Nikon Coolpix 950 2.1 Megapixel

There is no such thing as a "mint" Coolpix 950 from Nikon. Even if it was brand new in the box, it would still not be "mint".

The main reason is because of the "clock battery" on the internal circuit board which is inaccessible.

The camera was made in 1999 and all of these clock batteries have expired and no longer function as intended. This means that when you set the clock after you turn the camera on, everything works until your AA batteries need to be replaced. When they expire, all of your settings for the camera including time and date are gone. Originally this internal battery, like new digital cameras, would keep your settings as well as the time after you AA's were depleted.

Potentially, this means that even if you bought a brand new digital camera, you will have the same problem in a few years. I guess it's because no one has invented a battery that lasts forever!

The word "mint" implies that everything works. It may have worked for a few years from 1999, but that battery is permanently depleted and can not be recharged.

The camera does work really well with such a small 2.1 mp sensor! It is easy to operate because of limited menus. I bought it to use for taking infrared shots and for a camera not modified or dedicated to infrared, I think it does an excellent job and is no slouch for regular color/b/w images as well! Makes me wonder why the newer digital cameras have so many mega pixels!

Although the body is a magnesium alloy, because of the age of the camera, it is fragile. You may get one with a battery door literally on it's last legs (pegs!!). The battery door gets a lot of use because you have to change batteries often.

I bought four of them recently at ebay. I paid $105 for the first one which was called "mint", $50 for the second one, $30 for the third one and $18 for the last one. They all work. The last one is a junker with the battery door completely off, but it works!! I bought it as a parts camera and hope to use it as a practice camera in case I decided to make one dedicated to infrared. I was able to download the service manual for free. This was helpful in replacing the battery door on the second 950 I bought which I gave away as a Christmas gift.

There is someone here at ebay trying to sell a Coolpix 950 as a buy it now for $500!! It is missing the soft foam hand grip and not even listed as "mint"! Good luck! You might have better luck trying to sell a "mint" caveman hammer (missing handle)!

Overall, I'm very pleased with the camera as well as my experience with ebay!

I also found that the other camera with the same sensor as the Nikon CP 950..the Olympus 2020Z only takes smart media cards. They are no longer made. So, I'm glad I got the CP 950 which takes compact flash cards, which are still made! You can get them up to about 4GB. I got a 2GB and it has plenty of space.

Lithium AA's are not the solution for the Coolpix 950. As soon as the batteries get down to 1.2 volts, the camera no longer functions. Your best bet is nimh rechargeables, but nothing exotic like Eneloops or Annsmans. You'll need the least expensive that can be recharged quickly. Use Eveready nimh batts. If possible, turn off the lcd monitor for a little more life. You could get potentially 50 to 100 shots or more before you have to change batts!

Still a Value

I won't go on and on about these little gems of past, except that they are troopers. 2.1 Megapixels may not sound all that appealing with all of the "big guns" out there now, but for less than $50 on Ebay, you can have a true Nikon JAPAN camera in the sturdy magnesium body. They will last forever if you take care of them, and the only real concern with the whole Coolpix 900 series is the flawed battery door, which was a poor design and can break easily if mishandled or over time..BUT.. I still own 5-6 of these, and they all are still plugging away in fine form. You can buy an easy and ingenious battery door fix frome www. stonepics.com , which will cure all broken battery latches for most of the 900 series; i.e., 900, 950, 990, 995. It simply incorporates a neatly-trimmed metal baseplate and using an (included) panhead screw matching the tripod mount size for about $20. No further problems on that issue, but from design, there is no better means of a fix. This whole series was built to last, and not to down the newbie plastique models made in ...somewhere other than Japan..as Forrest Gump would say, 'that's all I have to say about that'

Nikon Coolpix 995 with WC-E63 wide angle still the best

The Coolpix 950 camera and the WC-E63 wide angle lens were packed well and fast delivery - a great value. Thank you. In my view, the Coolpix 950/995 series are stil better than the "latest and greatest" digital cameras from Nikon, Canon et al - none of them can equal the view of the screw-on wide angle of the WC-E63 without spending over a thousand dollars for the lens alone. It may seem a bit clumsy having to use the external flash bracket for the Nikon Speedlight SB-28DX flash, but it is comfortable to use and easy for hold steady. The Nikon Coolpix 950/995 camera line may be 10 years old, but with the WC-E63, they are still the best in my book for use on construction projects for documentation purposes and most day-to-day shooting! There are extremely few times I need more than 3 MP resolution and 90% of the time I re-size the photos down to 1/3 MP for email (so I can send 20-30 shots in one email under 1 MB) - and the 1/3 MP shots look fantastic on a PC monitor.

Nikon CP950 amateur review

These digital cameras can still bring a good price on the used market and for good reasons.Mainly the Nikkor lenses.Even though they are only 2.1 megapixels,excellent photographs can be taken with practice with the many manual options. Details can be found on the internet from the many reviews. The Auto mode is very capable when plenty of light is available for focusing.
My main interest lies with the many available 28mm lens attachments. I have adapter systems for my telescopes and microscopes. Since it has an internal zoom, this makes these cameras easy to attach for budget astrophotography and microphotography. The one drawback being that the shutter timer is coupled with the macro/focus button. This can be gotten around with either a fabricated shutter release or setting to infinity in manual mode. Will take exposures up to 8 seconds but will have 'noise' at higher ISO settings. Low light focusing has been a problem with these models, but can be done using the manual focus mode.
Don't expect Hubble type images in telescopes but does a decent job on moon and planets with some practice. Does very good in my microscopes using a bit of zoom to avoid vignetting. Images can be taken in several jpeg configurations and also has Tiff capability for the highest resolution. Has both shutter and aperture priority control and many exposure options. The swivel body makes it easy to see the LCD to check focus. Also has video out. Is powered by 4 AA batteries and is a power hog if monitor is used. Expect about an hour of use with LCD screen on. AC adapters are available on the internet for around $10.00.
Nearly all of these models will have battery/card door problems if mishandled. There are several fixes on the internet and my fix was quite simple and works fine.
These digital cameras were state of the art a decade ago and sold for about a $1000. The 950 can be bought for an extremely reasonable price on ebay with patience.
Though a little bulky by todays standards,these cameras still offer a lot of versatility for the amateur. Will allow printouts up to 8" x 10" at highest resolution, but that is pushing the limits. The macro is excellent. For my informal pursuits in astro/microphotography this camera works fairly well at a reasonable cost. The adapters were the major investment.
Overall the lenses override the quirkiness of these Nikons and with the exception of the battery/card door issues,they seem to be durable.

Nikon 950 coolpix camera review....

I recently bought a replacement Nikon 950 coolpix camera as my original finally died. Here's why; Powerful flash...much more than my newer ones in the 3-400 price range, at least. I love the body twist function where I can hold the camera high above my head and see what I'm shooting. But most of all, I love this camera because of the timer function for doing self-portraits which I'm inclined to do for art's sake. The 950, unlike new digital camera's offers the option to keep the timer active after each picture. Nothing to reset like the new camera's. I can set I believe from 1 minute to 5 minutes before it shuts off the camera, and I usually set for 2 minutes, strike a pose, and just hit the button and get into position. Very well made camera. My original has traveled the world with me, experienced extreme climate changes, and probably only stopped working because of this. To see pictures I've taken with the 950; www.JoelJustin.com Go to the photo galleries. Many were taken with the 950, excluding the professional promotional shots for the music business.