From: cptomes (cptomes_at_antispamdomain.not)
Date: Wed Aug 20 2003 - 16:03:30 EDT
So the loaner camera turned out to be a 3100. Since the shop had no
battery for it, they gave me two packages of Kodak AA batteries.
Each set of 2 batteries (two sets per package) lasted about 50
shots. It was usable, but after swapping the batteries twice I got
tired of managing the batteries. That was a month ago, and I had
used up all the batteries they had given me and was unwilling to buy
any more. Last weekend I had a motorcycle event I had to shoot, and
so I bought Energizer CRV3 "lithium" batteries, one lasted for over
120 shots and the camera was still going on that battery. I returned
the batteries to the shop when I returned the camera since I have no
other devices that take them.
The repair tag from Nikon shows precisely the same words as the first
one. Replaced lens barrel assembly, adjusted and reset everything.
Looks to me like either Nikon isn't telling me what they actually
did, or they have a quality control problem on lens assemblies. Not
a good sign from a company supposedly building some of the best
lenses in the world. I still think they have a software problem that
allows the lens to get in an unrecoverable condition, then either
damages something or fails the POST every time it tries to power on.
I now have to shoot ~400 pics (the mtbf for my camera...) before 9/23
to see if I can get it to fail in time to do another return to Nikon
before my trip to DC for Thanksgiving. At least I have the
reassurance that if it fails the same way Nikon will replace it. I
suppose they could "find" that it has failed in a different manner
and refuse to replace it the next time.
Nikon is a professional hardware vendor playing in a consumer market,
with a new technology that is more software-intensive than their
previous products. Their competition understands what consumers
want, and what they don't want. Somehow Nikon has lost sight of that
concept. Nikon lets their dealers suck up the costs of customer
relations (loaner cameras, batteries for said loaner since it takes
different batteries) and coasts along on the fast-dwindling brand
recognition and respect built over decades.
I am not a pro, I have no loyalty to the Nikon name, and have no
problem walking away from this camera if it turns out that Nikon is
essentially ignoring the small numbers of Coolpix owners with
problems and focusing on the rave reviews their cameras are getting.
I took two rolls of 35mm last weekend that I should not have, solely
because I didn't trust the digital camera to crap out on me and
possibly take out the images on the CF card. I need to trust the
equipment I have. If I can't trust it to work when I pick it up it's
not worth having.
--- In NikonCoolPix_.at._yahoogroups.com, "cptomes" <cptomes_.at._h...> wrote:
> I had a problem back in April when my Coolpix went into "system
> error" mode while shooting. The camera went back to Nikon and
> returned 6 weeks later. The repair tag said that they
disassembled,
> cleaned the camera, and replaced the lens barrel.
>
> Last night, I was shooting sky/sunset/rainbow pictures and it
> happened again. This time it said "remove lens cap" even though I
> had been shooting seconds before, and the lens was out! Then it
> showed "system error". Nothing would clear it. I boxed it up and
it
> was returned to the local dealer today in anticipation of another 6
> weeks of Nikon service. The manager at the shop put a battery and
> flash card in it and it worked! I'm getting a 2100 for the time
> being (he's going to work out the details with the Nikon rep today)
> but I'm getting really tired of this.
>
> If Nikon wants to blow their reputation trying to compete on price
> with the rest of the consumer electronics giants, fine. That's
> exactly what they have done in my opinion. If the 4300 series (or
> apparently, most of the small chassis Coolpix cameras) have a
problem
> and randomly go into "system error" mode, they have a serious
design
> problem and they need to step back and address it. Maybe the
> 2100/3100 chassis is the "new" small chassis style and a
replacement
> for the 4300 is in the works. Given that the 4300 is relatively
new,
> I don't see that happening for a while.
>
> I told the manager that I really don't want this camera back. I
> either want a different 4300, or some other camera model. I like
the
> pictures it takes, and I like the features of this camera, but the
> spotty reliability is unacceptable. In contrast, the Sony mini-DV
> camcorder I have used has been flawless. How is it that a device
> with many more moving parts, including an optical zoom autofocus
lens
> assembly, is more reliable than this camera? I've been looking at
> the Sony still camera that burns 3" CD-R discs and it's still in
the
> running since this camera keeps crapping out.
>
> Once again, I have a family event that I'm not going to be able to
> use my camera for. This time it's my daughter's 2nd birthday party
> on Saturday. If I don't have a usable digital camera in my hands
by
> Friday night Nikon is out of the running for all future purchases
in
> my family. All I can do is vote with my dollars and let people
know
> what my experiences have been.
>
> When Nikon responds I will post the results.
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