canon powershots flaking out

Hi...

About 5 or 6 years ago, I bought my wife a Canon Powershot A75 as a
starter digital camera. She liked it well enough and it suited a number
of needs, so a couple of years ago I upgraded her to an A570.

The problem is that starting this summer they both started to crash
and burn. The A75 light meter and focus got very erratic. If you light
abstract/impressionist stuff, well okay. If you want it to take a
picture of what you're looking at not so good. Didn't matter how many
fresh batteries you put in it, it just did a very strange job.

The A570 then started doing weird stuff (which was more disappointing
since it's relatively new). When you selected one mode (say Manual) it
would start responding to a different mode (say video). All the
settings appeared scrambled. Then recently the focus seemed to go as
well.

So,
1) Are these even worth fixing? Repair in a shop would obviously cost a
fair amount.

2) Is this kind of sloppy failure common to Canon?

3) What brand of entry-level digital camera would be better?

Thanks
Mark

 

What kind of environment are these cameras used in, or where are
they stored? Is there any pollution problem or salt air near where
you live?

Nope. Not unless they're still under some kind of warranty.

Nope. It's not even typical of Canon's products.

Not really better, you could find some other brands that are
similarly good. Last week I saw Canon's A590 IS on sale in Staples
for $129. That might be worth considering as it's also a very nice
camera and your wife wouldn't have any relearning to do or memory
cards to buy, as it's practically identical to the A570 IS.

 

I concur. I got the A590 IS for my GF a few months ago (same price,
$129, at Circuit City) and we are both very pleased with it. From the
looks of some of her macro shots* (she is a total newbie), the IS is
doing its job quite nicely for her, even though she has so far not
gotten around to reading the manual.

* http://flickr.com/photos/prairiesunshine/3030324785/sizes/l/

 

I once screwed up a camera by taking it near a powerful
x-ray machine in a hospital. The camera sort of worked
after that but was flaky.

Ah well, at least they seem to have cured my cancer.

 

No. You can get much improved technology for not a whole lot more than
repairing the old stuff.

Do not know but have not read any negative reports like this.

Canon and in particular the Canon SD880 has been getting rave reviews.

 

You really sure?
This is not one of these nice x-rays at airports ore something you use
for x-ray images of your broken leg...
I don't know how many magnitudes the cancer-curing x-rays are stronger
than the ones used for imaging purposes, but it's quite a bit.
X-ray can cause electrical circuits to charge and break.

but i would also call it quite bad luck!

I would imagine that the worst that could happen to electronics would be
an MRI...


kruemi

 

Are you sure that it was an x-ray and not a particle accelerator?

 

Thanks for responding...

We live inland in the woods, no unusual pollution to speak of. We're
45 minutes drive from the ocean so probably no appreciable salt air
either. They just sit on the desk when not in use...

I think the warranty on the 570 is less than a year, so it's a bit
out of warranty... The A75 is obviously long out of warranty.

Well, we've had a fair amount of difficulty with our Canon inkjets,
most recently with our pixma 6700. Haven't ever gotten it to feed paper
properly and the online support is worthless ("Have you tried plugging
it in?")

Now with the Canon cameras dying so young we were thinking may
another brand would be better.

One of the inlaws is a professional photographer and he bought one of
the family a nikon pocket camera. That nikon was a bit toooo entry
level (not enough of the zoom, macro, video, etc features) but...

Well, that is a good point - the consistent interface and the memory
cards being transferable. Sometimes Staples does the "recycle your old
one" discount deal, too...

 

They usually don't in hospitals, due to clearly posted rules.
There are non-restricted areas where they are allowed, usually in
cafeterias and near the elevators that visitors are required to use.
The proofs you offer ("Just ask any x-ray tech") are almost always
useless, nothing more than pure innuendo. Post something definitive
and verifiable and the world will reel in shock and awe!

 

You need to read more slowly, since comprehension isn't your
forte. Show where I said anything about "harm". I spoke not of
harm but of posted rules related to cell phones. How many x-ray
technicians wear cell phones in violation of posted rules? I spent
many months in hospitals earlier this year and last, visiting
patients, and noticed many of those signs, and heard doctors and
nurses warn people to turn off their cell phones. I'm not saying
whether failure to do so would result in harm or not, I'm saying
that I don't make the rules, but I recognize them when I see them,
which you've apparently never seen or noticed.

If you wanted to be taken seriously you wouldn't make clearly
observable false statements. But you do, and aren't taken
seriously, so you do have a burden, though not the one you were
thinking of. Now if your twit filter has activated your defensive
shields, you won't see this. Lucky you! Cognitive dissonance can
be so painful . . .

 

There was no dropping involved.

This machine was delivering much more more than standard
diagnostic x-rays. It was a machine used for cancer treatment,
delivering heavy doses of ionizing radiation.

I had put my briefcase down in the treatment room about 10
feet from the gurney with the target (me) on it. The machine
was then setup in such a way that it would rotate around me,
firing off x-rays from four different angles, one of which
apparently covered the area where the briefcase was sitting.
The emitter on the machine was only about two feet from the
focal point (my prostate), so in another 10 feet after that
on my other side the beam widened considerably, but was
apparently still pretty powerful. I believe I was getting
a total of 200 centigreys per treatment, but how much of that
fell on the camera I don't know.

The effect on the camera (a Canon S30) was that the LCD
display on the back was screwed up. I was able to keep using
the camera because it had an optical viewfinder. Some weeks
later the camera started to work fine again.

Then I took it through an airport scanner and it was messed
up again. It recovered, but got messed up on the return
trip through the scanner. On my next trip I tried to convince
the airport security to just inspect the camera by hand but
a heavyweight came out and gave me three choices. I could
put the camera through the scanner, I could give him the
camera (I guess he didn't mind if he blew up), or I could
continue to protest and be arrested. I put the camera
through the scanner and the LCD never worked again after
that.

I theorize that the x-ray treatment machine in the hospital
did significant damage, rendering the LCD electronics
marginal, and the lower dose airport scanners finished them
off. But you can't argue with Homeland Security. The only
thing they understand are rigid rules.

Some of you will doubt this story but I swear that the facts
I've related are 100% true. It is possible that my interpretation
of those facts is wrong, but the sequence of events that I have
described is accurate.

Alan

 

The kind of machine you're describing uses a linear acceleator to
generate a high energy x-ray beam. It's not the same as an imaging
x-ray, which is designed for minimum dose.

The LINAC has some very powerful magnets in it--it's basically a
brute-force atom-smasher diverted to other use.

 

There are no other people in the treatment room. The
technicians set up the patient and then leave the room,
observing from a shielded window. The entire room is,
I was told, surrounded by lead lined walls and ceiling,
and there was a massive sliding door.

Otherwise, I'm sure you're right. Anyone else in the
room would have been harmed.

Alan

 

I looked up photos of linac machines on Google. Indeed, that
was the kind of machine I was treated with.

Alan

 

How'd that happen? I've never seen a camera do a line. You set it
down on your mirror?