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Nikon Coolpix 995

Digital camera

Review The last Coolpix model we reviewed didn't fare too well. However, it seems Nikon may have listened to our criticisms because the 995 irons out some of the problems we had with its predecessor.

There are some minor changes on the hardware, but the unique swivel chassis remains the same. Nikon has split the camera, so you can take shots through a 275-degree rotation. The built-in flash on the previous model had a tendency to produce red-eye, so this time round you get a pop-up flash.

Also gone are the four inadequate AA batteries in favour of a large lithium-ion one, giving longer life and, thanks to the charger, less cost. At 390g the Coolpix 995 is still heavy, but all this extra weight does add up to a meaty camera.

Because the 3.34Mp (megapixel) CCD (charge-coupled device) offers an extremely high resolution, you can only store ten top-quality shots on the 16MB CompactFlash card. You can drop down to 640x480 to hold 220 shots but, at this setting, the images can only be used for display on the Web or email.

The high-res shots we took, on the other hand, were brilliantly detailed and vividly coloured. And if you're unhappy with the photo there's an immediate shot review, so you can delete them without having to flip to Playback mode.

Few digital cameras have good zoom capabilities, but the 4x optical and 4x digital zoom are impressive. The variety of manual adjustments makes it tricky to master, but superb results are possible. Our only concern was the loud motor.

The Coolpix 995 is a high-end camera with a price to match, hence it hasn't secured a place on our 'recommended' list. But for more experienced photographers who can pay a bit more and are willing to exploit the high functionality for the best results, this is a great choice. ®

Info

Price: £660.00
Contact: 0800 230 220
Website: www.nikon.co.uk

Specs

Megapixels: 3.34Mp
CompactFlash card: 16MB
Battery: lithium-ion
Dimensions: 138x40x82mm
Weight: 390g
Warranty: one-year return to base

Scoring

Build quality: 8
Features: 9
Performance: 9

All details correct at time of publication.

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