How many of your digital cameras have failed?

[Tuolumne]

Although digital cameras are reputed to be disposable and not manufactured for the long haul, how many of yours have failed (after working fine initially)? I have had about 5-8 digital cameras, including a Nikon D200. The only one that has ever broken was a Casio P&S. I put it in my pocket and sat on it. The screen broke. The camera still worked. despite their reputation for being disposable and unreliable, mine have worked flawlessly. This is rather depressing, since if they failed more often, I could more easily justify upgrading.

What has been your experience with digital cameras. Are they gung ho or do they just go hang?

/T

 

[nightfly]

They've all failed to deliver decent black and white images, so I've sold them before they've had a change to physically break.

 

[pesphoto]

mine broke when I flung it at that brick wall.......

 

[JTK]

None.

My Pentax K20D at 14.6 mp out-resolves any 35 (superb prime lenses) and it makes gorgeous B&W, as all digital cameras can, to the limits of their resolution, when the file's converted properly (eg using Lightroom) and printed properly (eg using Quadtone RIP).

As well, the K20D is incredibly rugged and water resistant. The only similarly rugged 35 is the Pentax IQ zoom.

 

[Leica0Series]

My Coolpix 800 likes to turn itself off frequently but it still works. I bought it eight years ago. My Nikon D1 will run forever and has had only one freakout when it decided that a CF card was full when it wasn't. My (now sold) D100 never put a foot wrong and probably still works fine somewhere. Hoping my new (to me) M8 will hang in there for the long haul.

 

[MickH]

I've owned several and never had one fail, they've just become out-dated. I've only ever had one camera fail and that was a L*ica P&S 35mm. Never again!

 

[Roger Hicks]

Of those owned and used for over 1 year: 100% (still only one camera, I have to admit).

Edit: TWO years (which is what I originally wrote, then absent-mindedly changed. The M8 is just coming up for 2 years and is still working, so for 1 year, it's only 50%. All I can say in mitigation is that I think of the M8 as an M-series and therefore expect it to work... Sorry.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Morca007]

Our Fuji S1 had a massive mainboard failure and became a doorstop.

 

[Shac]

None have - these include the Coolpix 7900 (owned for 3+ years), a Nikon D70 (owned for 3+ years then sold and still going strong) and a D300 (owned for 1 year. All have accompanied me on my travels off the beatn track.
The only cameras that ever failed me were a Leica R4 (had to be replaced), an M6 (ditto fate) and an F100 (minor problem repaired under warranty). The only lens failure (zoom function froze after 3 years) was the 17-80 Kit lens that came with the D70.
I just hope this "luck" continues

 

[Roger Hicks]

Another question:

How many of your computers have failed?

For me: probably 50%, sooner or later (out of maybe 15 in the last 25 years). And even if they don't fail, they often can't run the new software needed for imaging programs.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Yammerman]

I've had three repairs but I suspect child involvement in the compact failures

Sony Compact wouldn't zoom any more in an act of madness I had 3.2 mega pixel camera repaired. I can see it unused on the shelf now.
Nikon D70 in 2003 failed after a month with a sticky shutter
Richoh GRD dead screen after 6 months.

Computers started failing after I stopped building them myself.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I've had 2 point and shoots die on me. In their defense, they both took falls to hard surfaces that could have done in any camera...except maybe a Koni-omega.

 

[tedwin]

None. I have had a lot, and everyone I don't still own (that's all but one) was sold working perfectly.

My D200 was a bit of a 'wearer' (two sets of grips in three years) but otherwise no problems.

The modern lenses seem more troublesome. I had an AF unit pack up once, I think thats quite common. Plus one of the connections in another lenses mount sometimes sticks down causing a break in communications. Not broken, but not working properly either.

Ted.

 

[raid]

This is a trick question!

You need to have a digital camera before "your digital camera fails."!

I got it.

 

[kzim56]

I had a Konica-Minolta Maxxum 5D that developed a case of clicking auto-focus and shutter death. Apparently a common problem with those cameras. Of course it died a couple of months out of warranty. I sold it for parts along with some pretty good old Minolta lenses and jumped ship to Nikon. No problems since.

Karl

 

[Al Kaplan]

Usually the phone part stops functioning before the camera part, but if I extend my phone contract I get a new phone and a new camera...free!

 

[kbg32]

Zero, none, nada.

 

[ZeissFan]

I had the Coolpix 700, 800 and 950. Of those, the 950 won't work in certain modes. The 800 and 700 still work well.

My wife has a Canon something-or-other, which she grew to hate because of the shutter lag. Battery life is miserable.

I had a Sony Mavica CD-500. Very nice camera, but very slow startup times, especially as the mini-CD got full. I eventually sold it to get this:

Sony Cyber-shot 828 -- a very nice camera. It has a great lens with a real zoom ring, but a not-so-great sensor that is noisy at anything above ISO 100. But it still works.

More recently, a Kyocera 4100 that gives bizarre colors in very bright or high contrast scenes. An Olympus E-Volt 500. Nice camera, although somewhat flimsy in construction. High ISO performance is mediocre.

And most recently, a Pentax K10D -- a really nice camera with excellent features, amazing backward compatibility and great feature set and excellent build (which contributes to its weight).

 

[Shac]

Al - LOL! loved it

 

[photogdave]

Nikon D70: Shutter works intermittently. Out of warranty, so I just use it for IR experimentation. Never liked it anyway.
Panasonic LC1: My favorite digital. Completely died one day and the repair shop the Panasonic jobs out to said it needed a new main board at $700. I pulled some strings and kissed some butts and got the part for free but had to pay the shop labor. When I got the camera back the AF was mysteriously broken. Same shop says it needs a new lens assembly - for $700! I have it at another shop for a second opinion...
Pentax Optio 43WR: Still working flawlessly after four years. I have taken this thing WAY beyond its recommended limits and it hasn't let me down. I keep hoping it will break so I have an excuse to buy the new version with wide zoom, but no luck yet!