Digital Camera Blues

BillyBoy wrote on 5/1/2002, 10:01 PM
Here I've been bragging about my new Canon ZR45 and it now seems to have died already. Heck, only had this thing a few weeks, was working great. Now I turn it on and the image in the viewfinder as well as the LCD screen regardless of mode, both playback and trying to shoot new video is nothing but a totally washed out screen, when I can just barely see the outline of what I'm pointing at with the camera regardless of lighting conditions, where before even in dim inside lighting I got acceptable video.

I checked all the settings and restored everything to defaults, nothing shows. Yes it is connected to the external power supply and the various modes show clearly in the LCD screen but all images are extremely washed out. Anyone got a clue?

Comments

seeker wrote on 5/2/2002, 4:19 AM
BillyBoy,

> Heck, only had this thing a few weeks... <

Then it should still be covered by its warranty. Don't mess with trying to fix it. Just return it for a new one. The store where you bought it should take it back. And, grin, next time buy a Sony.

-- seeker --
BillyBoy wrote on 5/2/2002, 8:57 AM
RichMacDonald wrote on 5/2/2002, 10:56 AM
RichMacDonald wrote on 5/2/2002, 10:59 AM
BillyBoy wrote on 5/2/2002, 11:27 AM
SonyEPM wrote on 5/2/2002, 12:33 PM
I'll save us all some grief and delete the venting portion of this thread... and toss in my guesses:

Does the camera exhibit the same problem with a battery? If not, power supply.

Does a captured clip look ok? If yes, LCD failure.

Is a captured clip bad with both battery and ext power? CCD failure.
BillyBoy wrote on 5/2/2002, 2:08 PM
<Does the camera exhibit the same problem with a battery? If not, power supply.>

Same with or without battery...

<Does a captured clip look ok? If yes, LCD failure.>

NOTHING any longer shows in viewfinder or on LCD screen. Camera no longer can shoot new video. None of the controls work now either. Nothing works except for the menu items showing in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen. Aside from that when attempting to play any pre recorded video the LCD and viewfinder remain totally black. Any attempt to shoot new video the screen is totally white. If you look very closely there is an extremely faint image barely visible.

<Is a captured clip bad with both battery and ext power? CCD failure.>

The camera died without warning. I simply asked if anyone knew why/what happened and now I'm sorry I bothered asking considering the smart ass responses prior to yours. Since this was my first digital camera I simply wanted to understand if or not this is a common happening. That's hardly ranting or whining.
Caruso wrote on 5/2/2002, 6:15 PM
BillyBoy wrote on 5/2/2002, 7:21 PM
And here I thought I was speaking English. What part of "camera died" don't you guys understand? Everything stopped working except for the menu choices showing in the viewfinder/LCD. That's all. It was dead. Totally. Even pushing on the forward reverse buttons wouldn't work. No, it would not even play back as a pass through to a monitor. Before anyone asks, yes all the time running off house current. No, neither of my two battery packs made any difference.

My only point in making my original post was to ask if anyone knows what could have caused such a catastrophic failure without warning of any kind when the camera was working perfectly for the first three weeks. Nobody else has access to it either.

Yes, I already have a replacement. I'm still curious why. Nobody has come close to answering.
Caruso wrote on 5/3/2002, 5:02 AM
BillyBoy wrote on 5/3/2002, 9:41 AM
Well intentioned replies? Give me a break! Now here you are playing silly word games. Died, dead, half dead, geez. Lets be factual. I explained what the problem was as well as anyone could. Anyone that thinks some bone-headed advice like ...don't mess with it or take it back is useful please raise your hand.

The conclusion is simple. NONE THAT REPLIED KNOWN what happened any more then I do or the guy that looked at it at the Canon service center. To avoid any further confusion I won't use words like died or dead and instead say the camera malfunctioned. Hopefully that will satisfy the nitpickers.

Your right this thread is dead. It was DOA, because I foolishly asked for help from people that could do no better then say take it back. Boy am I impressed with the technicial expertise as regards to cameras offered in this fourm. NOT!

Thanks so much for another useless, self-serving comment. Except for SE the so-called "troubleshooting" offered here was laughable.
Cheesehole wrote on 5/4/2002, 7:04 PM
>>>Your right this thread is dead. It was DOA, because I foolishly asked for help from people that could do no better then say take it back. Boy am I impressed with the technicial expertise as regards to cameras offered in this fourm. NOT!

when asking people to spend their free time helping you with your problems, it is not a good idea to insult them because you don't like what they have to say. they will be less willing to help in the future.