Faulty Camera FAQ

A Digital Camera is a highly sophisticated piece of electronic equipement. With a little care & commonsense a Digital Camera can last many years.

Best Practice:

Essential Items include a decent well padded camera bag.  It must fit your camera perfectly & have seperate pockets for spare accessories.

A Lens cleaning pen or cloth will ensure that you lens is kept dust free.

Try to protect your camera from sand, rain, impact, moisture or very high humidity.

FAQ:

Why is my Zoom Lens not working?

Generally, when auto zoom lenses stall, it's one of three things:

1. Your battery is too weak to push the lens motor.  Ensure you have genuine Digital Camera batteries, view our Battery guide.

2. Grit or sand has found its way into the camera body and lodged into motor or servo gears: this causes the lens to jam or become noisey.

3. Someone has accidentily dropped the camera or placed pressure on the lens.  This commonly happens without the knowledge of the camera owner.

4. Something has disloged, or a servo ring has broken, or the teeth have stripped or misaligned on the tube extension drive: The lens is now worn out.

Why is my LCD cracked?

To crack an LCD takes considerable pressure or a twist in the camera body, another common cause of LCD failure is pressure of a battery against the camera inside the camera bag.  Try not to carry your camera in your pocket as this commonly causes impact damage.

What causes an electronic fault?

Many of the above lens issues can cause the electronics in a camera to fail.

General wear & tear will take its toll on a digital camera.  Invariably they have a fairly hard life, especially now that the photos are displayed on the screen, so that they tend to get handed around like a photo album.

Battery contacts & usb conections can become corroded or damaged due to repeated use.  This is also true of the lens assembly which is now the only moving part on a camera.  If a lens is used enough times eventually it will wear out.

How do I fix my broken digital camera?

Take your camera into a Genuine Photo Store & ask for advice, their aim is to get you taking photos again.  Although on many occasions it is cheaper to replace rather than repair a camera, this is not always the case & a camera fault can sometimes be rectified for a nominal fee.

If your camera needs to be sent to a repairer minimum repair charges will apply, approximatley $100 NZ will get you a professional quote to repair.

Remember any questions, just ask your local camera store.

If your camera has failed for a specific reason - eg their is grit in the lens, you will be advised on how to ensure this doesn't happen with your next camera.

Why did my camera only last 5 years?

A Digital camera is more sensitive than the old film cameras were.  So they need better care to last for the same amount of time.

How a camera is treated is directly related to how long it will last.  We commonly see digital cameras that look like new after 5 years, these cameras have been well cared for.  We also see cameras that look after one week like they have been to war and back.

You can still use a camera every day, just keep grit out of the lens, keep them dry & dont lend them out unless it is a spare camera.  It should be noted that cameras are commonly handed around to share the photos on the screen, this is how many cameras are dropped & how the lenses get fingerprints on them.  So always check your lens is crystal clear.

The electronics in your camera are susceptible to heat & cold just like your cellphone or laptop computer, so ensuring your camera is protected from the elements will ensure you get as long as possible out of your camera.

Tip: If your lifestyle determins that your camera may get wet, sandy or generally banged about; there are many cameras (eg Olympus Tough) that are designed to handle extreme conditions.  Ask for a demo if you think this may be a suitable style of camera for you.