Nikon CoolPix 950

Fortunately, the rest of the CoolPix 950's ergonomics are up to scratch. It feels solidly built and, like its predecessor the CoolPix 900 (reviewed issue 48, p164), the 950 is split into two halves with a joint in the centre. This allows the 3x zoom lens (38-115mm equivalent), optical viewfinder and flash to be rotated independently of the main camera body, which houses a decent 2in TFT screen. It may sound gimmicky but the design means you don't need to crouch, contort your body or crane your neck in order to take pictures from different angles, and it makes overhead shots particularly straightforward.

When it comes to transferring the images to your PC using the 115Kbits/sec serial link, the CoolPix 950 does its best to thwart you. Quite apart from the fact that it doesn't support TWAIN, I found that the supplied NikonView software, which works by mounting the camera as a virtual drive in the Windows Explorer, worked intermittently at best. I only managed to download one image at a time before having to restart the software and re-establish the connection, which was really annoying. At least the inclusion of a copy of Adobe Photoshop 5 LE goes some way to redeeming the situation.

This problem, and the camera's over-fiddly controls mar what is otherwise a high-quality digital camera. Image quality is only bettered by Canon's Powershot Pro 70, which costs considerably more than the £681 Nikon. It's also well built and boasts more features and adjustments than you can shake a stick at.

Author: Jonathan Bray