Smile for the camera

[greatbearmd]

As some of you might remember, my treasured Olympus C-5050 digicam recently bit the dust. During my online research to see if this was any sort of widespread problem and to locate repair resources, I uncovered some interesting facts. Very interesting facts. It seems I am not alone. And if goes beyond the C-5050.

This article on the Imaging Resource website details the same issue affecting dozens of cameras from seven different manufacturers. It seems that all of these cameras share CCD sensors manufactured at a Sony fab lab. The sensors suffer from substandard package sealing which cause atmospheric air and moisture to enter the CCD sensor package and cause it to fail. The failure rate increases as the cameras are subjected to extremes of heat and humidity. The bad news here is that my other camera, a Canon S230 Digital Elph is also on the list. The good news is that the manufacturers of these cameras have instituted repair programs to fix affected cameras even past their warranty period, and reimburse those that had this issue repaired before this service bulleting arose.

The service bulletin also covers PDAs, camcorders and other items capable of taking pictures. The list only covers digital cameras though. If you have one of these items showing similar symptoms, it might be worth researching the links to see if it's covered.

Check the following list to see if your camera is shown. Regardless if your have had problems with the camera, it's worth checking to see what pro- or retroactive measures can be taken:


* Canon:
o PowerShot A60
o PowerShot A70
o PowerShot A75
o PowerShot A300
o PowerShot A310
o PowerShot S230 Digital ELPH / Digital IXUS V3 / IXY D320
o PowerShot SD100 Digital ELPH / Digital IXUS II / IXY Digital 30
o PowerShot SD110 Digital ELPH / Digital IXUS IIs / IXY Digital 30a
* Fujifilm:
o FinePix A303
o FinePix F410 Zoom
o FinePix F700
o FinePix S2 Pro
* Sony:
o Cyber-shot DSC-F717
o Cyber-shot DSC-P10
o Cyber-shot DSC-P12
o Cyber-shot DSC-P2
o Cyber-shot DSC-P31
o Cyber-shot DSC-P32
o Cyber-shot DSC-P51
o Cyber-shot DSC-P52
o Cyber-shot DSC-P7
o Cyber-shot DSC-P71
o Cyber-shot DSC-P72
o Cyber-shot DSC-P8
o Cyber-shot DSC-P92
o Cyber-shot DSC-U10
o Cyber-shot DSC-U20
o Cyber-shot DSC-U30
o Cyber-shot DSC-U60
o Cyber-shot DSC-V1
o CD Mavica MVC-CD250
o CD Mavica MVC-CD400
o CD Mavica MVC-CD500
o FD Mavica MVC-FD100
o FD Mavica MVC-FD200
* Konica Minolta:
(note: all affected models were actually released prior to the merger with Konica, and hence carry only the Minolta brand name)
o DiMAGE A1
o DiMAGE 7i
o DiMAGE 7Hi
o DiMAGE Xi
o DiMAGE Xt
o DiMAGE X20
o DiMAGE S414
o DiMAGE F300
* Nikon:
(note: added 10/11/05 14:35ET)
o Coolpix SQ
o Coolpix 3100
o Coolpix 5700
* Ricoh:
(note: added 10/13/05 09:28ET)
o Caplio RR30
o Caplio 300G
o Caplio G3
o Caplio G3 model M
o Caplio G3 model S
o Caplio ProG3
o Caplio G4
o Caplio G4 wide
o Caplio 400G wide
o Caplio RX
* Olympus:
(note: added 10/13/05 09:56ET)
o Camedia C-5050 Zoom
o Camedia C-730 Ultra Zoom

This list taken from the Imaging Resources website and is subject to change, so bookmark the site and check back periodically.

Note that there are other cameras besides the ones contained on the list.

I'll post an update to my caera situation as the saga unfolds. If anyone in my readership has models affected, let me know in the comments and keep everyone posted.