Nikon Coolpix SQ digital camera

The Nikon Coolpix SQ was one of the last in the Coolpix series of cameras to feature the split body design, where the lens unit can be rotated about an axis with the display unit. My copy was purchased as a rather battered, but still functional camera, and in this post I discuss its design and the main feature set.

Nikon Coolpix SQ images

My Nikon Coolpix SQ camera

My Nikon Coolpix SQ was purchased from eBay for the sum of £12 as a ‘functional but somewhat battered’ camera. As you can see from the pictures above, the description is accurate because the camera has dents along the lens unit, although the rest of the camera is in not bad shape.

I didn’t receive a battery with the Nikon Coolpix SQ, but I found I could buy one on eBay of only a few pounds, and after I’d received it and charged it, I fitted it to the camera and tried it out. What I found was that the camera came up with a system error on first use and was basically unusable.

A little bit of research led me to discover this is a standard fault on the Coolpix SQ, and in fact with many small cameras.

The fault is caused by the lens unit not being able to focus the lens because of grit or dust in the micro gears which the focus system consists of. There are various possible suggested cures, including fitting a new battery (which will apparently power through the grit!) to issuing a sharp tap to the camera to move the grit out of the way.

I found that I could get the camera to work by removing the screws to the lens unit and prising the case apart enough to direct a jet of compressed air from an aerosol spray into the camera body and blast the grit out of place. Once I’d done that, there was a more healthy whirring noise from the camera when I turned it on, and it sprang to life – or at least I thought so.

After I’d tried the camera out briefly I put it in my ‘waiting review’ box, but the next time I tried to use it to write this review I found the fault had returned and this time I can’t revive it with a blast of compressed air. I suspect it will need a more comprehensive investigation, but I’m not sure if I’m going to do that or not at the moment, since the body damage is quite extensive.

This ‘review’ is therefore a Pictorial review rather than a full review of the camera because at the moment all I can get it to do is show a system error. If I manage to get the camera repaired, I’ll do a more formal review and show some sample pictures from the camera.