Thanks!
With the Coolpix, since it’s set up as a point-and-shoot camera with added controls, there are things like ISO Speed that get determined by selections you make that DON’T refer directly to ISO Speed. As it runs out (reading the jpg file properties) the camera was set to ISO-200 speed when these shots were taken. Had I set it for night photography, perhaps it would have been ISO-400. Unless I can find a “cheat sheet” somewhere, more experimenting will be required.
Here’s hoping your camera stays on the fritz long enough for a service tech to understand that there’s an issue. I HATE when something’s not working, and I can’t figure it out, but the second I get the problem in front of an expert pair of eyes it vanishes, and the repair guy gives me “the look”.
Your camera sounds a lot like my Canon S3-IS (bought when the D70 first went on the fritz). It’s a pretty good camera, for all it’s not an SLR, and after installing the “hack” that allows one to shoot in RAW mode I’m really liking it.