Tuesday 9 December 2008

Canon A430 Powershot Digital Camera Has Design Defects

For the past 3 days, I've been having problems with my camera. I've had it for 2.5 years. It's a Canon A430 Powershot.

During the day, photos turned out "overexposed". Below is a shot I took of the yard of my home during the day. It was quite gloomy & dark at the time the shot was taken. Instead of appearing dark and underexposed, the result was an image of too much light! 


Notice the horizontal lines on the photo


The shot below was taken inside my living room. We bought this sign for Blackie's room yesterday. The background was a beige colour, but the result was anything but beige.

Again, notice the horizontal bands

I googled to find out what the problem is, and discovered that worldwide, there are many people with similar problems when their camera approaches 2 years. It seems that it's a lens and shutter problem, where after x number of shots are taken, the cable snaps and the lens & shutter malfunction. It also appears to be a "design defect". Their video is clear, just like mine, too.


It also looks like it costs almost the price of a new camera to replace the lens and shutter. *sigh* Does this mean I have to buy another camera? Any recommendations, anyone? I love to take night scenes, so a camera that produces excellent night shots is a must.