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

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.

Reviewers have complained about these flimsy doors so much that it's 
almost an item that they no longer bother mentioning because so many 
cameras have this problem.

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

The 5000 is indeed a very flawed camera. Supposedly the upgrade, the 
5100, solves some of the problems, but not many reviews on it yet. 
Battery life is even worse on the P5100.

The CoolPix 3100 suffers from the usual problem of cameras with AA 
batteries and doors that must hold the batteries against the 
spring-loaded contacts, but with the added disadvantage that it's the 
camera body that breaks, not just the door which can be replaced fairly 
cheaply.

The P5100 seems attractive, especially because it seems to be about the 
cheapest camera with a hot shoe that uses Li-Ion batteries (the G9 is 
much more expensive). However I'd opt for an S5 over the P5100, despite 
the larger size.