tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4386786540598137122024-02-29T15:36:13.366-08:00Do It Yourself Digital Camera Repair
This Blog is dedicated to the home repair of digital cameras. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-64310617278641236482012-05-28T16:52:00.001-07:002014-02-23T19:15:55.222-08:002014 Best Free Video Editing Software<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>(Update February 23, 2014. Since originally publishing this article, have decided that this subject is extensive and requires its own blog. As such, <a href="http://ezvideoedit.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: yellow;">please also visit our new video editing blog</i></span></a> for <u>much</u> more material and tutorials on the subject of video editing. <u>Only freeware is used</u> in the tutorials, and download links are provided with each article.)</b>. <br />
<br />
There are actually quite a few very good, and more importantly, <b>totally free video editing software</b> programs. But similar to <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/recovering-those-accidentally-lost.html" target="_blank">photo recovery software</a>, the <b>no-kidding freeware</b> programs are very hard to find by a simple Google search. You may come across some that claim to be free, but will ask for payment at that last moment as you try to save your file, or place a watermark on your saved files which can only be removed by payment. Some also show prominently in Google, but may be just awful, difficult to use, or are very outdated programs. This article will focus only on the <b>newer</b>, <b>high quality</b>, <b>HD capable</b>, and most importantly <b>no-kidding freeware video editing software</b> programs. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b>Detailed tutorials on their use in basic (splitting, cutting, transitions, etc...) and advanced video editing (chroma key, picture in picture,...) <a href="http://ezvideoedit.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">may be found here</a>.</b></span></div>
<br />
<b><span style="background-color: cyan; font-size: x-large;">FileLab Video Editor</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first program to be featured in this article is FileLab Video Editor. FileLab includes a wide selection of preset video effects, similar to Windows Movie Maker. BUT it also has <u><b><i>customizable</i></b></u> color correction to include <b>brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and gamma (usually only pay programs let you do that).</b> Also included are many many video and transition effects beyond what WMM offers. Additionally you can fine-tune and adjust many of these preset effects & transitions by right-clicking on them in the timeline (WMM doesn't let you do that). </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Other stand outs that make it different from other freeware video editing programs is FileLab's <b>excellent title editor. Also, your video can be saved in many different formats beyond just WMV. You can conduct easy filesaves in formats for Web Videos (</b><span style="background-color: white;"><b>YouTube, Facebook, TwitVid ... all saved as H.264), 720p HD (DivX, Xvid, MPEG-2, H.264/AVC), along with presets for IPhone, iPod, iPad, Android, XBox360, PS3, PSP. </b></span><span style="background-color: white;"> But even with all these features, the program has been designed to be very easy to use, and it is.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are some cons to this program. The first is that it runs from the cloud in your browser window as a "plug-in" program. But that may be good for some as it doesn't really require a software install. But it does require internet connectivity to run in your browser. And to save your final video, you must login to either Facebook, Google, or Yahoo. <b><a href="https://www.filelab.com/video-editor" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank">The program may be run or downloaded from here.</a> </b></div>
<br />
The following are video summaries of the FileLab free video editing software program, showing some of its more important features. <b><u> They were each created with FileLab:</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/rfNts_O1STA/0.jpg" height="410" width="308"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rfNts_O1STA&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="410" height="308" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rfNts_O1STA&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"Picture in Picture" Video Editing with FileLab</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="308" width="410"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qYbAe-mUscs?version=3&hl=en_US">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<embed alt="VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE FILELAB" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qYbAe-mUscs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410" height="308" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>FileLab Free Video Editing Software</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="background-color: cyan; font-size: x-large;">VSDC Video Editor with Green Screen!</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
VSDC Video Editor is currently freeware as a beta release. It's a very advanced video editor on-par with most advanced payware editors, but yet it's relatively easy to learn and use. It's currently one of the few freeware programs that <b><u style="background-color: cyan;">has "chroma key" "green screen" editing capability</u></b>. I'm aware of only two other freeware programs with chroma key capability (Debugmode WAX and Zwei-Stein), and both are very difficult to use as compared to VSDC. <br />
<br />
With VSDC you can edit and save in most popular video formats and compression schemes including high definition (HD), AVI, H.264, MP4, MKV, MTS, 3GP, WMV, QT, MP3, MPEG2 FLV, SWF. YouTube. <b style="background-color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.videosoftdev.com/free-video-editor" target="_blank">You can download it from here</a> </b>while it's free because eventually this will go payware. Sadly, when that day comes it will be removed from this article as only freeware gets featured in this blog. And here are some video tutorials on using VSDC Free Video Editor:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='308' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nkpUhJtED5M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Editing with VSDC Free Video Editor</b></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" alt="VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE VSDC" height="308" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/luyOn5DdUZs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410"></embed>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>VSDC Green Screen (Chroma Key) Editing</b><br />
<b>(Yes, you too can now be abducted by aliens!)</b></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='308' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zokUQHkRaDU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Multiple Split Screen Editing!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>(I apologize for my singing abilities and my webcam's microphone)</b></div>
<br />
<b><span style="background-color: cyan; font-size: x-large;">Freemake Video Converter</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Freemake is a new breed of "All-in-One" video processing programs. And as the word infers, it is totally freeware, no trial periods, no watermarks, nothing. It's no-kidding freeware. But because of its gaining popularity, I'm sure that one day this program will include some means of monetization for its makers. But for now, I'm very happy with it and use it quite frequently.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Freemake, the ultimate Swiss Army Knife of video processors. Freemake is the easiest program that I've seen to convert all those short video clips from your digital camera into a final production that you can view on your DVD, BluRay, or just about any other device that can play videos, no matter the format. FreeMake can convert your videos into just about all the main video formats used by smartphones, tablet, and even many game and mp3 players.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Capabilities include:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>DVD Ripper/Converter</b> - for <span style="background-color: white;"><b>converting DVD's to other formats, such as viewing on mobile devices</b>. </span> Or just making backups of your DVD's (let your conscience guide you where you can go with that).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>DVD and Blu-Ray burner</b> capability - for viewing your videos on BR and DVD players.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>Video downloader and uploader </b>- for <b>downloading/saving your favorite videos from YouTube</b>, Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion, + many many other websites. With its built in video uplaoder, it also makes it very easy to upload your own videos to YouTube (the uploader only supports YouTube at this time). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>Basic Video Editor</b> - for clipping, splicing, joining. Also can modify each of you video clips audio level individually from the editor. Only 2 transitions available, none or Fade transition. But really these are all you need. Nothing emphasizes a lame video more than tumbling, swirling, transitions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>Video converter</b> with customizable video resizing, bitrate and audio modification. Also included is subtitle support, so that you can view your movies with their subtitles on your various devices.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>Device video presets,</b> or you can set and save custom video presets for your particular device.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>Photo alideshow maker</b> with user inputted audio (You can load up any audio that you please. Some other free video makers may force you to only use their preset music).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <b>Audio converter and extractor</b>. Save the music or audio track from any video as an mp3 file. If you desire, you can modify the sample and bitrate for your saved file.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><u>The following video was created with Freemake.</u></b> It goes over each of the above abilities in more detail so that you can see for yourself, and judge whether FreeMake might be for you. If you think that you'd like to try this free program, you may <b><a href="http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank">download Freemake directly from Freemake here.</a><span style="background-color: white;"> You might want to r</span><span style="background-color: white;">emember to </span>pay particular attention to uncheck any ad-supported toolbars</b> that may be offered during the installation process (why did CNET start doing that?). The program also requires Microsoft's .NET Framework 4.0 to run. Usually this is installed on most newer PC's. But if Freemake doesn't run on your computer, you likely need to also install NET Framework. It's very easy, and you can install <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17113" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank">.NET FW 4.0 for free directly from Microsoft at this download link.</a> And here are some tutorials on Freemake:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='308' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/I6tPMPhaM7A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>YouTube HD Editing and Upload with Freemake</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>(It just doesn't get any easier than this!)</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='308' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YZJuNLkrx9o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<b>Freemake Free Video Converter Software</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="background-color: cyan; font-size: x-large;">VSDC Video Converter</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Brand new release (August 2012)!! VSDC another "All-in-One" video processing programs. It is also totally 100% freeware. Has most of the capabilities of Freemake, but has some additional conversions that Freemake does not currently have (such as Real Media RM conversion). It also <u>does not require MS NET Framework</u>, and runs just fine on most PC's. Recommend that you try both Freemake and VSDC to see which best suits you. Can't go wrong as both are free. <span style="background-color: yellow;"> <a href="http://www.videosoftdev.com/free-video-converter" target="_blank"><b>Download VSDC here</b></a></span>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" alt="FREE VIDEO CONVERTER VSDC" height="308" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s_PEK52HZIE?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410"></embed><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>VSDC Free Video Converter Software</b></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-72989806436763876142009-07-11T09:28:00.001-07:002014-02-13T19:45:35.359-08:00Simple Fixes for SD "Memory Card Locked" or "Memory Card Error"<b><i>(Last update February 13, 2014)</i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><b><i>If this information helps you, please pay it forward, and share this article with others who may be experiencing the same problem. Your help in sharing will be appreciated, and karma will prevail!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">For those attempting to <u><b>recover lost or accidentally deleted photos or videos</b></u>, <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/recovering-those-accidentally-lost.html"><b>see this linked article instead</b></a>. For those who've simply <b><u>forgotten their card's password</u></b>, scroll down to the bottom of this current article. For those that have taken <u>many previous photos</u> with the card, but suddenly your <b><u>camera or computer wishes to "format" the card</u></b>, see the "<b>corrupted card procedures</b>" located <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/recovering-those-accidentally-lost.html" target="_blank"><b>near the bottom of this linked article instead</b></a>. F</span>or those with Compact Flash (CF) cards, please <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2009/06/fixing-compact-flash-memory-card-error.html">see this article instead</a>. Finally, for those that are still here with SD card problems, please continue reading.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First of all, here's a video summary of the steps. But please remember to also read each of the Fixes listed in the article, along with user comments as they contain additional tips that the video doesn't cover.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Video: SD Card Problems and Fixes</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='308' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LBXP8EpItSg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>FIX 1:</strong> I know that you probably already have checked the card's slide switch, but I just want to first present this for others with the same problem who may not be aware of this switch. Other options besides the slide switch are presented further in this article.<br />
<br />
Please check to make sure that you didn't accidentally place the tiny locking slide switch on the side of your SD card in the "locked" downward position. The correct "unlocked" position should be slid up toward the direction of the connectors. If you discover that the locking switch is actually missing or has broken off, proceed directly below to <b>Fix #4a</b>.</div>
<div align="center">
<br />
<strong>Card Switch in Downward "Locked" Position</strong></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>(note the arrow by the word "Lock")</strong><img alt="SD CARD LOCK" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/Sli-lEIZK8I/AAAAAAAAANE/U4RcnEU1c70/s400/SD+Locked.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357241300730588098" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><br />
<strong>Card Switch in Up "Unlocked" Position</strong><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S7YRoTRuHnI/AAAAAAAAAPY/hHLi3jw271c/s1600/Tape+1.jpg"></a><img alt="SD CARD LOCK FIX" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/Sli-3TWl-uI/AAAAAAAAANM/e1zp6-XWLiA/s400/SD+Unlocked.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357241614054324962" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div>
<strong></strong><br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong>FIX 2:</strong> <span style="background-color: yellow;">Old cameras and the card readers on older computers just can't read 4GB or higher SDHC cards</span>. If this problem is just happening <span style="background-color: yellow;">after purchasing a <u>brand new card</u></span>, <b>AND</b> your camera is an older camera (about 2008 or older), I'm going to guess that you just bought a new 4GB or larger SDHC card. If the above is true, continue reading. If not true, skip to Fix 3. </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
Although the SDHC card looks exactly the same as a standard SD card, the format the card uses is very different. Unfortunately <span style="background-color: yellow;">your older camera was likely designed before the SDHC format came out</span>. Sorry, but a SDHC card may not work with your older camera (check your camera maker's website for your model). You probably will need to use standard SD cards only (usually those 2GB or less). They're relatively inexpensive these days, and can easily be found on Amazon if your local store doesn't carry less than 4GB cards. </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>SDHC Card (Left) vs. Standard SD Card (Right)</strong></div>
<div align="justify">
<img alt="SD SDHC DIFFERENCE" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S0DXZEF_IBI/AAAAAAAAAOU/GFUiHisI5Po/s400/sdhc.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422570776949628946" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 257px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><br />
<strong>FIX 3:</strong> If you've had the card for a while, but it just recently started to show "memory card error" or "card requires formatting", <span style="background-color: yellow;">ask yourself if you can ever remember formatting your card IN THE CAMERA</span>. If you can't remember doing such (or don't know what a format is) continue reading. But if the description above doesn't apply to you, skip to Fix 4. </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
An unformatted card will initially work fine in a camera, but eventually will corrupt with time, especially after many files have been saved and deleted. A card can also corrupt if camera power is interrupted during the write process (such as changing batteries or batteries dying while the card is still writing the last picture taken). Formatting the card in the camera will correct both these problems, BUT it will also erase all photos on the card. AFTER you've recovered any important photos (<span style="background-color: yellow;"><a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/recovering-those-accidentally-lost.html">please see this other article from this blog that shows how</a> to recover your photos from a corrupted card</span>), format the card in your camera to prevent this from happening again (dig out your instruction manual to figure out how). Stating this once again, formatting will also totally erase your card, so only do this after you've recovered and saved to your computer any important photos from the card.</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<b>FIX 3A:</b> If file corruptions are occurring occassionally or intermittently (such as for every few files or movies taken, the camera states "file unrecognized" or something similar), take a close look at your card to determine its "Class", or in other words its write speed. Written on the face of the card should be the word Class with a number, or a number circled with a capital "C". See the above photo for an example of a Class 6 card (on the left), with an older/slower unmarked card on the right. If neither "Class" or "C" is written, the card is likely Class 2 or lower. Today's newer cameras take very high-resolution pictures, AND high-definition videos. File sizes can be very large. Some of the older SD cards just cannot keep up with the write speed required to save these files before you're ready to take another picture. As a result, some of your files can become corrupted if you're using older cards with newer cameras. The fix in this case is to purchase a higher speed card for your newer high-performance camera (recommend Class 6 or better). Or you can also wait a few seconds between shots/videos before switching modes or taking another picture (to ensure the write is completed), but that can get to be annoying after a while.<br />
<br />
<b>FIX 3B: </b>Again, if file corruptions occur intermittently, AND you use a card reader, do you remove the card properly from the reader? When ejecting a memory card from its reader, recommend that you always select the "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media". This selection is located in the bar in the lower right-hand corner of your computer screen (if using a PC). <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> </span></div>
<div align="justify">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>FIX 4:</strong> <b>The famous "toothpick" fix (first presented here on DIY Digital Camera Repair).</b> If you've tried the above techniques, and it's still showing locked, it's likely that the locking switch inside the camera's card slot is stuck. If you look inside the slot on the side of the slot where the SD card slide switch would be, you'll see a glint of gold color on the side. This is the camera's lock/unlock switch. The other glint's of gold that you may see at the far end of the slot are the reader's connectors (ignore those).</div>
<div align="center">
<strong>Camera's SD Card Lock/Unlock Switch</strong><img alt="SD CARD LOCK FIX" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/Sli_9beQM4I/AAAAAAAAANU/JNrKjl0bz6M/s400/SD+Slot+small.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357242818824778626" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div>
<div align="justify">
Somehow, the locking switch is making contact and has become stuck in the locked position (a single grain of sand can jam it there). With a plastic toothpick, or other skinny <b>NON-METALLIC</b> item, tap and gently push against this switch to see if you can jar open the contact to its normal unlocked position. Also try blowing compressed air at it, to clear out any gunk that may have worked its way in there, jamming it closed. Occasionally, reinsert the SD card to see if the issue has been corrected.</div>
<div align="justify">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Fix 4A:</b> <b> The famous "tape" fix (sorry, I can't claim this one)</b>. If none of the above seems to work, or if you've found that you've broken the locking tab on the card, one final thing to try before opening the camera is good old tape. Cut a tiny piece of clear cellophane tape (use scissors to trim it), and place it tightly over the slot where the locking switch is, or was. I can't stress it enough, keep the piece of tape small, you don't want to jam your card in the camera. Now slide the card into the camera. If you encounter any resistance, STOP, the tape is likely too thick or too much. But if not, proceed and see if that corrects the problem.</div>
<div align="center">
<strong>Taped Locking Tab Slot</strong><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S7YUrAqWtuI/AAAAAAAAAQA/QqYRs8GeFuY/s1600/Tape+2.jpg"><img alt="SD CARD TAPE FIX" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S7YUrAqWtuI/AAAAAAAAAQA/QqYRs8GeFuY/s320/Tape+2.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455570727750514402" style="cursor: hand; height: 200px; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S7YUq14aPKI/AAAAAAAAAP4/K-92lfjGqZY/s1600/Tape+1.jpg"><img alt="SD CARD TAPE FIX" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S7YUq14aPKI/AAAAAAAAAP4/K-92lfjGqZY/s320/Tape+1.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455570724856675490" style="cursor: hand; height: 200px; width: 300px;" /></a> </div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong>FIX 5:</strong> If you've come this far and you're still getting a "card locked" error, it may be time to consider opening the camera to force open this switch, or to inspect its wiring (not recommended unless you have some familiarity with electronics). In this case please <a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-%e2%80%98card-locked%e2%80%99-problem-125.htm">see this blog article instead</a> (xscrewdriver, hope you don't mind me referencing your blog). <br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: yellow;">LOST PASSWORDS FIXES</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Forgotten passwords can be recovered using the following procedures (from <a href="http://en.kioskea.net/faq/4154-micro-sd-card-lost-password">kioskea.net</a>).<br />
<br />
<b>Lost Password Fix One:</b><br />
1. Open the file manager of your mobile<br />
2. In Settings choose system folders,<br />
3. In the System folder, find a file called mmcstore<br />
4. Send the file to your PC using IR/Bluetooth<br />
5. Open the file in Notepad<br />
6. The password you need for your memory card is located within that file<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<b>Lost Password Fix Two:</b><br />
1. Insert your card into your phone, without accessing it through the phone<br />
2. Run FExplorer and Open the path C:\system<br />
3. Find the file called mmcstore, and rename it mmcstore.txt<br />
4. Copy that file (mmcstore.txt) to your PC and open it in Notepad<br />
5. Your password will be located within that file.<br />
<br />
<b>For Nokia Users with MicroSD : </b><br />
Put the card in any E series mobile or N95 etc and format it. It will not ask for a password.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com185tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-28576901810254521342009-06-11T19:58:00.000-07:002009-06-11T20:08:57.666-07:00Fixing a Compact Flash Memory Card Error<div align="justify">Note: owners of Canon PowerShot S400 cameras, <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&fcategoryid=223&modelid=8777&keycode=2112&id=27465">please see this first </a>(you just might get this problem fixed for free!). </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br />For all others, Oh No! Your favorite compact flash camera all of a sudden has started giving you CF memory card errors. You've tried several different memory cards, and it's still the same thing. Your camera is inoperative due to this error. Don't fret, you just might be able to fix this problem yourself.<br /><br />Take a look inside your camera's CF card slot. It's very likely that you may have a bent pin in there. If so, remove batteries and card. Use a small/skinny jeweler's flat screwdriver to bend the pin back as close as possible. The jeweler's screwdrivers that you see at the dollar store will work fine. Another tool that I sometimes use is a stiff wire with a bent hook on the end to get very flattened pins started. <strong><em>Take your time and use as much patience as you can muster </em></strong>(take a breather in between if needed). Just keep nudging it upward/straighter a "<strong>tiny bit at a time</strong>". <strong><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">Whatever you do, don't try to unbend it with one push/nudge, you won't be able to do it.<br /><br /></span></em></strong>It doesn't have to be perfect, just as close as you can get it. When it's the best that you can get it, take your flash card and "SLOWLY" insert it. The card itself should fine-align the pin. Remove the card, and verify that the pin is still straightened. If so, reinsert the card and try it out. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-61941934218663583642009-05-30T14:49:00.000-07:002011-10-11T11:17:36.983-07:00A Simple Fix for a Stuck Shutter<!-- ADMOB START -->
<script type="text/javascript">
var admob_vars = {
pubid: 'a14e94829161589', // publisher id
bgcolor: '356FA8', // background color (hex)
text: 'FFFFFF', // font-color (hex)
test: true // test mode, set to false to receive live ads
};
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://mmv.admob.com/static/iphone/iadmob.js"></script>
<!-- ADMOB END -->
<div align="justify">
For those of you owning Canon A400 series (A400 through A490), <a href="http://www.fixya.com/support/t366600-canon_powershot_a430_horizontal_lines">please see this link</a> after trying the below troubleshooting steps, as you may also be experiencing a broken shutter ribbon cable.</div>
<div align="justify">
A stuck shutter is a common failure mode for digital cameras. Unfortunately some model cameras experience this more than others. I won't say which but you'll likely notice in the comments section which cameras these are. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zlzE-dZiAf4/TinO_qJXGTI/AAAAAAAAAT4/EvFVAYQ-omY/s1600/IMG_1710-2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632260402044148018" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zlzE-dZiAf4/TinO_qJXGTI/AAAAAAAAAT4/EvFVAYQ-omY/s400/IMG_1710-2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>If you did see movement, then you are possibly experiencing CCD image sensor failure. As mentioned, the symptoms of a stuck shutter are very similar to CCD failure. If you own a Canon or Sony camera, please see the following two articles instead as your camera might possibly be eligible for free repair:<br /><br /><a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/canon-digital-cameras-showing-black.html" target="_blank">Canon CCD advisory article</a><br /><br /><a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/sony-konica-minolta-cameras.html" target="_blank">Sony CCD advisory article</a><br /><br />Unfortunately, actual mechanical repair of a stuck shutter is labor intensive as the mechanism is buried deep inside your camera. If the camera is out of warranty the cost of this repair is usually very high, and may be more than the value of the camera. Would not recommend trying to open your cameras to repair this yourself, as it's very unlikely that you'll succeed. However, there is something simple that you can try that might unstick it, albeit it may be only a temporary fix. Also would not recommend that you do this on a perfectly working camera, as I'm not sure what the power interuptions may do to the camera. As usual, only think of doing this procedure as a last resort for a camera that repair cost is out of the question, and as such the camera would otherwise be set for disposal:<br /><br /><strong>Step 1. Turn the camera on.</strong> Also turn off any features that may be a power drain to the batteries. You want all available power from the batteries for the following steps. Turn off image stabilization if your camera has that feature. Put the camera in any mode other than Auto, and turn off the flash. Also turn off the LCD screen (press the DISP or DISPLAY button).<br /><br /><strong>Step 2. Move the camera to any mode that will give you the longest exposure time without flash. </strong>For many Canon cameras this will be shutter priority (Tv) mode (for many Canon A models the wheel with AUTO,M,Tv,...). For some of the Canon SD models this is also known as "Long Shutter Mode" (select the Moon/Stars icon). </div>
<div align="justify">
For cameras other than Canon, set the camera so that it will take the longest possible exposure, usually 15 seconds (15"). Many cameras may not have shutter priority mode (Tv). Instead, put the camera in manual mode and turn off the flash. With these settings, try the fix in a darkened room, opening the battery door immediately after taking the picture. The darkened room without flash should give you a prolonged exposure, hopefully giving you enough time to conduct Step 4 while the shutter is trying to move.<br /><br /><strong>Step 3. Take a picture.</strong><br /><br /><strong>Step 4. After 7 seconds open the battery door for a few seconds and then close it again.</strong> The intent is to momentarily interupt power during the exposure time. Note that you may also open the battery door immediately after pressing the shutter button if your camera is not capable of taking 15 second exposures.<br /><br /><strong>Step 5. Repeat the procedure until the shutter becomes unstuck.</strong> One person reported on Fixya doing this 15 times before his shutter became unstuck. </div>
<div align="justify">
Supposedly the power interuption while the shutter is trying to open can "jog" the shutter open. Some people have reported success with this method, and they noted that it required many tries. </div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>Step 5a. Alternative Fix (use caution!).</strong> Please use common sense and care if you decide to try this technique, as there is some obvious potential for further damaging your camera with this step. If the above five steps don't work after many repeated tries, several readers have reported success in jogging the shutter open by tapping the camera against a wooden surface. </div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Step 5b. Alternative Fix b.</b> If 5a scares you, others have reported success with an alternate method of merely extending the lens and then gently tapping around the extended lens barrel with a pen or pencil. Every once in a while check down the barrel to see if you notice lens flicker when taking a picture. If none noted, continue tapping. I have personally repaired two different Canon SD1000's by merely gently flicking the end of the lens barrel with the tip of my index finger while taking a picture.</div>
<div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Gently Tapping Around the Extended Lens Barrel</b></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lFWJ0dIyHUo/TixYeQ-ubGI/AAAAAAAAAUA/EeJ9naerNd4/s1600/IMG_1731-2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632974510911024226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lFWJ0dIyHUo/TixYeQ-ubGI/AAAAAAAAAUA/EeJ9naerNd4/s400/IMG_1731-2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div>
<div>
<div align="justify">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Anonymous reader of July 25th offers two more Steps:</b></div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Step 6a: </b>In a very dark room to open the camera's iris, switch back and forth on the selector dial from picture taking mode to playback mode. Keep switching back and forth between modes until the shutter opens. Gently tap on the lens housing with a pencil or pen while conducting these cycles. </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Step 6b:</b> Again, in a very dark room, place the camera in shooting mode and then open and close the battery cover. No need to place the camera in Tv mode or set to 15 second exposure. Any shooting mode will do while you open and close the battery door. Keep repeating until the shutter opens. Gently tap on the lens housing with a pencil or pen in between tries. </div>
<div align="justify">
<b>IMPORTANT, Post-Repair Step: If you succeed in fixing your camera, note that this may also be only a temporary fix, and you may be required to do it again. To minimize this potential, place the camera in "Continuous Shutter" mode, and take a large amount of pictures continuously to attempt to lubricate the shutter (you can delete those pictures later). Also, try to use your camera more often as another preventative measure from reoccurrence.</b></div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
Note that cameras with shutters that are stuck open (overexposed pics) can be particularly difficult to repair with the above techniques. But I do know that <strong>Step 5b can work for both stuck open and stuck closed shutters (of those SD1000's that I've repaired, one was stuck open)</strong>. Hopefully you'll be lucky too. But if not, it may be time to consider retiring the camera.</div>
<div align="justify">
Finally, please comment below whether you succeeded or not with this technique <strong>along with your camera model</strong>. Also note how many tries you gave it. If you know of another method, please also report that here. </div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com551tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-6573357926155494812009-01-24T12:23:00.000-08:002011-07-31T08:21:18.130-07:00How Do I Download or Upload Pictures or Videos from my Camera?<div align="justify">This question comes up a lot. A new or used camera owner may run into camera software issues. They'll plug in their camera, but for some reason their computer fails to see or recognize the camera. Another problem is they may lose or may never have had the USB cable or needed software that came with the camera. Is there any other way to get the photos or videos off the camera and onto their computer?<br /><br />First of all keep in mind IMO the only reason that the camera companies include a capability for cable download is to get you accustomed to using their bundled software that came with the camera. In most cases this software is rather pitiful, again IMO. If you absolutely must use photo organizing or editing software, there are much better freeware options available than what came with your camera (a future blog post is brewing). </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />But as a solution to downloading your photos, I highly recommend that you instead consider using a card reader to move the photos or videos to your computer. Card reader's do not require software (although Windows 98 and earlier may require drivers), are very inexpensive, are much faster downloading files from the camera, do not use the camera's batteries during the download, and are much less prone to file corruption of the photos during the download. Really, it would be better for the camera user if one of these was included with the camera instead of the cable and bundled software. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294980988648997074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/SXuNJ7jewNI/AAAAAAAAAMU/dBMBOW0pkxs/s400/SD+Card+Reader.jpg" border="0" /><strong>Portable SD Card Reader/Writer</strong><br /></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294981147987415010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/SXuNTNIuD-I/AAAAAAAAAMc/ceutUc5nWvo/s400/Multi+Card+Reader.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><strong>"All in One" Multi-Card Reader/Writer</strong></p><p align="justify">You place the camera's card in the reader, plug the reader into the USB port, and your computer sees it as a hard drive. You simply copy/paste or drag/drop your photos onto your hard drive. For this simplicity, most professional photographers utilize card readers exclusively. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache if you convert to using one of these. </p><p align="justify"><strong><span style="color:#000099;"><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1232260593/ref=sr_st?keywords=sd+card+reader&rs=172282&page=1&rh=n%3A172282%2Ck%3Asd+card+reader&sort=acrelevancerank#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=USB+card+reader&rh=n%3A172282%2Ck%3AUSB+card+reader">Here are examples</a></em></span></strong> from Amazon. Don't be fooled by the cost. Some of the most inexpensive ones work just fine. <b>But make sure that you do read the reviews first before purchasing</b>. Also make sure that you get a reader that is clearly stated capable of reading your card, particularly if you use SDHC, XD, CF, or MS cards.<br /><br />For international readers of this blog, and even those in the US, <a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.300" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color:#000099;"><em>here's another source</em></span></strong></a> for card readers (free international shipping too :-). I use the $1.95 portable SD/SDHC card model (SKU7230), and it works great. Note that the free shipping can take up to three weeks though as they're located in Hong Kong. </p><p align="justify">Now go throw away that cable and go download your photos. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-42306191447978598282008-05-18T10:02:00.000-07:002008-06-03T18:27:57.460-07:00Simple Fixes for Cameras that Won't Take a Picture When the Shutter Button is Pressed<div align="justify">Everything seems fine with your camera, except that when you press the shutter button nothing happens! On Canon cameras you may also notice flashing yellow/orange lights by your viewfinder. Try switching to any mode other than automatic, turn off the flash, and press the shutter button. Did the camera take a picture? If so, continue reading. </div><div align="justify"><br />Many cameras have a safety feature that prevents the flash capacitor from charging if the case is opened. This is to lessen the chance of electric shock. They usually use one or two of the screws along the perimeter of the camera to complete a circuit that lets the processor know that the case is closed. Verify that all the screws are in place along the perimeter of your camera, and that there are no gaps along the perimeter seams. If you're missing a screw, try using one of the others to replace it.</div><div align="justify"><br />If they're all there, next thing to check is the batteries. The brand that you're using may have reached its shelf life, or just may not have sufficient power to charge the flash capacitor. Try a better brand, or better yet rechargeable NiMH batteries. </div><div align="justify"><br />If the above didn't help, then the flash tube or its circuit is probably at fault. In this case, would then recommend professional repair. This repair is somewhat difficult, requires some soldering, has some danger of electrical shock, and goes beyond what I'd like to describe here. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-74779075163185622542008-02-16T10:10:00.000-08:002008-06-27T11:52:17.764-07:00A Simple Fix for Digital Cameras Experiencing Short Battery Life<div align="justify">First off, for those owners of Canon Powershot A530/A540 cameras, please see <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/canon-a530-a540-with-short-battery-life.html">this post</a> first, then return here if your camera is not on the advisory list.<br /><br />For all other cameras that use AA batteries, <strong>are you still using alkaline batteries</strong>? If so, alkaline batteries (or worse yet "super heavy duty" batteries) just don't have the power for more than a few pics in today's digital camera. Some may even have problems just powering startup of the camera. This may be true in some cameras, even if they're brand new and straight out of the package! </div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204809293032725986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/SDsyecreHeI/AAAAAAAAAHI/LC3p2PPDP6o/s400/use+rechargeables.png" border="0" /><strong>Digital cameras for the most part should only be used with rechargeable NiMH batteries</strong>. These days many retailers sell these for around $7 for a package of four (about $15-19 for the batteries with charger). Keep in mind they'll save you big bucks in the long run over alkalines, AND they'll last for at least 100 pictures per charge (and probably many, many more). You'll be very pleased with their performance, and may slap yourself for not buying them sooner. When at the store, look on the package for a power rating of at least 2500 mah. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br />Finally, if you're still having problems even with rechargeable batteries, you may have not set the camera's menu setting to recognize NiMH rechargeable batteries. Some camera brands (Samsung in particular) have a setting in the camera's menus to differentiate between Alkaline and NiMH batteries. If the menu is set to alkaline, the camera may in error report a low battery status with NiMH batteries. To correct the problem, merely find the page in the camera's menu to set the battery type, and reset it to rechargeable batteries.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-29141231960726465282007-12-23T15:01:00.000-08:002008-09-06T09:07:41.211-07:00Fuji Digital Cameras Showing Black Images or Distorted Images<div align="justify">Similar to Canon and Sony, Fuji has also promised to REPAIR FOR FREE its cameras experiencing symptoms of a defective CCD under their recall advisory. You may have to pay for shipping to the repair facility (I would <strong>strongly</strong> argue reimbursement with them). Some symptoms of a defective CCD include distorted images or abnormal colors, scratchy purple lines, blank or black pictures, and/or black videos with good sound being recorded on the camera's flash card. You may suspect that the camera's shutter is not opening, but this is not the case. Fuji digital still camera models that are affected include:<br /><br /><strong>Advisory Camera Models and Serial Numbers</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><strong>FinePix A303</strong> </div><div align="justify">Serial Numbers 3JA4**** through 3JA5****<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><strong>FinePix F410</strong> </div><div align="justify">Serial Numbers 32A1****, 32A6**** through 32A7****, 32A9****<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><strong>FinePix F700</strong> </div><div align="justify">Serial Numbers 33A0****, 34A1****<br /><br />Had a little difficulty finding this advisory (makes it seem like they're hiding it hmmmmm? If so, shame on them!), but use the following instructions at the Fuji website: (<strong>UPDATE September 6, 2008</strong>: It seems that FUJI has abandoned their repair of these defective camera as the following link no longer works. <strong>DOUBLE shame on them</strong>!!!)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/ServiceSupportProductContent.jsp?dbid=839010&prodcat=2147483647&sscucatid=664262&quicklink=true">http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/ServiceSupportProductContent.jsp?dbid=839010&prodcat=2147483647&sscucatid=664262&quicklink=true</a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-49799806251192048492007-12-22T19:56:00.000-08:002014-02-13T19:44:52.113-08:00Fixing a Lens Error (Stuck or Jammed Lens) on a Digital Camera<script type="text/javascript">
var admob_vars = {
pubid: 'a14e94829161589', // publisher id
bgcolor: '356FA8', // background color (hex)
text: 'FFFFFF', // font-color (hex)
test: true // test mode, set to false to receive live ads
};
</script>
<script src="http://mmv.admob.com/static/iphone/iadmob.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<br />
<div align="justify">
<b>(Last Update: 13 February, 2014) </b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If this information helps you, please pay it forward, and share this article with others who may be experiencing the same problem. Your help in sharing will be appreciated, and karma will prevail!</b></span></i><br />
<br />
This has to be THE most common failure mode for a digital camera, a stuck lens, jammed lens, or a malfunctioning lens. Some common error messages that might show up on the LCD's of cameras with this problem include “E18 lens error” (older Canon Powershot), "ACCESS" error (Sony Cybershot), "Zoom Error" (Fuji Finepix), "Lens Obstructed" (Kodak Easyshare), “lens error, restart camera” or just "lens error" (Nikon Coolpix and some other camera makers lately are using this variation). Some cameras might show nothing at all, but merely make a beeping noise as the lens goes out, then in, then the camera shuts off. Sometimes the lens won't even move.<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
The problem is actually quite common throughout all camera brands. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended. Believe it or not, one BIG contributor to lens errors is using a camera case. Sand, gunk, case fibers, etc... accumulate at the bottom of the case. These materials love to cling to the camera by electrostatic build-up from the camera rubbing against the side of the case (especially those cases with soft fibrous intreriors). Once these materials work their way into the lens mechanism, that's all she wrote. I have many Canon's, and NEVER use a case for this very reason.<br />
<br />
Note that this problem applies to ALL cameras with telescopic lens barrel (optical) zoom. With Samsung's release of the Galaxy S4 Zoom, I'm really curious to see if this will also be a issue/problem with this camera phone (and other phones with optical zoom). I predict (on June 16, 2013) that it will, as most people carry their phones in pockets and purses. If it occurs, Fix 5a would likely be the best technique to correct this problem.<br />
<br />
A camera owner that suffers this problem may have no recourse for having the camera repaired. Many camera makers will not honor repairing this problem under warranty as they claim it is due to impact damage to the camera, or sand or debris getting into the lens gearing mechanism (neither of which is covered under warranty). The quoted repair cost is usually close to or more than what the camera is actually worth.
<br />
<br />
Fortunately, about half the cameras that suffer this failure can easily be fixed by one of the following methods. None of these methods involve opening the camera, although some have potential to cause other damage to the camera if excessively done. If the camera is still under warranty, before trying any of these, please please first contact your camera's maker to see if they'll cover the repair, or to determine how much they'll charge for the repair. Who knows, you might get lucky. But if they quote you a number that's higher than the value of your camera, you may want to consider the following methods. <br />
<br />
First here's a video summary of most of these fixes, and following that a detailed text description of the fixes. <b>Recommend reading the text first</b> (along with the reader's comments and tips section) as these provide additional tips for situations that the video does not. For example, the video focuses on repair fixes for a camera that does not have obvious damage to the lens barrel (such as from a fall). Thus it does not cover straightening the lens barrel if it is crooked, which the text does. Use the video primarily for further clarification on how to conduct these fixes if you have questions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='410' height='308' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/AkEfnF6zVxc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Video Summary Fixes 1 through 7</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
The methods are listed in the order of risk of damaging your camera. Thus make sure you try them in the listed order. And remember, <em><strong>these fixes (especially #6 and 7) should only be considered for a camera that's out of warranty, who's cost of repair would be excessive, and would otherwise be considered for disposal if unrepaired:</strong></em></div>
<div align="justify">
<em>
</em></div>
<em></em><br />
<div align="justify">
<strong>Fix #1:</strong> Remove the batteries from the camera, wait a few minutes. <b><i>Put a fresh set of batteries back in</i></b> (preferably rechargeable NiMH 2500mah or better) and turn the camera on. If using rechargeables, and <b><i>they're more than a year old</i></b>, consider purchasing new rechargeable batteries as they may not be providing sufficient power to startup the camera. </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Fix #1a:</b> If new batteries didn't work, try <b><i>pressing and holding the Menu, Function, Function Set, or OK</i></b> button while turning the camera on. This along with Fix #1c and #2 sometimes work for lens errors that occur from batteries wearing down while the lens was extended. </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Fix #1c:</b> For those of you who can still access your camera's menus with this error, <b>try finding and selecting the "factory reset" option</b> to set your camera back to its original factory condition. On some Canon cameras, this requires holding the menu button down with the camera powered on for up to 10 seconds. However note that a lens error might sometimes override the reset option, and thus the option might not appear.</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong>Fix #2:</strong> If the camera's batteries ran down completely while its lens was still open, the camera may show a lens error or not start properly when new batteries are installed. <b><i>Remove the memory card and keep it removed</i></b>, then install the new batteries. When you turn the camera on with the card removed it may come back to life, as this triggers a reset in some cameras. Error E30 (for older Canon's) means that you don't have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the SD card and turn it on one last time
<br />
<br />
<strong>Fix #3:</strong> <b><i>Insert the cameras Audio/Video (AV) cable, and turn the camera on</i></b>. Inserting this cable ensures that the camera's LCD screen remains off during the start process. Thus extra battery power is available to the camera's lens motor during startup. This extra power can be useful in overcoming grit or sand particals that may be jamming the lens. If the AV cable doesn't fix the lens error by itself, <b><i>consider keeping this cable installed while trying fixes 4, 5, and 7</i></b> as a means to provide extra power to help to these fixes. But note that I DON'T recommend keeping the cable installed during Fix 6 as you may damage the AV port while tapping the camera. Reinsert the cable only AFTER tapping the camera.
<br />
<br />
<strong>Fix #4:</strong> <b><i>Place the camera flat on its back</i></b> on a table, pointed at the ceiling. Press and <b><i>hold the shutter button down</i></b>, and <b><i>at the same time press the power-on button</i></b>. The idea is that the camera will try to autofocus while the lens is extending, hopefully seating the lens barrel guide pins back into their slots.
<br />
<br />
<strong>Fix #5:</strong> <b><i>Blow compressed air in the gaps around the lens barrels </i></b>with the idea of <b><i>blowing out any sand or grit that may be in there jamming the lens</i></b>. Other variations include blowing with a hair dryer in “no heat” setting, or sucking the gaps with a vacuum (careful with this one). Some people also have actually used a "Shop Vac" with this fix to help extend a retracted lens.
</div>
<strong></strong><br />
<div>
<strong><strong>
</strong></strong></div>
<strong>
</strong>
<br />
<div align="justify">
<strong><em><strong>Now we're entering into the realm of potentially damaging your camera in conducting the fix. There is definitely some risk here, so take care when conducting the following fixes:</strong></em></strong></div>
<strong>
</strong>
<br />
<div align="justify">
</div>
<strong>
</strong>
<br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong>Fix #5a: </strong><b><i>If you actually do notice sand particles stuck in the gaps around the lens barrel</i></b>, and blowing air does not help to dislodge them, <b><i>consider using a thin piece of paper or a sewing needle to help dislodge them</i></b>. Pay particular care not to scratch your lens barrel with the needle. Also, I do not recommend probing too deeply around the lens barrel with the paper (don't go more than a 1 cm or 1/2 in) . Particularly I do not recommend probing deeply around the most outer (largest) lens barrel gap, as you may dislodge the lens barrel dust gasket that's located just inside of that gap.</div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>
</strong></div>
<div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Dislodging Particles from Lens Barrel Gaps (Fix #5a)</strong></div>
<div align="justify">
<strong><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bLAXL3c42y0/TixcYNkFYpI/AAAAAAAAAUI/HtHyuY-OuO8/s1600/IMG_1737-2.jpg"><img alt="SAND CAMERA LENS" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bLAXL3c42y0/TixcYNkFYpI/AAAAAAAAAUI/HtHyuY-OuO8/s400/IMG_1737-2.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632978804961272466" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>
</strong></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>Fix #6:</strong> Repeatedly<b><i> tap the padded/rubber usb cover on a hard surface with the intent of dislodging any particles that may be jamming the lens</i></b>. Other variations include hitting a side of the camera against the palm of your hand. A lot of people have reported success with this method. HOWEVER, there is also some obvious potential for damaging or dislodging internal components with this method, such as unseating ribbon cables, or cracking LCD screens.
<br />
<br />
<strong>Fix #6a: </strong>This is a variation of Fix #6, and should be tried if the lens barrels appears straight (not crooked). In other words, try this if there's no obvious mechanical damage to the lens barrels that's causing the problem. With the lens pointed down, <b><i>try "gently" tapping around the lens barrels with a small item such as a pen or pencil</i></b>. The idea is to <b><i>try to dislodge any sand particles that may be jamming the lens barrel stuck</i></b>. Simultaneously try turning the camera on and off as you're doing this.</div>
<div align="justify">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div align="justify">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Dislodging Particles by Tapping (Fix #6a)</b></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pSjmLwYq7kA/TixeGenRHmI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/mJRoCb6c4Yo/s1600/IMG_1731-2.jpg"><img alt="SAND CAMERA LENS" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pSjmLwYq7kA/TixeGenRHmI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/mJRoCb6c4Yo/s400/IMG_1731-2.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632980699323637346" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<b>Fix #7a: </b> Note that <b>this particular fix is intended only for cameras with lens barrels that try to extend, but then stop partway</b>, and then return to their stored position. Try grabbing and holding the smallest inner lens barrel at its furthest extended position, preventing it from returning to the camera. Examine and clean around the lens barrel any noticed dust or dirt. Turn off and restart the camera again. If the lens extends even further, grab it again at its furthest extension, preventing it from returning. Clean again. Keep repeating until the lens is fully extended. Turn off the camera and restart it to see if the lens error has gone away.</div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>Fix #7b:</strong> The most extreme of the fixes. Only consider this fix as an absolute last resort before tossing the camera, as <b>there's some obvious potential for further damaging your camera by using this method.</b><span style="background-color: yellow;"> You especially might <b><i>consider this if the lens barrel appears obviously damaged, bent, or crooked such as from a fall. In that case, try thinking of the lens as a dislocated shoulder. Try forcing the lens to straighten it and put it back in its place</i></b>.</span> In such cases, the lens barrel guide pins have become unseated from their guide slots (see the below illustration). Your objective would be to try to reseat them by straightening the lens. Listen for a "click" to hint that they've been reseated, and immediately stop forcing the lens at this point. More people have reported success with this method than with any of the other methods (see the polls in the right column). </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
Variations to Fix #7b include gently pulling, rotating, and/or twisting the lens barrel while hitting the power button. Examine the lens barrels closely for any hint of tilt or unevenness. Again, the goal is to attempt to straighten or align the barrel if it's crooked or twisted. Another variation includes looking for uneven gaps around the lens barrel, and then pushing on the side of the lens barrel that has the largest gap (<b style="background-color: yellow;">note pushing the lens barrel all the way in is NOT recommended as it may become stuck there</b>). Again, while doing any of the above, listen for a click that indicates that the lens barrel guide pins may have reseated in their guide slots. If you hear this click, immediately stop and try the camera. The following photo illustrates unseated guide pins that would cause a lens error.</div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<img alt="STUCK LENS FIX" border="0" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/R5tjPuxOOcI/AAAAAAAAAGM/zXVrCmZSiq0/s400/Guide+Pin+Example+with+Type.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159826919986706882" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /> </div>
<div align="justify">
If you try these fixes, <strong>please vote or post a comment on how the fixes worked for you</strong>. Your experience may help others. Note that most of the fixes listed here actually come from my reader's comments. <b>If the above fixes didn't work for you, then please read through the reader's comments</b>, especially the newer ones. There are other techniques listed from readers there that just might work for your situation. When posting a comment, please specify your camera model, and the particular fix that worked. Please also comment if none of the fixes were successful, or if you tried something different that worked.
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>References: </strong></em></div>
<a href="http://www.e18error.com/">Canon E18 Lens Error</a> – This is the big kahuna of all E18 error camera repair sites:<br />
Make sure you also read their <a href="http://www.e18error.com/posts/index.php">post section</a> to hear of other peoples successes and failure in fixing this problem: <br />
More Canon E18 experiences and fixes at <a href="http://blogs.yucs.org/~dwallach/2004/08/canon_e18_error_repair_instruc.html">The Juggle Zone</a>.<br />
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://www.bitnet.cx/canon.html">The E18 Error Experience Log</a>. Even more Canon E18 experiences, plus a good listing of E18 errors by Canon model:</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<br />
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/nikon-coolpix-l3_question.html?qid=3380">Nikon Coolpix L3 Lens Error</a> - This site has a few other fixes not listed here that are applicable to the Nikon Coolpix cameras:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jancology.com/blog/archives/2003/11/02/nikon_5700_lens_error.html">Jancology.com</a> Nikon 5700 Lens Error - More people's experiences with lens errors on Nikon cameras:</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<br />
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://www.avh.dds.nl/Fix-Canon-SD600-Lens-Error/">SD600 Disassembly</a> - Included this as an example of how sand can easily gum up the small gears within your camera. The website also shows a simple method for cleaning these gears. <br />
<br />
<br />
Finally, I'm curious just how many people actually read this far down into this article. For those people, here are two totally unrelated videos (to this subject) on video editing using freeware. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Free Green Screen Video Editor</b></div>
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" alt="FREE CHROMA GREEN SCREEN" height="308" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/luyOn5DdUZs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410"></embed>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Free and Easy Video Editor</b></div>
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" alt="FREE VIDEO EDITING" height="308" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qYbAe-mUscs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410"></embed></div>
<br />
By the way, if these videos did interest you, then please visit <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2012/05/absolutely-free-video-editing-programs.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">this other article on video editing</span></b></a> from this blog.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1684tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-62611873300200403932007-12-16T09:36:00.000-08:002011-01-08T12:07:51.084-08:00Canon A530 / A540 with Short Battery Life or Hot Bottom<div align="justify">For camera owners other than A530/A540 experiencing short battery life, or for A530/A540 owners that are not on the below described advisory list, please see <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2008/02/simple-fix-for-digital-cameras.html">this post</a> instead.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Some Canon Powershot A530 and A540 cameras are subject to an advisory recall. It seems that a little hinge spring in the door of the battery compartment can stick out and short the batteries. The end result is very poor battery life, with only a few shots taken before the batteries die. Also the battery door becomes hot.<br /><br />The good news is that <strong>Canon will fix this for free</strong>, with <strong>free shipping</strong>, <strong>regardless of the camera's warranty status</strong>. Please see <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/powershot_a_series/powershot_a530?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e0248004ccfb">this link from Canon</a>.<br /><br />When contacting Canon, recommend that you print out the above linked advisory and have it in hand. Also, please review the following article concerning a similar Canon advisory for a faulty CCD image sensor.<br /><br /><a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/canon-digital-cameras-showing-black.html">http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/canon-digital-cameras-showing-black.html</a><br /><br />This should be handled in the exact same way. As stated in the above article, be on guard and respond immediately should you get any feeling that you will be responsible for ANY charges. Repair of your camera should be free and painless.<br /><br />CR</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-10305743773351251862007-12-10T20:06:00.000-08:002014-02-23T19:16:19.473-08:002014 Best Free Photo Recovery Software (Really, No-Kidding!)<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>(Article last updated February 23, 2014)</b></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">If this information helps you, please pay it forward, and share this article with others who may be experiencing the same problem. Your help in sharing will be appreciated, and karma will prevail!</span></i></b><br />
<br />
<b><u><i style="background-color: yellow;">The photo recovery software listed here are truly "no-kidding" freeware</i></u>. </b>Try any of the eight below linked freeware photo recovery software programs. With this software, it's usually no problem at all to recover your lost pictures and videos. There's no catch. They are, no-kidding, <b>FREE, </b>and have been verified by CNET to be safe for your computer. </div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<b>For those of you with corrupted memory cards, or state that a format is required, please scroll down and see the corrupted card located procedures near the bottom of this article.</b> </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong><em>Note that these programs may require the use of a card reader</em></strong>, so think about getting one if you don't have one already. They're VERY inexpensive these days, and may be found on Amazon). What's a card reader? <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-do-i-download-photos-or-pictures.html">See this other article</a> on card readers from the blog.<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Example USB SD Card Reader ( $2 with shipping on Amazon)</b></div>
<div align="justify" style="text-align: center;">
<b>If you own a camera, there's no reason not to own one of these!</b></div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OTs466oSNAY/Tk3WHPoSSJI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/3rVPR8zn_eg/s1600/SD%2BCard%2BReader.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OTs466oSNAY/Tk3WHPoSSJI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/3rVPR8zn_eg/s400/SD%2BCard%2BReader.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642401328108030098" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<b><b>For Mac Users:</b> </b>One of the listed programs works on both PC's and Mac's (<a href="http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download" target="_blank">PhotoRec</a>). PhotoRec is an excellent program, and will likely recover your files. If PhotoRec doesn't interest you, then see this blog review of other <a href="http://data-security-freeware.blogspot.com/2011/05/truly-free-mac-data-recovery-software.html" target="_blank">data recovery freeware for the Mac</a>.</div>
<div align="justify">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="justify">
<b><b>PC Free Recovery Software Performance Comparison</b></b></div>
<div align="justify">
The below listed table outlines the current results of performance comparison of the software listed on this site. This comparison was made using an old 64MB SD card that had been previously erased, formatted, and reused many times. I no longer use this card, and hold onto it only so that I can run head to head comparisons of recovery software. I utilized "deep scan", "surface scan", or "intensive mode" where applicable/selectable, to give each software its best shot at recovery.<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--W84uwP6v2g/TwoJ3jNccFI/AAAAAAAABbQ/J84iPrs-sec/s1600/Performance+Comparison4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--W84uwP6v2g/TwoJ3jNccFI/AAAAAAAABbQ/J84iPrs-sec/s400/Performance+Comparison4.png" height="235" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>And here's my video review of this software.</b></div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<div align="justify">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="308" width="410"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YnC047mRuNU?version=3&hl=en_US">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<embed alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YnC047mRuNU?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="410" height="308" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> </div>
<b><strong><br /></strong></b>
<strong style="font-weight: bold;"><u>IMPORTANT</u> point to remember before using any of these programs: </strong><span style="background-color: yellow;"><b><i> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">Always remember to save your recovered files onto a different memory device than the problem device.</span></u><i> </i></span></b></span>This will prevent accidentally overwriting your lost files before the program has had a chance to recover them. For example, if your lost photos are on a SD memory card, set the program to save your recovered files onto your computer's hard drive or a flash thumb drive, and NOT back onto the same memory card. <br />
<br />
<b style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have trouble installing any of these programs with Vista or Windows 7, remember to right-click on their installation file and select "Run as Administrator".</span></b></div>
<div align="justify">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify">
<b><strong style="background-color: cyan;">#1: PhotoRec by CGSecurity.org (Windows 2000 though 7, Linux, Mac OS X and many more)</strong></b></div>
<div align="justify">
<u><b>This is absolutely by far the most powerful and most effective freeware photo recovery software that you can find/use.</b></u> As expected, in the performance comparison it came out on top. It not only recovered all photos, but also their thumbnail files. It also found one additional mp3 file that MiniTool missed. The only drawback of PhotoRec is that it does not have a graphic user interface, and is command line prompted (thus it's portability across many operating systems).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0hQQmaGcIIw/TlGmYD1dSWI/AAAAAAAAAVg/j1oXA0lQkkM/s1600/PhotRec.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY PHOTOREC" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0hQQmaGcIIw/TlGmYD1dSWI/AAAAAAAAAVg/j1oXA0lQkkM/s640/PhotRec.png" height="321" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643474740348537186" style="display: block; height: 201px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="640" /></a></div>
This may scare the average person from using it. They shouldn't be, as it is not too difficult to use. As proof, please see the following tutorial on how to use PhotoRec for photo and video recovery. You'll see that it can be easy. The latest version of the <i><a href="http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: blue;">PhotoRec may be </span></b><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">downloaded directly from CGSecurity here</span></a></i>. The program also comes bundled with another program (TestDisk) which isn't really needed for photo recovery (ignore it if you're only interested in recovering photos from your memory card). But it is a superb program for those of you attempting data recovery of your hard drive or other devices.</div>
<div align="justify">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>PhotoRec Video Tutorial</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z5LU_hSL3C4?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0">
</param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
</param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always">
</param>
<embed alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY PHOTOREC" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z5LU_hSL3C4?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<br />
<div align="justify">
<div align="justify">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></div>
<div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><strong style="background-color: cyan;">#4: Digicam Photo Recovery (Windows 95 through 7)</strong></span></strong></div>
<span style="background-color: yellow;">Digicam Photo Recovery used to be here. Unfortunately, Digicam has gone payware since when this article was originally listed, and as such has been removed from this article. But this spot is being left open, as there are several other freeware candidates that I plan to include here in the near future.<b style="font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
</div>
</div>
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<b><strong> </strong></b></div>
<div align="justify">
<b><strong style="background-color: cyan;">#2: MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition (Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and 7)</strong></b></div>
<div align="justify">
This software came out in 2011, and I have to admit, it is very good. <span style="background-color: yellow;"><u>Note that this program allows 1GB of recovery for free, but anything more requires the payware version</u>. </span> I've listed it in this article as 1GB may be satisfactory for most people. Ran a performance comparison of all the listed software, and it came in second, recovering nearly all known deleted images, videos and mp3's on the card. Albeit, it did miss some unneeded thumbnail files and a single mp3 that PhotoRec caught. But it remains one of my favorites as it's almost as powerful as PhotoRec, yet has an excellent GUI that should make it easy for the average person to use. It's also very quick, and relatively easy to use. <i><b><span style="background-color: yellow; color: blue;"><a href="http://www.powerdatarecovery.com/power-data-recovery.html">You may download MiniTool Data Recovery Software from the vendor here</a></span></b></i>. Again 1GB of recovery is free, and any more requires the payware version. And <a href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/8/1/2529628/MiniTool%20Instructions.pdf">here are simple instructions</a> that I've written showing how to use the program.</div>
<b><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xnjtBrnnwLo/Tkg3pen8KbI/AAAAAAAAAVA/1Too-pUlmrQ/s1600/minitool.png"><img alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY MINITOOL" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xnjtBrnnwLo/Tkg3pen8KbI/AAAAAAAAAVA/1Too-pUlmrQ/s400/minitool.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640819719016294834" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 316px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></b></div>
<strong style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></strong>
<br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<br />
<strong style="background-color: cyan; font-weight: bold;">#3: VAIOSoft Recovery Manager (Windows 95 through XP)</strong><br />
<div align="justify">
If none of the above options worked for you, then here's another fine example in free recovery software. Not as simple as some of the others, but it definitely gets the job done. In fact, it came in third in my performance comparison of recovery software! It was able to recover all the known deleted images on the card as well as 4 known erased mp3's. However, one of the recovered images may have data from a video embedded into it due to its unusally large file size. But still, this program did better than most others evaluated. It's 3.2 megs in size and requires an install. Although CNET says it's good for up to Windows XP, I was able to install and run it on Windows 7. <a href="http://downloads.yahoo.com/software/windows-web-tools-vaiosoft-recovery-manager-s24549"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: blue;"><b><i>Download VAIOSoft Recovery Software from Yahoo here</i></b></span><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></a> <b>Windows 7 useres, remember to right-click and run as administrator for this type of installation.</b> And <a href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/8/1/2529628/VAIOSoft%20Instructions%20v2.pdf">here are some simple instructions</a> that I've written showing how to use this program.</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<img alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY VAIOSOFT" border="0" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/R2C2D0hBjEI/AAAAAAAAAGA/vO3cPem-E7M/s400/VAIOSoft.jpg.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143310951210126402" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><strong><span style="background-color: cyan;">#5: PC Inspector Smart Recovery (Windows 95 through 7)</span></strong></span><br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<strong>NOTE Windows 7 users must right-click and select "Run as Administrator".</strong></div>
Had to add this one to the list. This will recover files from flash card reader, hard drive, or just about any drive (but not directly from a camera). It's slower than all of the above BUT and I mean BUT this software is thorough. This one will very likely work in recovering your photos if the others had failed. It was able to recover all known images on the card. However, one of these images obviously has other data embedded with it due to its large file size. The program was not able to recover the known deleted "MOV" video on the card, and does not have mp3 recovery capability. As such, it came in as #5 for still being able to recover all of the known deleted images. <i><b><span style="background-color: yellow; color: blue;"><a href="http://www.pcinspector.de/smartrecovery/info.htm?language=1">You can download PC Inspector Photo Recovery Software from the vendor here</a></span></b></i>. <b>Windows 7 users, remember to right-click and run as administrator for this type of installation. </b>And <a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/retrieve-deleted-pictures-from-your-camera-with-pc-inspector-smart-recovery-windows/">here's</a> some instructions.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img alt="PHOTO RECOVERY PC INSPECTOR" border="0" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/R-xiZzkuHcI/AAAAAAAAAG0/J0odri1aQS4/s400/pci+smart+recovery.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182625466677075394" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></span><br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></div>
</div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
<strong style="background-color: cyan;">#6: Recuva (Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and 7)</strong></div>
<div align="justify">
This software package includes a good Wizard interface. The program is good, and will likely recover (Recuva?) your files. But for best results with this program, I found that I needed to select "Switch to Advanced Mode", and then adjust the "Actions" tab settings. Once I did that, previously missing files would suddenly show up with this program. But even with "advanced mode" and running a "Deep Scan", the program was only able to recover 6 of the known 10 images. Although ranked #6, it performs at a tie with Pandora, which also ran a "Surface Scan" to recover the same 6 images as Recuva did. <span style="color: blue;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;"><a href="http://download.piriform.com/rcsetup144.exe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You may download Recuva from its vendor here</a></i></b></span>. And <a href="https://security.ngoinabox.org/en/book/export/html/179">here are some instructions</a> for its use.</div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/TRJCaCqH1VI/AAAAAAAAAR4/9BBL8X-pzQY/s1600/Recuva.png"><img alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY RECUVA" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/TRJCaCqH1VI/AAAAAAAAAR4/9BBL8X-pzQY/s400/Recuva.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553574305658819922" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 315px; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: normal;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: normal;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>
</div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div align="justify">
<strong style="background-color: cyan; font-weight: bold;">#7: Pandora Recovery (Windows 2000, XP, and Vista only)</strong><br />
This one is also good and works under Vista too, which is always a plus. You can do intensive deep scans for those deleted photos from long ago (though it will take time, results will vary), or you can do simple scans for those easily recovered recently deleted files. This tied with Pandora, as it was only able to recover 6 of the 10 images on the card. You can read about Pandora's features <a href="http://www.pandorarecovery.com/features/">here</a>. And <span style="color: blue;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.pandorarecovery.com/bin/PandoraRecovery.exe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">you can download Pandora Recovery from SoftPedia here</a></i></b></span>.<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
</div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
<img alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY PANDORA" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/SuMlGiljrHI/AAAAAAAAANc/KNL6nADpx70/s400/Pandora+2b+pic.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396197572813761650" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 317px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />
<br />
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: normal;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: normal;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<strong style="background-color: cyan; font-weight: bold;">#8: SoftPerfect File Recovery (Windows 95 through Vista)</strong><br />
Ahhh, the beauty of simplicity (can work with most OS)! This one is very tiny (276kb) and recovers any file type by specifying searches for "*.jpg", "*.avi", "*.mov" etc... It's very fast too! It's a single executable file that does not require installation. Controls are simple and minimal. Manually highlight the files that are to be recovered, and right click to save them to a folder. Unfortunately, this program seems to work best (and maybe only) for recently deleted files. Also unfortunately, it wasn't able to recover any of the photos on the 64MB test card, possibly because I had done a quick format in the past with this card. As such, it may not be capable of recovery for anything more than simple deleted files. But for most people who just accidentally hit the delete button, that's all they may need. So it still may be of use, and I keep it listed here. <span style="color: blue;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.softperfect.com/download/freeware/file_recovery.exe">Download SoftPerfect File Recovery from its vendor here</a></i></b></span>.<br />
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img alt="FREE PHOTO RECOVERY SOFTPERFECT" border="0" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/R2C1mEhBjDI/AAAAAAAAAF4/0dgSKhR0c5w/s400/SoftPerfect.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143310440109018162" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="justify">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></div>
<div>
Now that you know how, go recover those "lost" pics of Aunt Lucy! Also, <span style="background-color: yellow;"><b><span style="color: red;">please remember to vote in the poll in the right column on which software worked best</span></b></span>.<br />
<div>
Thanks and Good Luck!<br />
CR<br />
<div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify" style="font-weight: normal;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><strong>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</strong></b></div>
<span style="font-weight: 800;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: yellow;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Corrupted Card Procedures</span></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: yellow;">or For Memory Cards that state that formatting is required.</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The following describes procedures for those with corrupted cards. Most of you should not need to conduct these procedures. <b><i>These procedure are intended only for people with cards that are not being recognized by either the computer or the camera</i>, with either stating that a format of the card is required.</b> If you do conduct these procedures, <span class="Apple-style-span">please leave a comment stating how they worked (or did not) work for you. These procedures are new, and I'm still modifying them for this article:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is common for a memory card to become corrupted. This usually occurs if the card had never been formatted prior to use in your camera. It may work fine at first, but with time, as many files are added, problems with the card will inevitably crop up. There are several other reasons for a card to corrupt, but the above is the most common.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When a card corrupts, files may start to disappear that you know are on the card. Sometimes the card may also become totally unrecognizable by both your camera and computer. You may receive notification from both that the card requires formatting. You may become alarmed that if you do format the card, you might not be able to recover your pictures. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In actuality, it all depends on the type of format that you conduct. A FAT32 "Quick Format" conducted on your PC will not overwrite the data on the card. Thus recovery is still possible using the recovery software listed in this article. Similarly, if your camera allows you to DESELECT "low level" format, then you should also be able to recover your files after a non-low level format (<b>CAUTION: "low level" format WILL overwrite your files. Stated again, it's important to deselect or uncheck "low level" format in the camera menus</b>).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The following illustrates the steps to take for either your PC or your camera (A Canon is used for this example) to conduct a format that will still allow you to recover your files. Before proceeding, if you're using a SD card, ensure that your memory card's write switch is in its upper "unlocked" position. Then insert the card into your camera, or your computer (using a card reader).</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3hWc1rLfaFE/Tg9ucFfsRGI/AAAAAAAAATQ/2x2qZ0YHEzg/s1600/Lock%2BSwitch.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3hWc1rLfaFE/Tg9ucFfsRGI/AAAAAAAAATQ/2x2qZ0YHEzg/s200/Lock%2BSwitch.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624835888399533154" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 149px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Lock Switch in Upper "Unlocked" Position</b></div>
<b>Camera Quick Format</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If using a camera, find the format menu in your camera. It's usually in the "tools" or "settings" menu. If unsure where its at, look for a selection that states you cards memory size and select it.</div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amL810wXSuc/Tg9vTV_vvOI/AAAAAAAAATY/Mvt2TjOtaxU/s1600/Format%2Bmenu.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amL810wXSuc/Tg9vTV_vvOI/AAAAAAAAATY/Mvt2TjOtaxU/s400/Format%2Bmenu.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624836837721750754" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Camera Format Menu Selection</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look in the camera's menu to see if it has the ability to deselect (uncheck) "low level" format. Uncheck this selection, and then select and conduct a format. If your menu does not allow you to deselect "low level", then look for a "Quick Format" option. If your camera's menu doesn't have either option, it might be better to skip this step (avoiding an inadvertent low level format) and instead proceed to quick formatting by using your PC. Once your camera completes its quick format, attempt to recover your photos using any of the software listed above.</div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QBFMYf4PnTE/Tg9wPXk8WZI/AAAAAAAAATg/vSsv8EecGg0/s1600/no%2Bcheck%2Bmark%2Blow%2Blevel.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QBFMYf4PnTE/Tg9wPXk8WZI/AAAAAAAAATg/vSsv8EecGg0/s400/no%2Bcheck%2Bmark%2Blow%2Blevel.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624837868938353042" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Low Level Format shown UNCHECKED in menu</b></div>
<b>PC Quick Format</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Your card can also be quick formatted in your PC. But after you've recovered your photos, you should still format the card in your camera to prevent this from happening again. Place your card in a card reader, and if using a USB reader, insert the card and reader into your PC. Wait for the reader to be recognized by your PC. Once your reader is recognized, right click on its selection in "My Computer" or "Computer", and select format. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once the format menu comes up, double check that the card reader is actually selected in the upper bar of the menu, and that you didn't accidentally select one of your other drives (that would be very bad). Once you verify that the card reader is showing in the menu, select "Quick Format" by checking the box in the menu, and then press start.</div>
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yodjMFRQLAM/Tg9w6Wcl6QI/AAAAAAAAATo/XxzkFJZUbU0/s1600/PC%2BQuick%2BFormat.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yodjMFRQLAM/Tg9w6Wcl6QI/AAAAAAAAATo/XxzkFJZUbU0/s400/PC%2BQuick%2BFormat.png" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624838607369267458" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 248px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Quick Format Box "CHECKED"</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once the quick format is completed, you should be able to directly proceed to recover your files using the card in the reader with the software listed above. <span style="background-color: yellow;">AFTER you've successfully recovered your photos/videos, remember to format the card once again IN YOUR CAMERA using the camera's format feature. This may help prevent what just happened to you from reoccurring again in the future.</span></div>
CR</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com220tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-55650921725815112802007-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:002010-12-20T17:16:33.889-08:00Repair tips for digital cameras that won't power on.<div align="justify">For that camera that died, here are some non-intrusive simple fixes that you should try before throwing in the towel. Copied this first post from somewhere. It was a fix for a Canon A520, but am not sure if it would work for other cameras with the same problem? For those of you with a camera that will not power up or turn on, especially if this occurred after a power interruption with your lens extended, please give it a try. If you do, please leave a comment on specifics like your camera make/model, and whether it worked for you or not.<br /><br />"DEAD CAMERA, LENS OPEN-If the batteries run down completely while the camera is still open, it may not start up again when new batteries are installed. But if you remove the memory card, then install the new batteries, when you turn it on it should come back to life. Error E30 means you don't have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the SD card and turn it on one last time." </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />OK, so the above didn't work. Next thing to look at are the batteries themselves. Are you using alkaline batteries, or worse yet those "Super Heavy Duty" batteries? If so, betcha we've just discovered your problem. Alkaline and regular "super heavy duty" batteries just don't have the power for more than a few pics in a digital camera. Some may even have problems just powering startup of the camera. <strong><em>It doesn't matter if they're new, and right out of the package.</em></strong> Digital cameras for the most part should only be used with rechargeable NiMH batteries (if you still have your instruction manual, open it to the "batteries" section. Pretty sure you'll see a statement similar to what I've just said). Most retailers sell NiMH batteries for around $7 for a package of four (about $15-19 for the batteries with charger). Keep in mind they'll save you big bucks in the long run over alkalines, AND they'll last for at least 100 pictures per charge (and probably many many more). You'll be very pleased with their performance, and may slap yourself for not buying them sooner. When at the store, look on the package for a power rating of at least 2500 mah. </div><div align="justify"><br />OK, so maybe those newfangled batteries didn't fix your camera, don't give up just yet. The next thing to check is that your batteries are actually making contact with the battery posts, and that these posts are clean. If not, bend the posts up/down a little, and maybe clean them with a little rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip.<br /><br />The next thing to try is examine both the battery and flash card door. There's usually a little switch on both doors (note some SD card doors do not have this switch) that activates when the doors are closed. If they don't, the camera won't start to prevent damage to the flash card or camera startup sequence. For most cameras its usually a little piece of plastic on the door that pushes in on a pin switch when the door is closed. Closely examine both doors to try to identify these switches. A lot of times that little plastic nib wears down or breaks off, but can easily be jury rigged with a small glued-on replacement.</div><div align="justify"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Examples of Nibs and Pin Switches</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S8k35Oq93dI/AAAAAAAAAQY/_wU_Uw9eknI/s1600/IMG_0194.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S8k35Oq93dI/AAAAAAAAAQY/_wU_Uw9eknI/s400/IMG_0194.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460957479493819858" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S8k34n9Rg6I/AAAAAAAAAQQ/vS_QmMFxl7Q/s1600/IMG_0191.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S8k34n9Rg6I/AAAAAAAAAQQ/vS_QmMFxl7Q/s400/IMG_0191.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460957469101622178" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S8k34fGkGwI/AAAAAAAAAQI/msXQe-46kTA/s1600/IMG_0189.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/S8k34fGkGwI/AAAAAAAAAQI/msXQe-46kTA/s400/IMG_0189.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460957466724670210" /></a></div><div><br />If you've tried all of the above and still no luck, the problem is then likely to be internal to the camera. Am planning on posting sometime in the future some likely things to check, hopefully with a pictoral guide. One example would be that if your camera uses Compact Flash, check to make sure all pins are present and aligned in the card slot (if bent, simply unbend/straighten them with a skinny "jewelers" screwdriver, then insert the flash card for final realignment).<br /><br />As before, if one of these simple fixes worked in your particular case, please leave a comment on your camera's make, and which fix worked.<br /><br />Good Luck!<br />Camera Repair</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com242tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-32530978531405173672007-11-23T16:38:00.000-08:002008-05-26T09:21:24.420-07:00Camera Mode Dial Repair<div align="justify">The "Mode Dial" enables the camera to select different modes of operation. Rear mounted types, such as those seen in the example picture, are of very simple design. Top mounted types are also of similar design, but they are usually much harder to access. Mode dials should operate for a very long time due to their simplicity. Yet some may become inoperative for a variety of causes (dirt fouling, impact damage, etc...). When this occurs, it may be necessary to actually open up the camera case to correct this problem. As such, please <strong>consider this a repair that requires some electrical background and knowledge, and should not be conducted by anyone unfamiliar with basic electrical components and safety precautions</strong>.</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Mode Dial</strong></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136200493863949954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/R0dzIuvyVoI/AAAAAAAAAFk/4jNn-G0Xw0Q/s400/Mode+Dial+Pic+for+Blog.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="justify">Before downloading the following repair guide, please first review this important warning concerning the <strong>possibility of SEVERE electrical shock</strong> from the camera's flash capacitor, and how to mitigate it:</p><p><a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html">http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html</a></p><p align="justify">Also the usual warning of “Follow these procedures at your own risk. These procedures should only be considered as a last resort on a broken camera with an expired warranty. I take no responsibility should you damage your camera in following these steps. Also note that there is some danger of electrical shock from the camera's flash capacitor. I also take no responsibility if you zap yourself while following these procedures.” Here's the repair guide download link:</p><p><a href="http://ry2k9q.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pEo342ljo7rHQFB5VCvEhAueuUIt-X8-BAAzzKHYrTNwuhJkjaWpiRX2AnU9kbHudxHDj_oEdaUGerCd43mJT6A/Mode%20Dial%20Repair.pdf?download">Mode Dial Repair.pdf (from skydrive)</a></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-55664978858907031502007-11-22T17:59:00.000-08:002009-08-13T21:18:33.489-07:00Important Warning: Camera Flash Capacitor Shock!<div align="justify">Any repair that requires opening up the camera case requires some electrical background and knowledge, and should not be conducted by anyone unfamiliar with basic electrical components and safety precautions. If you must open up your camera in an attempt to repair it, it is very important that you understand that <strong>there is some risk of SEVERE electrical shock</strong>. All digital cameras contain a flash capacitor. This device stores quite a bit of electrical energy from the camera's batteries. This energy is utilized to power the camera's flash. The device itself looks a little like a battery, and in turn draws its power from the camera's batteries. In order to work on your camera, it will be necessary to safely drain the capacitor of any residual charge it may have. </div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="center"><strong>Flash Capacitor</strong></div><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135850222101091954" border="0" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/R0Y0kOvyVnI/AAAAAAAAAFc/mV_uXzjFbv8/s400/flash+capacitor.jpg" /></p><p><br /></p><p align="justify">The following link is downloadable procedures for safely discharging the flash capacitor to greatly reduce the risk of electrical shock. Before downloading, the usual warning of “Follow these procedures at your own risk. These procedures should only be considered as a last resort on a broken camera with an expired warranty. I take no responsibility should you damage your camera in following these steps. Also note that there is some danger of electrical shock. I also take no responsibility if you accidentally zap yourself while following these procedures.” Here's the link to the procedures:</p><p align="justify"><a href="http://ry2k9q.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pEo342ljo7rFCrpjuTIMM8P3U6v4NpLnm9lV4eTUeBjzEtLm0y3-RiazgWfKHbr3nuhIk0HEUsfr7nv2rUvGh7w/Flash%20Capacitor%20Safety.pdf?download">Flash Capacitor Safety.pdf (from skydrive)</a></p><p align="justify"><a href="http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/8/1/2529628/Flash%20Capacitor%20Safety.pdf">Flash Capacitor Safety.pdf (from fileden)</a></p><p align="justify"></p><div align="justify"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com84tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-62992320956531725502007-11-21T14:55:00.000-08:002012-01-07T09:02:55.561-08:00Repairing or replacing a digital camera LCD screen<script type="text/javascript">
var admob_vars = {
pubid: 'a14e94829161589', // publisher id
bgcolor: '356FA8', // background color (hex)
text: 'FFFFFF', // font-color (hex)
test: true // test mode, set to false to receive live ads
};
</script>
<script src="http://mmv.admob.com/static/iphone/iadmob.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<br />
<div align="justify">
It is necessary to actually open up the camera case to fix a broken camera LCD screen. As such, <strong>please consider that these repairs require some electrical background and knowledge, and should not be conducted by anyone unfamiliar with basic electrical components and safety precautions.</strong> Before proceeding, it is important to first read this <strong>WARNING</strong> concerning the <strong>possibility of SEVERE electrical shock</strong> from the flash capacitor should you decide to open the case of your camera.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html">http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html</a><br />
<br />
The following link outlines repair or replacement of the fairly common problem of broken, cracked, or shattered digital camera LCD screens, including rotatable ones. These are not my own guides, but wanted to share them with all (hope this is ok Andy?):<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.andyozment.com/guides/">http://www.andyozment.com/guides/</a><br />
<br />
Photography on the Net (Canon) forum of digital camera LCD screen replacement. Recommend scanning these posts for some background info prior to attempting any repair yourself:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7839">http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7839</a><br />
<br />
And here's a pictorial guide for replacing an LCD screen on a Canon Powershot S40:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pasieka.com/static/simon/fixcam/">http://www.pasieka.com/static/simon/fixcam/</a><br />
<br />
And here's pictorial and video guides for replacing an LCD screen on a Canon Powershot S400 / S410 / S500:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sdcamerasolution.com/index.php?p=page&page_id=canons400lcdinstall">http://www.sdcamerasolution.com/index.php?p=page&page_id=canons400lcdinstall</a> </div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<embed allowfullscreen="true" fs="1" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EssCLY7R3uc&hl=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425"></embed></div>
<div align="center">
<embed allowfullscreen="true" fs="1" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pEJxhTmm5o4&hl=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425"></embed></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<br />
By the way, the above YouTube video is by Zweige9. He is a very prolific videographer of LCD repair. If your camera's model is not covered here in my blog, you might want to peruse his videos on YouTube:<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=zweige9&view=videos">http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=zweige9&view=videos</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
Here's a couple great pictorials on repairing the LCD screen of a Canon Powershot SD300 (note these procedures are also applicable to SD200 / SD300 / SD400 as the LCD screens in these three models (and ONLY these three) are interchangeable):<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.smashedhat.com/sd300repair/">http://www.smashedhat.com/sd300repair/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/canonsd300">http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/canonsd300</a></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
And here's an excellent pictorial guide. The example used is a screen replacement on a Canon Powershot SD400:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.iq9.com/blog/2006/09/08/canon-sd400-lcd-repair/">http://www.iq9.com/blog/2006/09/08/canon-sd400-lcd-repair/</a> </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
And here's another excellent LCD screen replacement pictorial on the Canon Powershot SD450:<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://thydzik.com/replacing-a-cracked-canon-ixus-55-ixy-60-sd450-lcd-screen/">http://thydzik.com/replacing-a-cracked-canon-ixus-55-ixy-60-sd450-lcd-screen/</a><br />
<br />
And here's a pictorial guide for replacing an LCD screen on a Canon Powershot SD500: </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/canonsd500lcdreplacement">http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/canonsd500lcdreplacement</a><br />
<br />
And here's an LCD repair on an SD550, including how to buy a replacement screen from Canon:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fivepoundsflax.blogspot.com/2006/05/diy-canon-powershot-sd550-lcd-repair.html">http://fivepoundsflax.blogspot.com/2006/05/diy-canon-powershot-sd550-lcd-repair.html</a><br />
<br />
And here's a couple pictorial guides for replacing an LCD screen on a Canon Powershot SD600:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cannonlcdrepair.blogspot.com/">http://cannonlcdrepair.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<br /><a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/sd600">http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/sd600</a><br /><br />And LCD replacement on a Canon Powershot SD870 IS:<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.jharding.org/2008/05/replacing-lcd-on-canon-sd850-is-few.html">http://blog.jharding.org/2008/05/replacing-lcd-on-canon-sd850-is-few.html</a><br /><br />And here's a LCD replacement pictorial for a Canon Powershot SD1000:<br />
<a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-replace-lcd-screen-for-canon-sd1000-151.htm">http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-replace-lcd-screen-for-canon-sd1000-151.htm</a><br />
<br />
And here's a pictorial guide for replacing an LCD screen on a Casio EX-S500 and EX-S600:<br /><br />
<a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/casioex-s600">http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/casioex-s600</a><br />
<br />
And here's a pictorial guide for replacing an LCD screen on a Panasonic DMC-TZ15: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://blog.edendekker.me/replacing-a-cracked-lcd-screen-from-my-panasonic-dmc-tz15-camera/">http://blog.edendekker.me/replacing-a-cracked-lcd-screen-from-my-panasonic-dmc-tz15-camera/</a> <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-49202132193363868772007-11-16T19:32:00.001-08:002011-03-23T18:29:11.621-07:00Sony Konica Minolta Cameras Experiencing Black Images or Distorted Images<div align="justify">(<b>Updated March 23, 2011</b>) Similar to Canon, Sony at one time promised to REPAIR FOR FREE its cameras experiencing symptoms of a defective CCD under their recall advisory. THIS INCLUDED FREE SHIPPING. Some symptoms of a defective CCD include distorted images or abnormal colors, scratchy purple lines, blank or black pictures, and/or black videos with good sound being recorded on the camera's flash card. You may suspect that the camera's shutter is not opening, but this is not the case. Digital still camera models that are affected by this problem are extensive, and include:<br /><br />Cyber-shot DSC-F717, F88, P10, M1, P12, P2, P31, P32, P51, P52, P7, P71, P72, P8, P92, T1, T11, T3, T33, U10, U20, U30, U40, U50, U60, V1<br /><br />CD Mavica MVC-CD250, CD400, CD500,<br /><br />FD Mavica MVC-FD100, FD200<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">The following was the verbage of the original Service Advisory:<br /><br />"Based on the information provided, your product may be affected by the CCD image sensor issue and needs to be sent in for evaluation and possible repair. <strong><em>Sony will repair your product, free of charge</em></strong>, where the issue is caused by the image sensor device provided the failure is not due to abuse, misuse or neglect. <strong><em>Sony will also cover the cost of shipping and handling</em></strong> from and to addresses within the United States and US Territories for service to correct this issue."<br /><br />(<b>UPDATE June 2010</b>): Sony has abandoned the free repair of all cameras, with the exception of T3 and the T33. For these two specific cameras, <b>Sony will offer the free repair until May 31, 2011</b>, at that point the free repair offer expires. Shipping is not free for this repair. Please see <a href="http://www.sony-asia.com/support/announcement/58200">this Sony link</a> for the details.<br /><br />By the way, If you have a Konica Minolta digital camera experiencing these issues, Sony at one time would have also fixed this for your for free. However this offer was for a very short duration: </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><strong><br /><br />(UPDATE September 6, 2008:</strong> A reader has reported that the following link no longer works, and that Sony has abandoned their free repair of the Konica Minolta cameras with the defective Sony imager. The reader also stated that as a result that he will no longer consider Sony products. Given the quality assurance problems Sony has been encountering lately, I don't blame him. Just my opinion. Also IMO, ALL of these cameras should have been recalled and repaired in the first place as inevitable failure of the defective imager is HIGHLY likely. To have repaired them on a case by case basis, with a program limited duration, has inevitably led to the above consumer's experience and response. Shouldn't a camera that originally cost a few hundred dollars really be expected to last more than just a few years? ):<br /><br /><br />The Dimage models that Sony was accepting for the recall repair were: Dimage 7HI, 7I, A1, Xi, F300, XT, X20, S414. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />And finally, this is a WORLDWIDE advisory recall. You may need to do some google searching to find the advisory notice for your country. Google the words "Sony", "advisory", your camera's model number, and your country. Look for the official Sony website for your country with its related advisory in the Google results that come up. </div><div align="justify"><br />Hope this helps some of you out there. <strong><em>Please remember to come back and leave a comment below on how things went.</em></strong> We're all curious, and your feedback may help others!</div><strong></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com82tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-42444393134852925532007-11-13T19:34:00.000-08:002011-10-11T11:26:24.081-07:00Canon Digital Cameras Showing Black Images or Distorted Images<!--ADMOB START-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var admob_vars = {
pubid: 'a14e94829161589', // publisher id
bgcolor: '356FA8', // background color (hex)
text: 'FFFFFF', // font-color (hex)
test: true // test mode, set to false to receive live ads
};
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://mmv.admob.com/static/iphone/iadmob.js"></script>
<!--ADMOB END-->
<div align="justify">This problem may be corrected by Canon for free if you suffer the above symptoms. But before reading further, first verify that you didn't just accidentally turn off the LCD. To check, turn the camera on and press the "DISPLAY" or "DISP" button once. One other thing to check is that black pictures can sometimes be caused by a stuck shutter. Continue reading below, but if your camera is not on the list of affected cameras, please see <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2009/05/simple-fix-for-stuck-shutter.html">this other article</a> for self-fixing a stuck shutter.<br /><br />Potential symptoms may also include purple scratchy lines showing up on the LCD monitor and the camera's pictures. Other reported symptoms may be extremely distorted images (one reader likened them to the movie "Grudge"). Or blank or black pictures or black videos with good sound being recorded on the camera's flash card. You may suspect that the camera's shutter is not opening, but this is not the case. Note that the camera's menu functions should show up without any problem.<br /><br />A large batch of potentially faulty CCD image sensors (from another vendor who shall remain nameless) were installed on a large number of Canon cameras over the space of a few years. The sensors may go bad prematurely with time, especially if you live in humid areas. A big thumbs up to Canon in that they recognized this problem, and are willing to fix your camera for free if it is experiencing CCD problem symptoms, especially for the free shipping and handling both ways :-). Under the recall advisory this is regardless of the cameras warranty status! I recently got an old A300 fixed this way. They are not going to ask for receipts or any of that.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="left"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Please note that your camera must be experiencing these symptoms due to a faulty CCD, and not due to other problems. If the problem is due to your dropping the camera, you might be out of luck. Note that they're going to look for dings and dents. They also are not going to repair your camera just to change out the sensor. If your camera is working fine, they don't need to (and won't) fix it.</div><br />The list of problem digital still cameras include:<br /><strong>A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A300, A310, </strong></div><div align="left"><strong>S1 IS, S60, </strong></div><div align="left"><strong>S200, S230, S330, S400, S410, S500, SD100, SD110, </strong></div><div align="left"><strong>IXUS V2, V3, 300, 400, 430, 500, II, IIs, </strong></div><div align="left"><strong>IXY Digital 200a, 300a, 320, 400, 450, 500, 30, 30a</strong></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Canon's United States advisory listing the program's details <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/powershot_a_series/powershot_a70?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e0248013d2f6">may be found at this link</a>.<br /><br /><strong>UPDATE (October 3, 2010)</strong><br /><br />Canon has posted on their website that they are gradually phasing out the free repair for SPECIFIC CAMERA MODELS. The phase out schedule for the specific cameras is as follows (and <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e024801e74fe">may also be seen here</a>):<br /><br />PowerShot S40 - 3/31/2010<br />PowerShot S200 - 3/31/2010<br />PowerShot S330 - 3/31/2010<br />PowerShot S230 - 7/31/2010<br />PowerShot A70 - 2/28/2011<br />PowerShot S400 - 2/28/2011<br />PowerShot A60 - 3/31/2011</div><div align="justify">PowerShot A80 - 6/30/2011</div><div align="justify">PowerShot A300 - 7/31/2011</div><div align="justify">PowerShot A310 - 7/31/2011</div><div align="justify">PowerShot SD100 - 8/31/2011</div><div align="justify">PowerShot SD110 - 8/31/2011</div><div align="justify">PowerShot S410 - 10/31/2011<br /><br />Note that many cameras on the advisory list are NOT mentioned in the phase-out schedule, and they are <strong>STILL ELIGIBLE FOR FREE REPAIR </strong>under the advisory after 3/31/2011. These include <strong>A75, A85, A95, S1 IS, S60, s410, S500, SD100, SD110, and their IXUS / IXY counterparts</strong>.<br /><br /><strong>END UPDATE</strong><br /><br />Note that for other countries, go to <a href="http://www.canon.com/">http://www.canon.com/</a> and click on "Support" in the left column. Then click on your region on the map and select your country. Go to the Digital Camera "Support" page for your country, and find the page describing support for your specific camera model. Your country's CCD advisory should be included somewhere on this page. If not, contact the official Canon digital camera support office listed on the Canon website, as they will be knowledgeable on the advisory. Again only contact the "official" Canon support centers listed on the website. If you go anywhere else, they may charge you for the repair, and merely ship the camera to Canon for the free repair.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />This is a <strong>worldwide</strong> advisory, and as you can see in the comments below, there's yet to be a country that sells Canon products that has not honored this advisory. Unfortunately, some country's websites are poorly designed, and make it very hard to find their advisory (as example, <a href="http://www3.canon.com.au/support/customer/default.asp?DXI=KnowledgeBase/Customer/KBArticleForm&File=KB01634&productID=powershota95&/default.asp">this link</a> may help save some time searching for those living in Australia).<br /><br />For those in the U.S. or Canada (other country's procedures may vary slightly), you will be directed to call 1-800-828-4040 for further assistance. Or if you wish, you may also contact Canon via email at CareCenter@cits.canon.com. Make sure you print out the above advisory and have it in hand when speaking to the customer service representative. State the problem you're experiencing with the camera. If for any reason it starts to sound like they want you to pay for shipping or repairs, MAKE SURE that you let them know that you are aware of the advisory for your camera, and quote the following paragraph from the advisory:<br /><br />"Effective immediately, and regardless of warranty status, Canon will repair, free of charge, the products listed above exhibiting the above-mentioned malfunction if Canon determines that the malfunction is caused by the CCD image sensor. Canon will also cover the cost of shipping and handling in connection with this repair."<br /><br />You should receive several emails from Canon. One includes a short repair evaluation form that you'll need to include with the camera, along with a free UPS shipping label that you'll print out and tape to the camera's shipping box. In addition to Canon's repair form, make sure you print out a copy of the advisory and include it in the package. Also include a short note stating that you're aware of the advisory, and that you're submitting the camera for free repair as per the advisory. Just drop the box off at any UPS drop off point.<br /><br />If instead of the above you receive an email that infers that it's your responsibility to arrange shipping and/or pay for the repair, REPLY BACK IMMEDIATELY again quoting the above paragraph from the advisory, and also include the above link to the advisory in your email. (Note, free shipping applies for the U.S.. Other countries may vary on shipping arrangements/payment for this advisory).<br /><br /><strong>One important note.</strong> Some readers have been reporting that Canon had offered them as a replacement a refurbished "upgrade" camera, BUT at an inflated price. Not sure what this is about, but if this happens, recommend turning them down. The upgrades that have been reported seem to be older model cameras at much higher prices than the going price on ebay. Recommend pushing for and demanding the advisory dictated <strong>free repair with free shipping</strong> on your old camera. <strong>If offered a replacement, it should also be free.</strong></div><div align="justify"><br />Another reminder for you owners of cameras that are not listed in the advisory list of problem cameras, including other non-Canon cameras. If your camera is not listed in the above list of problem cameras AND it is taking black pictures, there's a good chance that your camera is experiencing a stuck shutter. Don't fret, as there are some simple fixes for this, albeit it may be a temporary fix. <a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2009/05/simple-fix-for-stuck-shutter.html">Please see this article instead </a>for some tips on how to unstick that shutter. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Hope this helps some of you out there. Canon really does make quality cameras and stand behind their products. <strong><em>Please remember to come back and leave a comment below on how things went.</em></strong> We're all curious, and your feedback may help others!<br /><br />And finally, the following videos may help you understand what you're getting with this free CCD repair. An SD100 (IXUS II) is the camera being repaired. Don't try this at home (I know I won't):</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="center"><br /><strong>Part 1 SD100 CCD Repair</strong></div><div align="center"><embed height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_dGH8w41Bzo&hl=" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br /><br /><strong>Part 2 SD100 CCD Repair</strong></div><div align="center"><embed height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZJ56BR4oc2k&hl=" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></div><div align="justify"></div><p align="justify"></p><div align="justify">Camera Repair</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com527tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-59760564255746290182007-11-09T19:12:00.000-08:002010-01-16T14:13:59.475-08:00Repair of Stuck Lens Covers<div align="justify">A stuck automatic lens cover is a fairly common problem, but it is normally easy to fix. A single grain of sand jamming the cover mechanism is normally the culprit, and you want to try to dislodge it: 1) Try blowing lots of compressed air around the lens cover to clean the mechanism. Or use a hair dryer for a few seconds (don't want to heat up the camera). Use no heat mode if possible. 2) Slide a thin strip of paper between the lens cover shutters and the outer support ring. Work it around 360 degres to clear out any debris that may be in there. 3) With the lens barrel extended and pointed downward, tap the lens barrel with a pencil while you extend and retract the lens by powering the camera on and off. Repeat the above three steps several times. If repeated tries don't work (keeping in mind that it usually does), it then may be necessary to open the lens barrel to access the lens cover mechanism. But before attempting that, first read through the user's comments below for additional non-invasive tips that may work for your particular situation. Especially pay attention to Jeff's tip, several people have had success with it.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The lens cover mechanism is usually accessible for many cameras without needing to open up the camera case. Before starting, a reminder that I hold no responsibility should you damage your camera or worse. These repairs are intended as last resorts on expired warranty cameras that would otherwise be tossed. In the example outlined in the following link, we'll fix an inoperative lens cover on an old Canon A400:</div><div align="justify"><br /><p></p><p align="justify"><a href="http://ry2k9q.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pEo342ljo7rH6Stby_ua4XpthrTH9Q-T6VdGkeX2y1nCCZF-6mMdmdIFa10bihmyJ3MDTcYhOJdLY7LWOH2Yi-Q/A400%20Lens%20Cover%20Repair.pdf?download">A400 Lens Cover Repair.pdf (from skydrive)</a></p></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5131045033078211874" border="0" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_1-RkxrYZ3JM/RzUiRasoxSI/AAAAAAAAAD0/pYegJmqGeNs/s400/IMG_2866.JPG" /> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">And here's two excellent tutorials for those with slightly more complex four leave lens covers. A <a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-sticky-lens-barrier-on-canon-a530-14.htm">Canon A530</a> and a <a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-sticky-lens-barrier-on-canon-powershot-a1000-441.htm">Canon A1000</a> are used as examples (hope you don't mind me including the links xscrewdriver).<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /><a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-sticky-lens-barrier-on-canon-a530-14.htm">http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-sticky-lens-barrier-on-canon-a530-14.htm</a></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /><a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-sticky-lens-barrier-on-canon-powershot-a1000-441.htm">http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-a-sticky-lens-barrier-on-canon-powershot-a1000-441.htm</a></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />And finally, found this fix that was particular for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 camera. It's simple enough and worth giving a quick try even if your camera is not a Panasonic:<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.fixya.com/support/t295958-lens_cover_stuck_open">http://www.fixya.com/support/t295958-lens_cover_stuck_open</a></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com192tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-51539353211179169412007-10-19T16:51:00.000-07:002013-12-20T21:45:39.902-08:00Disassembly Guides<div align="left">
Please first consider that any repair that involves opening up the camera case will also require some electrical background and knowledge. <strong>Camera disassembly</strong> <strong>should not be attempted by anyone unfamiliar with basic electrical components and safety precautions</strong>. Before downloading or following any of these guides, please first read the following post concerning the <strong>risk of SEVERE flash capacitor electrical shock</strong>, and how to mitigate it when working on the exposed internal components of your camera:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html">http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html</a><br />
<br />
That said, the usual warning if you decide to proceed: "Follow these procedures at your own risk. These procedures should only be considered as a last resort on a broken camera with an expired warranty. I take no responsibility should you damage your camera in following these steps. Also note that there is some danger of electrical shock. I also take no responsibility if you accidentally zap yourself while following any of these procedures.”<br />
<br />
Disassembly guides for cameras by manufacturer and model include:<br />
<br />
Canon Powershot - Pro1, S10, S45, A70, A95, IXUS II/SD100<br />
Sony CyberShot - DSC-P7<br />
Nikon Coolpix - 775<br />
Fujifilm FinePix - 40i, 2650<br />
Minolta Dimage - Xi, E223<br />
Olympus - C5050<br />
Kodak - DCS 760<br />
HP PhotoSmart - 620<br />
Kyocera Finecam - S3R<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's some guides showing disassembly of Canon Powershots including disassembly of a: </div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
<br />
<a href="http://www.myfixtips.com/blog/digital-camera/how-to-fix-an-intermittent-display-lcd-on-canon-powershot-s5is-339.htm">Powershot S5 IS</a></div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
<br />
<a href="http://yxfmmw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pgQ5uLZ315Ixd_8womG1Ko9F3f3_pX0SIaZUqlyxywWWG-ZLGEvp0ei38N31kIO_Y3fMxGnK6seSw32MqULvseQ/S30%20Disassembly.pdf?download">Powershot S30</a></div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://www.pasieka.com/static/simon/fixcam/">Powershot S40 </a></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://www.sdcamerasolution.com/index.php?p=page&page_id=canons400lcdinstall">Powershots S400 / S410 / S500</a></div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23861577@N06/sets/72157605364463114">Powershot S500</a></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://members.shaw.ca/gregs_space/Canon_E18_repair_guide_for_SD300.pdf">Powershot SD300</a> </div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
Here's another example <a href="http://www.smashedhat.com/sd300repair/">Powershot SD300</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
Yet another example <a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/canonsd300">Powershot SD300</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
And another example <a href="http://alextran.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/canon_e18_repair_guide_for_sd300.pdf">Powershot SD300</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
with an excellent fix of a lens error!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.iq9.com/blog/2006/09/08/canon-sd400-lcd-repair/">Powershot SD400</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://thydzik.com/replacing-a-cracked-canon-ixus-55-ixy-60-sd450-lcd-screen/">Powershot SD450</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://exploded.awcr.org/DigitalCameraDisplay">Powershot SD500</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
Yet another <a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/canonsd500lcdreplacement">Powershot SD500</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify">
<a href="http://fivepoundsflax.blogspot.com/2006/05/diy-canon-powershot-sd550-lcd-repair.html">Powershot SD550</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
Yet another <a href="http://tumbleweed.org.za/2008/07/13/fixing-digital-camera">Powershot SD550</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://cannonlcdrepair.blogspot.com/">Powershot SD600</a></div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
And another <a href="http://digitalcamerarepair.googlepages.com/sd600">Powershot SD600</a></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
And another <a href="http://www.avh.dds.nl/Fix-Canon-SD600-Lens-Error/">Powershot SD600</a></div>
<div align="justify">
this one fixes a lens error!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thustra.com/A70mod/">Powershot A70</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/jpelling/page0/page0.html">Powershot A430</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=251630">Powershot A530 / A540</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://pkrobot.freehostia.com/MiscElectronics2.htm">Powershot A550 / A560</a></div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/gdtster/album/25644/">Powershot A610</a> (in Russian)</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<a href="http://heliodorj.blogspot.com/2008/05/disassembling-canon-powershot-a650.html">Powershot A650</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-87517945479549183872007-10-07T09:40:00.000-07:002007-12-26T17:07:34.753-08:00Getting great photos<div align="justify">Let's use this post to share websites that provide some instruction on digital photography. I'll start off with a couple posts of great websites that will help you take photos that you didn't think possible with your camera. Please post others that you know of and recommend in the comments section, and I'll include them here in the main post:<br /><br /><a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-bypass-the-portrait-mode-on-your-digital-camera-and-get-great-portrait/">http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-bypass-the-portrait-mode-on-your-digital-camera-and-get-great-portrait/</a></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br /><a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm">http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438678654059813712.post-35381243501302117642007-10-06T18:07:00.000-07:002008-05-26T09:08:50.850-07:00Repair of the Nikon Coolpix L10<div align="justify">I'll start this blog off with disassembly/repair of the Nikon Coolpix L10 camera. Before downloading or attempting to follow these procedures, please consider that these procedures require some electrical background and knowledge, and should not be conducted by anyone unfamiliar with basic electrical components and safety precautions. Please also read the following post concerning the <strong>risk of SEVERE flash capacitor electrical shock</strong>, and how to mitigate it when working on the exposed internal components of your camera: </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html">http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html</a> </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="justify">The following links to a small pdf file that outlines the steps to dissect the Nikon L10. They were developed by personal disassembly of the camera, and are not recognized or authorized by Nikon. <strong>Follow these procedures at your own risk.</strong> These procedures should only be considered as a last resort on a broken camera with an expired warranty. I take no responsibility should you damage your camera in following these steps. Also want to restate that there is some danger of severe electrical shock from the camera's flash capacitor. I also take no responsibility if you zap yourself while following these procedures. Here's the link:<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://ry2k9q.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pEo342ljo7rHNWqeFXt8xJEiGjBscEH77tYolO9cMMMrW7qESZeyQRLs2PTeXZF5F2XT5vAVOzMsyAz2yPXIpag/L10%20Disassembly.pdf?download">L10 Disassembly.pdf (from skydrive)</a> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com46