Did I buy the worst two Nikon cameras (or are they all this bad?)

[Linda Sands]

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?

[Jeff Dittmar]

I don't know about the Nikon 5000 battery (probably Nikon engineers goofed on the charger because the batteries would presumably come from a variety of suppliers). Nikon has a bad reputation for battery chargers.

But I do know about the Nikon Coolpix battery door latch flaws as I had the Coolpix 2100 which uses the same idiotic design.

Here is a photo of the latch from a clueless reviewer

Here is a photo of the common Nikon engineering flaw the reviewer missed See how a paperclip & superglue were used to fix Nikon's engineering flaw See how a tripod screw & plate were used to fix Nikon's engineering flaw Here is a photo of how Nikon fixed the flaw themselves I would think that Nikon fixes these under a secret warranty for free even after the warranty period has expired.

Does anyone know how to invoke the Nikon secret warranty?

[Jeanette Guire]

Here are a dozen photos showing how I used the advice in this thread to fix my son's Nikon Coolpix 3100 digital camera body which broke at exactly the same spot in all the photographs listed above.

You'll notice nobody said which drill bit to use, nor which dremel bit to use, nor which glue to use - and I think I screwed up in all three but the results still seem to work. It's a bit messy because I use the wrong dremel tool and probably the wrong glue (it melted the camera body a bit).

It's too late for me but does anyone know what the Nikon Coolpix camera bodies are made up of and therefore what glue to use which won't pit the camera body everywhere it touches it wet?

[William Sommerwerck]

flaw

That's REALLY BAD design. The "tongue in slot" lock is common among digital cameras, but the slot is usually a molded space within the camera body -- not a fragile plastic loop projecting from it.

I agree -- a reviewer should have caught this and at least warned potential buyers.

[Jeanette Guire]

Thank you for this kind note. When I googled for this problem, I found that it's a common problem. But I had read the major reviews, e.g., dpreview, and I never saw any mention that this was going to be a disaster.

The folks at dpreview pumped up the camera so much that I now look at dpreview with total distrust.

How can ANYONE trust a reviewer who totally misses the fact the camera will be made senseless within a year of use in almost every case?