On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:43:30 -0700, Linda Sands
wrote:

I thought Nikon was a good brand name so I bought from Costco two Nikon
cameras over the years - both of which have been fraught with failure. I
even read the reviews before I bought which never mentioned that these
Nikon cameras were pieces of ... well ... you know. They don't work.

Nikon replaced my Coolpix 3100 once under warranty and then it broke about
a year or so later. Same spot. The battery latch door has a flimsy loop of
plastic which eventually snaps off necessitating the entire body being
swapped out at the factory. I can't believe they made the Coolpix series to
break like that but there's no way it can't break, it's so badly designed.
A kindergarten kid could recognize the flaw from the outside just by
looking at it. Yet the reviewers all missed it.

I figured this was a fluke until I bought the Nikon Coolpix 5000.

I bought the Nikon Coolpix 5000 because the reviewers said it was sturdy,
having a METAL body. Whew. No more broken flimsy plastic battery doors, I
thought. Wrong. My Nikon Coolpix 5000 died often, but this time it was the
battery itself. After three or four or five batteries, I gave up, since the
replacement batteries would end up costing more than the camera was worth.
That Nikon Coolpix EATS up batteries! They worked fine for the first six
months or so. But then they died like they were placed on a charcoal fire.
I ended up having to leave the batteries on the charger because they'd have
nothing left in them after two or three days, they were so bad. After a
while, I couldn't get a dozen pictures out of the camera even hot off the
charger, .before the battery died.

Funny thing, a friend has the Nikon D50 and he says it works fine. The
battery lasts days and the battery door hasn't fallen off yet.

What gives? Did I happen to buy the two worst Nikon cameras on the planet
or did the reviewer miss a biggie or is my experience just a fluke or does
Costco only sell the Nikons that nobody wants but the reviewers don't know
that or is the entire Nikon Coolpix lineup a sham ... or what?

Costco is not going to carry higher end cameras. There is a dividing
line between consumer and pro-sumer cameras. The CP5000 that I had
operated perfectly for over four years on the original set of three
Li-Ion batteries. I also had a Nikon CP990 that had similar success.
Currently, I have a P5000 with a Nikon battery and a Delkin battery
clone battery of the Nikon. The first Delkin was DOA--would not take
a charge. Second one has been fine. Total time so far on camera and
batteries is about one year and 900 pix. My DSLR is Nikon D1x with
two spare batteries. These work perfectly and so do the chargers for
either camera. D1x has taken about 1800 pix...no problems.

One feature that really eats battery life is reviewing pix on the LCD.
It is indeed handy at times but is best done after transfer to
notebook PC.

I like the hot shoe feature and use a Nikon SB-400 on the P5000.
Works great.



Kiss French. Drink California.

gary at gaugler dot com