Digital Camera Failures 316
An anonymous reader writes "In the past week, four
major
camera
makers
have quietly published service advisories admitting their digital cameras are
dying. In each case, the flaw appears to involve Sony CCD sensors using epoxy
packaging that eventually lets in moisture. Sony's own cameras are among those
affected, and the company also has dozens of affected camcorder models. Sony is
believed to be picking
up the tab for the repairs for the other camera makers as well, regardless
of warranty status. (If true, a laudable approach.) Given the large numbers of
cameras that are potentially involved, this can't be good news for Sony, who apparently
already is expecting
losses, and who has also recently announced major
layoffs."
Dammit!! (Score:4, Insightful)
The Canon announcement is only for Asia and it only offers to fix the camera if and when it starts showing symptoms of the problems. As far as I'm concerned, that's bogus. They should offer a general recall and repair/replacement of all models affected so people don't lose the once-in-a-lifetime events they bought these cameras to capture.
- Greg
Re:They're complex. (Score:5, Insightful)
Try telling that to a bride on her wedding day. It's obvious you've never taken pictures for hire.
Poor product quality (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Dammit!! (Score:4, Insightful)
Use film or buy a real camera. (Score:5, Insightful)
If you lose that once in a lifetime shot because you trusted it to a cheap snapshot camera, that's as much your fault as the vendors.
Re:Dammit!! (Score:3, Insightful)
Is it that big a deal to you? Then why don't you buy a second camera?
Is that too expensive? Gee, do you suppose that not offering perfection made the single digital camera affordable in the first place?
Face it: you are not willing to pay for what you want. You bought a camera with a warranty that is being honored. You bought no guarantee of perfection.
Re:Use film or buy a real camera. (Score:2, Insightful)
Not just Sony (Score:2, Insightful)
Just this week, I ditched my computer keyboard because it was giving weird responses to some keypresses. Thoroughly cleaned it out, checked the inside, contacts etc., conclusion: problem was with the (single) controller IC, one of the very few electronic components. Killed by a static discharge? Who knows. I can't remember ever having needed to replace a keyboard, it was always a matter of cleaning or replacing with a nicer looking model.
Now this keyboard was 3 or 4 years old, only used by me, and damnit, it's the fscking electronics that die instead of contacts or pieces breaking off. I'm now using an older one that's probably seen 3 or more owners, twice as old (and doesn't look as nice), but it still works. I've had similar experiences with other equipment.
The root cause? I suspect it's simply first-to-market and pricing pressures that forces manufacturers to strip down Quality Control to the lowest level the market will bear. Manufacturing processes may be optimised to make single components very cheap, and very likely to outlast the warranty period, but that's about it. When something is 3+ years old, you're expected to look for a replacement.
Like it or not, that's the way things are. But what pisses me off mostly, is that there's little you can do to seek out quality. Brand names say nothing about their latest products. Extensive customer reviews give hints about features and support, but say nothing about how durable a product is built. And price bears little relation with quality either.
As for these 'low-end' digital camera's: own a Canon Powershot A70 myself (and happy with it sofar). It may be considered low-end in the digital camera market, but it cost me somewhere around $400 when I bought it. Nothing low-end about that, I consider that a lot of money for a photo-making device. Am I wrong to expect a product in return that keeps working for more than just 2 or 3 years?Re:Use film or buy a real camera. (Score:3, Insightful)
Would you say the same thing today about $600 computers as being toys and unfit for serious use?
There are places, even in a professional's repertoire, where a point&shoot make sense; where expensive cameras are too bulky, complicated, and intimidating to use. Things like a Yashica T4/T5 or a Olympus Stylus, for example.
Digital cameras in the $250 range can fill a similar role, with additional benefits and additional drawbacks. They don't take pictures as fast as film cameras, but they have greater capacity (I can take hundreds of pictures on a charge without swapping film or batteries).
Re:sony and lack of QC (Score:3, Insightful)
AFAIK, the only electronics manufacturer still producing in japan is Panasonic (Matsushita), and i have had very good luck with the panasonic gear that i've bought.