camera repair advice

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for advice for whether or not to try to repair my digital camera - and if so, if Camera Inc in Davis does that (and if people recommend them or have other ideas). Its a Canon Powershot that I purchased when Someday Cafe was still in existence (a barista there loved the one he got so I got the same!) It suits my purposes fine, and I don't have a smart phone or I'd be fine with those camera capabilities. But its getting temperamental, keeps flipping to video mode and getting stuck there - I don't know enough to know if its fixable or if I'd spend much the same money to buy something new.
Thanks for any insights/recommendations.

Comments

[withinmywill.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if Camera Inc does repairs (but I would think they do). I've gotten film developed there and had a passport picture taken, and I have always had good experiences. I can tell you, though, that repairing compact cameras often is way too expensive.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my experience of looking into that sort of thing is that it's often way cheaper to simply buy a new camera.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I have a digital camera that is 5 years old with technically more 'megapixels' than my camera phone and the photos are worse. I would not try to repair a digital camera in the 5-10 year old range.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Check canons website and see if there is a firmware update still online, it might just be a software issue. Otherwise, a used powershot that is 3-4 years newer than yours would be really cheap, and much cheaper than fixing the current one. I've had great luck with buying used on amazon

[no1onthecorner.livejournal.com]

Camera Inc doesn't do repairs, but I've walked in with a broken camera and had them give me a reliable guess about whether the cost of repair would be worth it. (In my case, it was an old Canon Powershot jammed up with sand, and the repair place quoted $125, which was enough to buy a better replacement.)

[squirrelitude]

Contact Canon and see if it's a known issue. They replaced my Powershot S1 for free (shipping included) when it turned out I had a CCD from a bad batch.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I had this happen as well, on two different cameras. they couldn't repair them, so they just sent me two of the newer models. It would be worth calling Canon to see. Otherwise, I agree buying a new camera is probably cheaper/easier...

[squirrelitude]

Yeah, I should clarify: They didn't actually *repair* it, they sent me a new S5 as a replacement.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Thanks, this is very helpful!

[davelew.livejournal.com]

My experience with camera repairs is that you generally have to send the camera back to the manufacturer. I've been charged $100 to $200 for them to open up the camera, with the cost of any replacement parts on top of that. It's rare for repairs to make sense on anything but an SLR or EVIL camera.