Has 3x optical zoom, on-screen crop and edit, and only weighs 5 oz. Nice! The only thing I did not like it that you can not use an a/c adapter with it.
Came home and checked it out on the web and I think I am going to buy it tomorrow. Found it at BestBuy for $189. With the price diff between Romo and Bestbuy, I can buy the 4 year extended warranty.
I am AMAZED at how low camera prices have gotten this summer.
[ edited by ltray on Oct 12, 2004 05:11 PM ]
posted on October 12, 2004 06:57:43 PM new
Is this a great example of Bait & Switch? Hey, If you are going to discard it, send it to me. I'll check locally on repairs.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
[ edited by sanmar on Oct 12, 2004 06:59 PM ]
posted on October 12, 2004 07:05:44 PM new
I don't think so Sanmar. I had been to a few camera boards and the consensus seemed to be that digital repairs usually run from $200 and up. Most shops now have a minimum diagnostic fee of $40.
I just decided that I would go with a new camera and get a service warranty. Checked Ebay, but prices are no lower and no extended warrantee available.
I did play with this camera in the show room and was pleased with its ability for closeup detail. It takes a pick with camera only 1.5 inches from the subject. Perfect for jewelry and trademarks.
posted on October 12, 2004 07:13:47 PM new
As soon as you get the new one, get a jeweler's screwdriver set and open the old one and fix it. Look for a cold solder joint where the CCD connects to the motherboard. Tack it back down and use the old one as a backup camera.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 12, 2004 07:17:22 PM new
Now you tell me! Where's my screw driver... <g>
Thanks Sparkz, the reason I did not have it open before now is because I don't know jack about cameras. I was tempted to pop the cover just to take a look, but the last time I did that on 35mm, it never worked again, lol.
[ edited by ltray on Oct 12, 2004 07:20 PM ]
posted on October 12, 2004 07:24:29 PM new
Sanmar, just noticed your offer to check on a local fix. Thanks, but I doubt it is worth it.
If Sparkx' solution doesn't work, I can get between $50 and $100 on Ebay for it, as is. The camera body , even broken, seems to be selling well. I think I'll take the cash and apply it towards my new one and have the service contract so I don't have to deal with this again for awhile.
posted on October 12, 2004 07:48:36 PM new
ltray,
I would suggest first that you find out what type of memory card the new camera takes. If it's the same type as the old one, buy a new one, the cheapest you can find, first, and try it in the old camera and see if that makes it work. You can always use the new card as a second card for the new camera. The reason I mention this is that your present card may be zapped. If that's the case, no memory = no pictures, same as a computer. It hadn't occurred to me before because static electricity is not a problem in this area, but with some of the electrical storms you have there, it could be a problem. If it's not the memory card, then the image is not making it from the sensor to the MB and there will be an interrupted path between the two.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 12, 2004 08:26:31 PM new
Thanks for the suggestions Sparkx. I have two cards and the problem was the same with both. I don't think it is a problem with the card because I could format the cards and even updated the camera firmware using my 256K card after the problem started. Even took a few pics just to see if maybe the image was blank on the monitor but getting thru to the card. No such luck. Card did record an image, but it was black.
New 3200 camera uses the smaller SD memory card. The 995 uses the CF cards.
I'll get out my soldering iron and screw driver in the morning and let you know how it turns out.
posted on October 12, 2004 10:46:22 PM new
Sparkz, curiosity got the best of me and I pulled the camera apart. Did find a loosely seated card, but unfortunately that was not the problem.
I also found the internal battery. I've been wondering ever since this started if the internal battery could be the problem since it does a time stamp.
Did not have the problem while using the a/c adapter without the battery pack installed. Had used it this way pretty much all summer.
Used the camera last Monday and everything was fine. Decided to take an outdoor pic on Tuesday, so I put in the battery pack. That is when the problem started. But it did not go away when I went back to the a/c adapter (without battery pack).
The internal battery is a #220 (looks like a hearing aide battery). According to the manual it is supposed to recharge while camera has power. I did set the date/time last week and it has remained correct even though I have had the battery pack out and off the charger for a few days, so the internal battery appears to be working.
The thing that I liked about this camera is its swivel lens housing.
But that could be the problem. May also be why they are so expensive to repair. The interface between the lens housing and the main camera body has about 20 wires going into an interface board and the board is hard to remove. So hard in fact that I was not able to remove it to check all of the wire connections.
Guess this one will be up for auction as soon as I learn my new camera -(
[ edited by ltray on Oct 12, 2004 10:49 PM ]
posted on October 12, 2004 11:26:35 PM new
The internal battery should not cause the problem you describe. You can do a voltage check on it with a VOM, but I would almost be willing to bet the farm that there will be a broken wire that passes through the swivel joint. And it will be one of the two that comes from the CCD. If you can identify those wires, and find where they attach at the CCD and motherboard, you can use the same volt-ohmeter to check for continuity and find the broken one. Don't be intimidated by the 20 wires, you are only interested in two. They will be color coded, so start at the CCD and identify them by color and then go to the board and find the wires of the same color. On a device this small, it's usually always easier to bypass or replace the broken wire than it is to repair it. Just be glad it's not a crack through a bunch of microscopic traces on a pc board. That's when it really gets scary when you go in with a soldering iron. It usually takes a couple shots of bourbon to steady the nerves enough to keep the iron under control
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 13, 2004 05:18:12 AM new
I don't know nothin' 'bout cameras - but I bought a camera earlier this summer at Best Buy and the best part of their warranty is that it covers the battery. They told me that the batteries need to be replaced about once a year so the maintenance contract will pay for itself with one replacement!
**********************************
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh@#...what a ride!"
posted on October 13, 2004 05:18:45 AM new
sparkz, how did you know the girl made her fortune tearing apart computers and fixing them and that she's not afraid of anything?
posted on October 13, 2004 08:16:55 AM new
I just bought a Nikon CoolPix 4100 for $279. Got a FREE printer and $20 rebate. STAPLES. This camera is cool. My last one had video-only for 16S-but this one has sound! My daughters showed me last night. Of course, they were playing with it. It makes a Ch-Ching sound when it snaps the pic. It's too much fun!
posted on October 13, 2004 08:37:12 AM new
Wow, such good deals, ltray and epoweryourlife! I paid more than that for the cheaper model, cool pix 2100 (when it was a new product). Now, I'm wishing that I had waited. Spose I should drop it?
posted on October 13, 2004 10:52:20 AM new
My husband was so impressed with my "DEAL" that he's not mad that I lost it anymore. He paid 400 for my 3100.
