On 2007-10-11 09:43:30 -0700, Linda Sands said:

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 is a good brand name and Costco is okay, but Costco does not
carry Nikon's best cameras and Nikon's point & shoot cameras are not
special. However, you should see the *really* fragile junk put out by
the likes of Fuji and Minolta. Fujis are notorious for the slightest
moisture, even condensation or breathing on the camera, causing
irreparable damage. They also are extremely sensitive to heat, to the
point where you cannot use lithium batteries in them. Minolta point and
shoots tended to be just flimsy.


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.

The reviewers didn't miss it. It is just that flimsy battery doors are
so common that they are considered normal. It is one reason that Apple
did not put one on the iPhone. Camera battery doors (and memory card
doors) are usually cheap pieces of junk. It does not get better with
the expensive DSLRs. You can buy a $5000 DSLR and not only will it have
an easily broken memory card door, it will have external contacts for
shutter release and the like covered by a little plastic button that
has to be completely removed when the contact is in use. These buttons
are usually lost very quickly. And let us not even get started on
flimsy lens hoods. I have replaced several on my Nikon lenses. One lens
in particular, the 18-200 mm VR, is now on its fourth lens hood. That
one is broken, too.


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.

Your charger is bad, or you are using third party batteries, probably
from Best Buy or Ritz. These are made in China. In my opinion, they
make good fire starters.


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?

Many Nikon fans suspect that the entire Coolpix line is a sham. Nikon
does nothing outstanding there. Just a whole bunch of me-too cameras
with average features, performance and build quality.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor