Repairing Digital Camera

[jcright]

Anyone know anything about repairing a camera? My girlfriend has a Minolta DiMage100. She was taking pictures one evening at my mom's birthday party, then the next day her pictures were blurry! Her camera is out of warranty, otherwise she would have sent it back. I know it has something to do with the focusing mechanism because the camera will display previous picture properly, but the new pictures appear on screen blurry and the shots are blurry.

My cousin mentioned that new batteries might have set it off kilter (bad voltage?). Any ideas?

 

[Piano Player]

Only thing I know to do is make sure you eliminate the possibility of user error. "Blurry" pictures are caused by improper focus or camera movement while the picture is being taken using a slower shutter speed. Make sure you understand the settings on the camera and its limitations. For example, if set on "night" mode, the camera will use a longer shutter speed (especially if flash is turned off) which would normally require you to use a tripod. Your lens has limitations as well. Too close, and the lens cannot focus. Sometimes, if set in "macro" mode the lens cannot focus at a distance. (I don't know your particular camera) Most cameras have a "focus lock" which allows you to put the focus sensor of the camera (usually in the center of the frame) on a subject, and then recompose the subject. Inadvertant use of the focus lock could cause the camera to take an out of focus picture. Similarly, you could take a picture where you need the focus lock feature to take an in focus picture. For example, in some cameras, when you try to take a picture of two people standing together, the focus sensor is actually between them, and focusing on the wall behind them.

After you think you understand the camera's features, and know what has been turned on or off, try taking a variety of picture in various light conditions. Make sure you try some outdoor daylight pictures so that shutter speed is not a problem. If it still doesn't work, take it to an authorized repair facility for evaluation.