. I have made over 6,000 photographs with it. I carry plenty of battery and memory (two sets of NiMH AA batteries and a Digipower battery pack), two 32 mb, one 64 mb, and one 80 mb memory card. ON a shooting trip I take about 400 pictures or more per day. Quality is excellent; I have made full page, full bleed color brochures with it. Most of the time I use XGA mode, high quality compression, 400 kilobyte per picture. For pro work I use full size high quality, but still JPEG, 1 megabyte per picture. It is exceptionally well suited to smoothly textured subjects (sky, water, glass) where the lack of grain is paramount. It is somewhat less suited to intricate subjects (forest). The swivel LCD screen makes formerly difficult shots easy (low or high viewing angles). Macro focus is excellent. Color balance and exposure control very good; you will want to edit most of your shots in a good bitmap editor (Corel Photopaint for instance) to rotate upright and equalize color. You can also apply a "film-like" s-curve adjustment to make it look just like film if you wish.
Rating:
Summary: Great Colors!
Review: I recently returned a Sony F505v because the pictures looked washed out by background colors. I have had the 990 for 2 days now and can tell you the colors are simply vibrant. The focusing is better, and when set on "A" the camera does everything itself and the pics are wonderful. I haven't been able to figure out if the movies can be recorded with sound so if anyone knows how to get noise with the movie files I would appreciate it. Other than the lack of sound, the batteries are a bit more of a hassle than the ones that went into the Sony because it came with a Lithium Ion powerpack. I purchase Nickel Metal rechargables and expect that it will be ok. Please tell me how to turn on the sound somebody!
Rating: 
Summary: nikon blows
Review: three hours after starting to download pictures to my computer i am still waiting for support from nikon. i was told to download a necessary patch, call back in two days, then kevin in tech support hung up on me. i am appalled at nikon's arrogance. they sell a thousand dollar camera without an a/c adapter, without functioning software, and without technical support. this camera is for the sadomasochist. buy kodak, olympus, anything but nikon, in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great digital camera with few drawbacks
Review: While I have followed the emergence of digital cameras with interest over the last few years, I have to admit that one concern/requirement ultimately convinced me that the purchase of a digital camera made sense: the availability of 3 MegaPixel resolution cameras. The resolution of pictures taken with a Nikon Coolpix 990 is indeed extremely high. This camera has three "resolution levels." I usually use the middle level: the "Normal" mode. The resolution of pictures taken in this mode is very, very good. I would not hesitate to make 8" by 6" prints of such pictures. Rarely do I use the "Fine" mode (there is really no reason to use it in my view). In the "Normal" mode, I believe that I get about 20-25 pictures on my memory card. For my purposes that is adequate. Of course, my initial approach has proven too simplistic: there are other factors (other than resolution alone) that you should consider before buying a digital camera! If are thinking of buying a digital camera to photograph subjects that move quickly and erratically (such as a young child), you will soon realize that taking digital pictures is not ideal. While I understand that the Nikon is relatively quick compared to other digital cameras, it still takes a fraction of a second to actually "take" the picture after pressing the button. So you end up with a lot failed pictures that would have been great if taken with a conventional camera. The menu (for deleting pictures and other functions) is very intuitive and I believe it allows even those of us who don't read the owners manual cover-to-cover (like me) to get a lot out of the camera. I have one problem with the camera that is of a more serious nature: often I take a picture that will cause the camera to "crash" when downloaded or viewed on the display (I often use the useful "slide show" feature). It generates an error message and so far hasn't affected the other pictures on the memory card (but I have not been able to recover the subject picture). I don't know if this is a problem with the memory card or with the camera - but it is annoying. Without this problem, I would have given this camera a 5 star rating... I like the ergonomics of this camera and it feels like it's solidly constructed. Rechargeable batteries (AA) are the way to go (they last surprisingly long). Knowing this camera's features and limitations, I would still buy this camera again...
Rating:
Summary: Best of what is out there now
Review: I have had this camera for 6 months, and I must say, it has changed the way I think about digital cameras. I have used nothing but 35mm until now. The download to the computer is fast and easy, but you have to have Windows 98 or newer (to support USB). -image manipulation in anything but HI (TIFF format) will cause moderate to severe resolution reduction -flash is mediocre YOU WILL NEED: a rechargeable battery kit with 4 AA's, and a bigger memeory chip (64mb is more than adequate for my needs). Hey- no one said this hobby was cheap!
Rating:
Summary: cooooooool
Review: I bought this camera six months ago and love it . I use sand-disk to transfer to my computer, it prints out 22x28 pictures with no adjustments using epson 9000 printer. note--you need 600 ram on your computer.
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Summary: Coolpix 990 & batteries
Review: Keep plenty of batteries around. This camera uses a lot of them!
Rating:
Summary: Even better than my old 950
Review: I too love my 990. I bought it to replace my 950 which was a wonderful camera. I agree with others that the 990's menu system takes some time to master if you really want to maximize the potential of this camera. You can use the auto mode to take great pictures right out of the box though. This camera, just like the 950 is a hog for batteries. I like the fact that I can carry regular AA batteries as an emergency backup, but better yet, get two sets of rechargeables. I use the camera to take "crude" pictures of radiographs and intraoperative pictures. The ability to select for light source makes this much easier. It does a very good job for the radiographs and takes excellent surgical pictures (great color accuracy). The flash unit is fairly weak so consider trying to get the elusive external flash adapter (hard to find in stock). That's my only complaint with these Nikon digital cameras. The accessories are sometimes very hard to get.
Rating:
Summary: Instructions need work!
Review: The camera is a wonder! Unfortunately the instruction manual was recently translated from the original Japanese and is a mess. Nikon really needs to get a real pro tech writer to do justice to this fine piece of equipment. The instructions regarding PC set-up are non-existent. There may be a quick and easy way to get all the pictures transferred from the camera to the PC, but if there is it is not mentioned anywhere in either the manual or the accompanying CD. I'm sure I'll be able to work out how to do things, over time, but it would be so much more satisfying not to have to fight the translation. Don Nolen
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