Nikon CoolPix 900 (1998)
I distinctly remember my work friends drooling over the Nikon CoolPix 900 when it arrived in 1998, despite my concerns over the durability of the pivoting hinge that split the camera into two parts as a clever way to improve its usability. For $995, it brought with it a 1.25MP sensor snapping images that were 1,260×960 in size, a two-inch LCD display, 3X optical zoom, and a custom mode that allowed for manual adjustments to be made to the shutter speed and f-stop. With the Nikon CoolPix 900, it felt like consumer-level digital cameras were starting to grow up and finally transition out of a period where a novel design or unique features trumped their basic image-capturing capabilities—almost.
