Nikon CoolPix 950 Tips and Information

This page is primarily an index to CP950 information on other Web sites. The Digital Photography Review forum, in particular, is THE place to go for the latest CP950 info, but lacks an index or search capability.

There is also an online user's guide which is better than trying to use the PDF file that comes with the camera.

The best way to search THIS index page is using your brower's Find menu.
(Try pressing Ctrl-F.)

When you click on a link on this page, it will bring it up in a new window so that this index remains available.

Please email me if any of the links on this page quit working OR
if you have links to add to this page, but...

PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL QUESTIONS TO ME. I am just a poor ignorant user who has simply pulled together a list of resources. The best place to ask for help is at The Digital Photography Review forum.

Hardware/Accessories
Software
Problems & Tips
Photo Collections & Picture-Of-The-Day Sites
Photo Storage & Web Hosting -- Free
Merchants

Nikon 990 Preview

Hardware/Accessories

AC Adapter
Batteries
- NiMH batteries should NOT be drained before charging.
- Recommended batteries and chargers
- Battery charge indicator inaccurate
- Battery pack worthwhile?
CD-RW Drives & Media
CF Cards:
- Discussion
- Lexar and Jump Shot cable
- Where to buy?
- Copy files to CF card?
- Storing files from CF card without a computer.
CoolPack discussion
Filters
- If the lens gets scratched, Nikon will charge $150 to replace it. This makes leaving a UV filter on look like a real good idea. Some companies only sell 37mm filters with step-up adapters for the 28mm CP950 lens. Getting a 28mm filter would be preferable. For one thing, the 37mm filters will block the optical viewfinder.
- 28mm filters, also step-up adapters (from www.ckcpower.com)
- 28mm filters from www.2filter.com
- Filter pack from CKCPower
- Purpose of filters in digital photography
Fisheye Lens
- Best price(?)
Flashes (Also see Merchants, below.)
- WARNING: some external flashes can damage the CP950!!
- CP950-compatible flashes
- Sites with lots of flash info:
- Bracketing flash picture exposures.
- Studio flash use
ISO settings (def=100, +1=160, +2=320)
Lens Cap:
- Lens Cap Hinge
- Lens Cap Tie-Downs
- Lens Cap Tie-Downs II
- More Ideas
- Lens Cap Replacement (In case you didn't read one of the above links in time.)
- Free Do-It-Yourself Lens Cap
Lens Cleaning
Picture Displayers ("Digital Picture Frames")
Printers/Printing:
- Best photos printers?
- Fading prints
- Photo printer forum
- Printer reviews
Shutter Release Cable
Shutter Release and Flash Bracket
Slide/Negative Copiers:
- DRCANNON
- PhotoSolve
- Happenstance
LCD Cleaning
LCD Sun Shade
- DRCANNON
- Extend-A-View
- Forum discussion
- Reviews of several shades
Telephotos, Telescopes
- EagleEye 5x
- Zeiss 6x
- Kenko 8x and Celestron supplier
- Kenko: Cheaper alternative? (What about adapter?)
- Focusing the Kenko
- Taking pictures with the Kenko 8x32
- Taking pictures with the Kenko 8x32, II
- Taking pictures with the Kenko 8x32, III
- Telephoto lens stabilizer
- Telephoto lens stabilizer (coat hanger solution)
- 300MM Doubler
Timelapse Exposure Control
Underwater housing for CP950
- Ikelite (Warning: price is $950!!)
- Discussion
- EwaMarine
- DiscountDivers
UV Filter & Step-Up Adapter
Tripod recommendation
Wide-Angle Lens
- Opinions of quality
Wrist Straps

Software

For Control of CP950 (e.g.: for time lapse, etc.)
For Fixing Up Pictures
For Making Animations
- Animator9 -- freeware download; highly recommended.
- Framer -- freeware download
- Forum discussion.
For Making ("Stitching") V.R./Panorama Files
- Forum discussion
- The IPIX Software that comes with the 950 and alternatives
- Panavue -- the software that I use.
Other
- Reviews of many programs
- Photo Software download page.

Problems & Tips

Action photography
Action photography, II
AF Mode problem
Aquarium photography
Art (Oil Paintings) photography
Astrophotography
Barrel distortion
Blurred Pictures
Camera won't shut off -- open & close the battery door.
CF door won't stay closed.
CF door fixed on later models
Compression of pictures
Date/Time stamp pictures?
The 950 does not have this feature.
Date/Time can be added to a picture with photo-editing software.
Depth of field
Eye photography
Flash metering
Flash won't go off.
Grip came unglued.
Infrared Photography
Infrared Fisheye
Lens settings. / Camera zooms out all the way when turned on.
Finding nodal point of lenses for panoramas
Finding Firmware version number
Fisheye matrix metering
Leveling the camera
Lunar eclipse photography tips
Macro Photography
- Manual focus in macro mode
- More manual focus discussion
- Water droplet photographing
- Extreme close-up with a lupe
Moving water, getting right amount of blur.
Night Photography
- Subject in foreground needs flash, background needs long exposure --
  - Use the "SLOW" flash mode on CP950.
  - If that doesn't work, take separate pictures of subject and of background and combine them in a photo program such as Paint Shop Pro.
- Fireworks photography
- Low-light focus problem
- Low-light focus problem II
- Low-light focusing with laser pointer
Panoramas:
- Making hand-held panoramas with a wide-angle lens.
- Making hand-held panoramas with a fisheye lens.
- Panoramas done with a Kenko 8x32 lens!
- Panoramas done with a monopod
- Lots of info about making panorama files
- Sample hand-held panoramas
- Tripod heads for making panoramas
- Tripod heads for making panoramas, homemade
- Tripod heads for making panoramas, homemade, II
- More panorama links
"Play" (picture viewing) won't work
Pause button
Photo Paper
Printing resolution of CP950
Printing: RGB vs CYMK?
Portrait Tips
Portrait Tips, II
Red-eye problem
- Use an external flash. (See Flash under Tips, above.)
- Build a flash deflector
- Fix it in PhotoShop
- Fix it in PhotoShop, II
- Quick-and-easy fix
Resolution - comparing image quality
Resolution - 4 Megapixel vs. 7 Megapixel
Sharpness of Picture
Shutter Priority - can't set it
Shutter Priority - can't change it
Shutter speed maximum
Snow -- getting colors right
Sports Photography
Sports Photography II
Sunsets
Sunsets II
Sunsets III
Temperature's effect on picture quality/noise
Terminology, Digital Photography
Tiff versus JPEG Fine versus JPEG Normal
TV Hookup
User Settings

Photo Collections & Picture-Of-The-Day Sites

Photo Storage & Web Hosting -- Free

How to set up customized photo pages
Reviews of photo storage/printing sites
PhotoZone
New York Institute of Photography
Online Photo Printers
- Ofoto.com -- up to 50MB. Prints: 1st 100 4"x6" prints free, then $.49/4x6, $.99/5x7, $2.99/8x10. Slow uploading. Limited storage.
- Shutterfly.com -- first 150 prints free.
- Zing.Com -- unlimited storage. Easy uploading.
- PhotoBase
- Photoaccess.com -- 1st 150 prints free. Easy uploading.
- GatherRound -- supports scrollable panoramas using a special version of PhotoVista software (quality is poor). Storage: 50MB max.
- Club Photo
- Excite.Com Photo Center
- EZPrints
- Kodak
- HP
- Images.com
- PalmerDigital -- advertises up to 20" by 20" prints.
- PhotoPoint
- Printroom.com
Free Web Hosting/Storage
- X-Drive -- 25MB limit
- XOOM -- unlimited