Ah! I got my old camera fixed! Yes, apparently pounding it with the palm of my hand was sufficient to dislodge the focus mechanism from its perpetually near-sighted position and it is now working again. It also seems that the old Li-Ion batteries will still hold a charge. This means I'm back in the (very) amateur photography business and ready to trudge out upon the landscape to fill some memory cards with digital renderings.

Now if I can only remember how this damn thing works...