Subj : My retro fascination
To   : poindexter FORTRAN
From : Xandiraud
Date : Thu Dec 09 2021 07:38:34

  Re: My retro fascination
  By: poindexter FORTRAN to All on Sat Jul 17 2021 07:01 am

 > I charged the batteries up in my Nikon Coolpix 995, that camera that Nikon
 > released in 2001, with the body that swivels in the middle?
 > 
 > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_Coolpix_995
 > 
 > 2.11 megapixels (if that), full manual controls, an optical viewfinder,
 > filter ring that let you screw in a neutral density, polarizer or UV filter,
 > or a wide-angle attachment. Shoots on old-school compact flash cards.
 > 
 > I picked up mine a couple of years ago in mint condition.
 > 
 > I love having complete control over the exposure, and I grew up with optical
 > viewfinders. While this one isn't the biggest, it's great in bright light,
 > where I hate composing a photo using a viewscreen.
 > 
 > I used to get my retro fix shooting 35mm film SLRs, but with the demise of
 > one of my favorite (read: cheap) online film processors, I haven't been
 > tempted to take them out. The 995 gives me all of the control I'd have with
 > a film camera, but saves me the processing cost.
 > 
 > What I'd really like is a pocketable camera with manual controls and a fast
 > non-zoom lens, like the Ricohs. That would come close to shooting with my
 > Canon FTb with a 50mm lens.
 > 
 > I'm going to take it out shooting to an old-school beach boardwalk tomorrow,
 > we'll see how that turns out.
 > 
 > 
 > ... Mechanicalise something idiosyncratic

The Coolpix 995 is a great digital camera. For the 2.11 megapixels it provides,
it always had great colour balance and takes great photos. I pretty much only
use optical view finders when composing shots, and like you said, it's not the
largest viewfinder (at approx. 85% viewing area) but it's good enough with a
bit of practice. 

I made good use of the manual controls, and with the skills I learnt from
using my 35mm Voigtlander Vito II film camera, the Coolpix doesn't disappoint.

Another thing that I'm yet to find on any non-DSLR digital camera is a
threaded lens filter ring. Although it uses a pretty small thread (I think it's
18mm or 22mm), I made good use of coloured lens and various filters like you've
mentioned on it when I go out and do some B&W digital photography in-camera,
without post-processing. It always yielded great results :)  For a 20 year old
camera, it does a great job.

Regards,
Xandiraud
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