This unusual breed of cameras introduced a split body in which the part holding the lens swivels 270° against a rigid section that holds the LCD screen and main controls. The range started with the Coolpix 900 with 1.2mp and quickly progressed through the 950 (2.1mp), 990 (3.34mp), 995 (3.34mp) and so to the top-of-the-range Cooplpix 4500, with a 4mp CCD sensor.

 

The 4500 has an all-metal body and is smaller and narrower than previous models. The 1.5-inch LCD panel on the back is small but adequate. A 7.85-32mm f/2.6-5.1 Nikkor lens, 16 scene exposure modes, pop-up flash, macro setting and five-area autofocus functions are all part of the spec which records JPG and TIFF files on Compact Flash cards.

 

Pictured (above left to right) are the Coolpix 900, 950, 990, 995 and 4500. The picture (right) was taken with a Coolpix 4500. The picture (below) was taken with a Coolpix 990