I really like this camera. It takes great pictures and is easy to use from still shots to soundless videos.
This was my first digital camera. I bought this in 2001 for big money.
After first purchasing it, I ran into a problem with the EL-EN battery not holding a charge. After many stressful attempts with Nikon to resolve the issue - I was able to send the battery back to them for an exchange (although they state they do not warranty the battery). In the mean time, I bought a Lenmar battery as a spare - so now I always keep one charged and ready to go. I would also suggest buying additional memory so you don't run out of space like I did ONCE on vacation.
I am beginning to feel a need for a new Nikon with some features that this camera can't give me. I would like the continuous shot as the recovery time on this camera can seem slow when your trying to take action or quick shots (wedding, etc).
Overall this has been a great camera. I plan to buy from Nikon again. I love the size and hand grip and have no major complaints. :)

In the last two years, I have taken over 8000 photos with this camera, dropped it several times and it lives in a diaper bag or pocket most of the time and it still takes beautiful photos with no sophisiticated settings. Its 3MP output is more than adequate for family (nonprofessional) photos and prints them up to 8x10 with no quality degredation.

I purchased this for over $500 back in 2001. When I received it on the first day, it has a "System Error" showing on the screen. I mailed it back and received another brand new Coolpix 885.
In these 3 years, I found a lot of inconvenience. (1) Lense cover is manual. I have to remember to remove it before I turn on the camera. If I don't, I have to turn it off and then remove lense cover and then turn it on again. (2) It is a battery eater. (3) Original battery has a very short life. I threw away 2 dead batteries in 3 yrs. (3) It takes a while for the next shot. After I shoot the first photo, I have to wait for 5-10 seconds for the camera to adjust for the next one. Even I use fully charged battery, speed is still low. Speed is fast only when I use an adaptor. (4) To transfer photos from camera to pc, the lense cover has to be closed. If I forget, I have to turn it off and close the lense cover and then on again. (5) The size is not small. (6) My camera just has a minor drop on wood floor days ago, it shows "System Error" again. I emailed to Nikon for tech support. Well, they say some parts inside could be broken and it needs repair. Well, guess this is the time to buy another brand of digital camera. Both of my sisters use Canon and they are very good.
Add'l comment: In terms of the picture quality, Coolpix 885 is very good.

when i decided to get a digital camera, i went to the camera expert and that for me was NIKON. it was april 2003 when i purchased my first digital camera NIKON COOLPIX 885. after a year of using it, the dial mode just conked out and won't function anymore. i am very disappointed, i had to ship my camera to the only service center in my country. I shouldered the shipment plus the replacement spare part which is going to cost me $100 plus. it has been two months with follow ups in between and i was told by the service center the spare part has not arrived from Japan yet.

of course, after only a year of using this camera, i feel i did not get my money's worth.

i expected a lot from nikon but they failed me. for my next digital camera purchase, i will get PENTAX, CANON or SONY instead

This is my first Digital Camera and I am glad I got this after doing a lot of Digtial Camera Research. The clarity and color balance of the pictures are really good.
The only annoying fact was that I have to reset the date everytime I change the battery.

Nikon never fixed the red oversaturation issue in these cameras. Red sticks out like a sore thumb and makes the images unrealistic.

I had mine develop some hot pixels under warranty and returned it to Nikon for repair (replacement of the imager). It came back with even more hot pixels than I sent it to them with.

If you want a digital camera and someone is giving one of these away, that's a good deal. As the other reviewers note - see if you can find sample images online that show how bad the red issue is.

And lastly, concerning Nikon as a whole, they may make good cameras now but I'm gun shy after they fixed my camera to be worse than I sent it to them.

I'm looking for a new camera now and have lived with retouching any photos taken in less than bright sunlight (where hot pixels really show up) and also having to manually color balance any images with red in them. Actually, all images come out slightly "off" because red is so enhanced in this camera.

Needless to say, I am not buying Nikon.