Perhaps ten years ago or so, I purchased a then-new Nikon 1 J1 ultra-portable CX-format interchangeable lens camera. I think Nikon developed this model to fit into the best-of-both-worlds between DSLR and pocket (CoolPix) camera. At the time its features seemed ground-breaking and I liked the interchangeability of the lenses. I got both of the mainstay lenses, a 10mm-30mm and 30mm-110mm. Given the CX format with its 2.7x crop factor, these translate into mild wide-angle to long telephoto. In other words, the full range for most photographers.
(Amazon image)
Despite some new technology developed by Nikon, I don't think the camera ever caught on widely. Nikon continued to evolve it from its 2011 humble beginnings (the model I have) into the J2, J3, J4, etc. Still, I think it's major problem was that it tried to be everything to everyone and thus wound up not doing any of it terribly well. It has a 10.1mpx sensor, which is small by today's standards.
I introduced this so as to not give anyone the impression that this is a major issue. I had all but forgotten this camera until I was cleaning a closet, so I pulled it out and decided to see if it was still somewhat usable. The answer is a definite, "Maybe." I took it to my daughter's today for a Father's Day get together, and was disappointed to find out that there is some glitch with the shorter of the two lenses, the 10mm-30mm.
One of the "features" of this camera is a lens locking button that must be pressed and the lens rotated out before one can take photos. I noticed that when fully extended to its 30mm length, the image in the viewfinder (and thus the camera) was clear, but when shortened, everything darkens. The metering system indicates a low light level insufficient for picture taking, and so the shutter release button is disabled. Extend the lens, and all is good. The 30mm-110mm lens does not exhibit this behavior.
So, the lenses both fit (Nikon gave them a unique mounting system). The camera recognizes both of them. But only the 10mm-30mm is "disabled" when set to anything much less than 30mm. This doesn't strike me as a mechanical problems, but rather one of some connection going askew when the lens is rotated. Does this make sense?
Quite obviously, this is a long-discontinued product, and even if Nikon were to consider looking at it and/or repairing it, I suspect the cost wouldn't be worth it.
So, has anyone encountered a similar problem, with ANY camera? And did you ever determine the fix for it? Just for grins and giggles, I'm going to take my Rocket Air Blaster and a lens cleaning tool and see if I can't clean away the problem, but if you know of a solution, I'd love to hear it.