Is there anyway to resolve shutter lag on the Nikon Coolpix 8700?

Just charge and use the battery a few times and see if it will work better after 2 or 3 times. If to, buy a new one. Then to make sure nothing is wrong with the camera, switch to the auto mode like you can read on page 15 of the manual. the camera should make pictures when there is some light and you press the shutter release button.
The manual is still online with Nikon USA.

This is a Guess. If the battery is very old the voltage may be so low that only a few things work correct. See if you can charge it. Auto Focus uses a Motor (takes some power) Taking a photo takes quite a bit of power..

This is a common situation with most compact point&shoot cameras. This "shutter lag" is because the camera has to do so much work when you press the shutter release button: focus on the subject, meter the light for proper exposure, and switch the electronics from viewing on the LCD to recording to memory. Larger (and more expensive) cameras have additional hardware to reduce this lag.

You can reduce the lag somewhat by anticipating the action. Press the shutter release button halfway to focus and meter. Keep it pressed halfway until the right moment, then press it the rest of the way to take the picture.

From the manual: "Turn camera off and then on again. If error persists, contact retailer or Nikon representative."

You don't. The camera has to focus, meter the light, etc. before taking the pic. All digital point&shoot cameras suffer from this "shutter lag" to some degree.

Having said that, you can reduce the lag by pressing the shutter halfway to focus and meter, and then when the action peaks press the shutter the rest of the way to take the pic.

Hi
If you are in the U.K
Please contact Nikon UK for this part. Call: 02084816815

send it back to NIkon..

Same problem that would not allow me to take a picture without pressing the LOCK button on my Nikon 8700. Here is how I believe I fixed the problem:

Turn the camera ON.

Press MENU button on your camera to bring up the menu.

Scroll down to SET-UP, open the SET-UP menu by scrolling right.

In the SET-UP menu, scroll all the way down to FUNC (Controls) on page 2/3 , open the FUNC (Controls) menu by scrolling right.

You are now presented with 2 options:FUNC and AE-L, AF-L)

Select the FUNC option by right scrolling.

Choose the 2nd option: i.e the mountain, flower and timer icon (distance, macro and self-timer icon) by right scrolling.

Press the MENU button to get out of the menu.

Attempt to take a picture without pressing LOCK.

Should work! Anyways, it worked for me.

Cheers.

The hand is telling you that the camera thinks it's being shaken. Has to do with slow shutter speeds. Does the AF lamp flash also?

Our 4600 does it also. It seems that the shutter release button might be broken as it does not appear to feel like it has both the focus position AND shoot position now. The processor is probably confused because of this.time for a new camera... probably not a Nikon CoolPix though.

This may be the same problem that requires you to press the LOCK button to actually take a picture. I found a solution and have posted to the questions mentioning the LOCK problem. Anyways, here goes, if that is not the problem please disregard what follows:



Same problem that would not allow me to take a picture without pressing the LOCK button on my Nikon 8700. Here is how I believe I fixed the problem:

Turn the camera ON.

Press MENU button on your camera to bring up the menu.

Scroll down to SET-UP, open the SET-UP menu by scrolling right.

In the SET-UP menu, scroll all the way down to FUNC (Controls) on page 2/3 , open the FUNC (Controls) menu by scrolling right.

You are now presented with 2 options:FUNC and AE-L, AF-L)

Select the FUNC option by right scrolling.

Choose the 2nd option: i.e the mountain, flower and timer icon (distance, macro and self-timer icon) by right scrolling.

Press the MENU button to get out of the menu.

Attempt to take a picture without pressing LOCK.

Should work! Anyways, it worked for me.

Cheers.