Posts Tagged ‘digital camera tips’

Why Is It So Hard To Design a Good Digital Camera?

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Has your digital camera battery door broken off and is missing? Or your battery door has broken tabs on it and no longer holds closed tightly so the batteries don’t make contact and the camera won’t turn on?

Maybe your removeable battery door was taken off to add on a grip with extra battery power… and where exactly did you put it down?

I know; the tiny little piece of plastic on your CF (Compact Flash memory card) door broke off and your camera won’t turn on!

Oh man… how many cameras out there will not turn on because your memory card door is open, or the battery door is open, even though there really seems to be no reason for it? It can be annoying… the thin plastic battery doors are molded from one small drop of plastic and some are so thin that they break extremely easily, ( Canon SD750 broken battery door.. don’t get me started!) making your camera useless. What were they thinking when they designed this?? Are you SURE somebody tested this design? Did anybody stop for one second and ask what the reason was behind it?

I could work for ANY major digital camera company and tell them exactly what is wrong with the design of any new camera they release and save them hundreds of thousands of dollars in warranty repairs and upset customers! Think they would hire me? No way; I don’t have an Engineering Degree or a PHd is Physics so what do I know, right?

But just look at the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H2 shutter button , I would never have let them put the camera on the market if they had only asked!!

Well I know plenty having fixed THOUSANDS of cameras over the past 5+ years, I know what is wrong with your camera if it is a certain model before you even tell me.

Sony H2 or H5? Damaged or missing shutter release button. Canon SD850? Jammed lens Canon SD750? Broken battery door… I’m not going to list dozens of cameras here, that’s not what this is about.

What do you do with your camera when one small piece of plastic is broken or missing? You paid hundreds for it and once again the guy at the store tells you “Throw it in the trash, this one is better, it goes to 11.” (A little movie humor there, hey it’s 1:30am I’m entitled) Tell that guy at the store a resounding “NO!” and walk out. Go home, get on the computer and get surfing.

Back we go to eBay… search for your model number and “door” or “parts” and voila, look at what you find!

As a side note here, I was the first and only digital camera parts store in the world on eBay. I used to buy hundreds of defective cameras and repair them and then used what could not be fixed for parts. I sold all those annoying little parts that you cannot buy anywhere for dirt cheap! $10 for a battery door and all you do to install it is twist it into place… and that “geek” at the store told you it would be $175 to send it in to Canon or Sony and have them do it for you…

Even if you don’t find the item you need right away don’t quit, keep searching. Even if you don’t want to try repairing it yourself it’s no problem, there are still places that can do it for you. Hopefully you will find one with decent prices; don’t pay anyone $50 to install a battery door for you… please.

(Google: “affordable digital camera repair” and you will find some help with your camera!)

Broken battery doors and memory card doors are very common. I think we would see a lot more customers asking for them if only they knew they could actually repair it and get their camera back working for less than $25-30! It really is that cheap, with many doors for only $15-20.

I hope this helps you find your camera repair solution and running again for very little money!

How to Care For Your Digital Camera

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The continuing development of digital camera technology offers near limitless choices for the professional and amateur alike when looking to achieve the best photographs possible. The variety of cameras available is huge, ranging from tiny compact point and shoot cameras to very large professional digital SLRs. Each type of camera available has pros and cons associated with it, so shopping for the right camera can be confusing. Camera preference will come down to the features and specifications that the individual desires, there is no one camera that will please everyone.

With any digital camera, there will be an assortment of features and utility levels which will make a good camera well above a thousand dollars. The current top digital camera brands are Canon, Sony and Nikon.

The two most important and expensive parts of the camera are the lens and the LCD screen. These parts should be regularly cleaned and maintained. These sensitive components such as a camera LCD screen should never be bumped or have a battery put against it inside the camera case; you don’t want to have to pay for a camera LCD screen repair It is also important to invest in good quality lens cleaning equipment such as a good lens brush, a lens blower and lens cloth. A blower will help remove the dirt while a lens cleaning solution removes sticky particles on the lens. Another important reminder is to protect the cameras lens by always putting on the lens cover when the camera is not in use.

Be sure to store your digital camera properly when not in use. It is recommended that the camera be stored in a cool and dry space. Always keep the camera out of the sun and from cold temperature. Digital camera batteries should also be taken out when the camera is not in use. Also keep in mind that magnets of any kind should also be kept away from the camera.

Besides just the camera itself, you should also remember to take care of your accessories such as memory cards. As these accessories are small, they should always be handled with utmost care. It should not be taken out while in the process of transferring images from the camera. Memory cards should be stored in the camera or in a card case to avoid damage to them and avoid losing them.

Taking care of your most prized digital camera is imperative to make certain that they will last for a very long time. You should look for overall brand reliability before making your purchase, and Canon has a great rating; but this does not mean that the camera won’t suffer from normal wear and tear just from normal use. As much as possible, to avoid having to find a Canon digital camera repair shop you need to protect it from impact damage, water exposure, sand and dust and extreme tempertures.

If you notice any damage or malfunction to any part then it is important to find someone who can affordably provide you with reliabledigital camera repair services. Keep in mind that a good digital camera is not cheap, and it pays off in the long run to take good care of it.