Nikon Coolpix 885 Review

Overall Rating

Good Image Quality, natural color and lighting control.

Hardware quality and software not stable at all. I tried manual mode setting for pictures or too many focus meant camera could not focus and needed to be restarted.
Photo taking speed quite slow.

My Nikon Coolpix 885 digital camera stopped working after 4 days. A system error froze the whole thing. Based on my study for this error on the internet, I just realised that this is a very common error for Nikon Digital Camera 770, 775, 880, 885 and 995. I can say this is an unrecoverable problem.

Some suggestion for this problems are: remove battery and put it back later, change compact flash card, change battery and etc. I tell you, you may luckily temporarily solve, just like my case, system error for 12 times then finally cannot work at all.

Nikon "fixed" it under warranty-it took 2 weeks and was not returned to me. I read a lot of review sites and I found that problems still occur after repair. If anyone is going to buy this camera, Please stop now.

So, for who just bought this camera, sorry lah, you are Unlucky like me and others.
Email me: raymondpkh@hotmail.com

Members' Comments onRaymond Pau.'s Review

• multisync. on 11th Oct 2002

  I wish I had read it before I bought the camera. I am sitting here with a "SYSTEM ERROR" and no way to fix it. I am going to try to get NIKON to make good on this.

• Kerry. on 14th Dec 2002

  "System Error" is such a systemic problem with the 885 (and other cameras) I would suggest to Nikon that they offer an "upgrade/trade-in" option to a non-failing camera series (if they have one!) for us poor unfortunates who purchased this model in good faith.

• Yalcin Aykas. on 22nd Dec 2002

  I met System Error after a 5 months use. It lasted one day, after various battery removal and insertion sequences, it recovered again. Next day I noticed overexposure and focus problems at pictures. Today I've taken a couple of pictures outside, made an exposure adjustment (-2, bottom line), but yielded overexposed pics again. Anybody suggests that a firmware update may help?

• Yoto. on 10th Apr 2003

  System error also happen on my Coolpix 4300.
  I purchase on Dec 2002, and only use few times.
  How bad this equipment.
  Hello Nikon, are you serious to sell good product ?
  
  y_yoto@bdg.centrin.net.id

• JChavez. on 17th Jun 2003

  I had no complaints about the basic operations of this camera, until this System Error showed up. Now after researching on the internet, I wish I hadn't invested in such a poorly supported and poorly functioning camera.

• backflowdave on 31st Mar 2004

  I purchased an 885 in Nov 2001. I took about 14,800 pictures with it. first saw System Error with the lens sticking as it is put away when powered down.
  Battery removal and replacement helped off and on for a year, but it finally died with noise like a rattlesnake buzzing. (Since I live in the Arizona Desert I hear them a lot. This also explains the sand getting in the lens gears.) Now if it starts at all the lens goes all the way in, keeps turning and extnds all the way.
  I took the whole thing apart down to removing the lens as a unit, reset it to closed by turning the motor several thousand turns and reassembled it.
  (Tearing the thing down , even with a manual is a big , long job. I would not do it again unless I had new parts ready to stick in.)
  No change. Still shows error. I replaced it with a 4300. 4300 not as good for close up focus. Have taken about 500 pictures in 3 weeks with it.
  Other than this problem the camera has been good.

• andylong on 3rd Jun 2004

  SYSTEM ERROR FIX
  
  After weeks of messing about looking for fixes to this problem, I was just about to send my camera back to Nikon for repair (probably not cheap). Before doing so, I let one of the techies at work look at it who has managed to fix it :-
  
  
  * Switch camera on in Auto mode with lens in
  * Be brave and force the lens as far in as it will go when it tries to extend.
  * Voila! no more system errors and camera works fine!

• Francis on 27th Aug 2004

  I had the same SYSTEM ERROR with my four year old 885. The lens would not move back into the camera when switched off. After taking out the battery and powering on the lens would move back into the camera then move back out. Tried the technique of holding in the lens when it went to move out which made the camera think the lens cap was on. After several goes at this technique I was about to give up when I tried (in desparation) to pull out the lens when it was fully extended. This seemed to work and the camera's working again. Seems like the lens motor gets stuck or fails to fully extend/retract. Thanks to the last reviewer, was about to throw the camera in the bin. Looks like Nikon won't have many customers in a few years if faults like this keep getting reported....

• kafkaian on 11th Sep 2004

  This camera came up with stuck lenses and system errors from day 1. The retailer I purchased from fobbed me off and after two years of terrible reliablity the thing came to a noisy halt. Nikon UK didn't want to know offering me a pathetic reduction off a 5200 replacement. I have since purchased a Canon G5 which is excellent. After 24 years of loyalty to Nikon, I will be selling all my Nikon SLR equipment and assigning Nikon to the also rans. Their quality is not what it used to be and their arrogance is astounding.