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Why do Uzi's die?

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Desert Dude

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--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements. However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide. With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
 
i think the constant buzzing of the IS is making the camera dizzy...to the point where it goes into coma? :)

just kidding :)
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
 
It's an inherent flaw in their DNA.
John
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
--
Seabee MCPO (ret)
 
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
 
No, I baby mine, but I think the problem usually is a computer board within the camera that dies. I don't think it has to do with mishandling. Maybe Microsoft wrote the operating system. ;-)
 
:-) Actually, like any complex electronic device they fail from electrostatic shock, heat, rough handling and normal wear and tear on the mechanical parts....

Lin
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
--
http://204.42.233.244
 
I doubt the C-2100 failure rate is any worse than most other digicams. My speculation is that C-2100 users tend to be more passionate about their cameras and therefore more vocal. This can tend to make things appear out of proportion than they really are.

Rick

(Actually, I'm in agreement with Daniella, John and Brian.)
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.
Click to expand...
------------------------------- SNIP --------------------------------
 
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
--

Why not? The design specs have to trade off performance against reliability. Take writing speed. By pushing the envelope, raising voltages and currents, it can be reduced, at the cost of burning out chips prematurely. A light bulb is a good analogy. Turn up the current to get the brightest light...for a while. So the optimum design lets the manufacturer offer great specs with failures pushed out to about 15 months. Which, by coincidence is when my UZI died.

CharlieR
 
Desert Dude said:
--

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.
Click to expand...
I think that it is some of all of the above. UZI owners are backpacking, outdoors, snooping, hunting, shooting photographers, vs the photographer that pulls the camera out for the family dinner. That is a huge over generalization, but the point is that I think the shooting environment plays a big part in any potential problems that may be had. These camera are basically computers, and if you read the manual, they have restrictions on temp (cold and hot), and moisture. I think that many of us ignore those restrictions. I am extremely cautious about any type of moisture. I don't know if that caution is justified or not, but I have not had any of the failures that you are referring to. Knock on wood.

Ken
D-460Z, C-3030Z, C-2100UZ
. )
 
I hope that my camera lasts until my first child is born : ) I baby my camera more than I baby my girlfriend. I feel uncomfortable when others are handling it - my typical line? "Yeah it is a great camera, PUT THE NECK STRAP ON!" :)

Well, my real concern was, what do you do once it dies? Now that it is a discontinued model, can they rebuild it, or do you just have to suck it up and go get another camera? I would pay to get my UZI fixed - is that an option?

Dave
 
RickS said:
I doubt the C-2100 failure rate is any worse than most other
digicams. My speculation is that C-2100 users tend to be more
passionate about their cameras and therefore more vocal. This can
tend to make things appear out of proportion than they really are.
Click to expand...
I agree that the failure rate is probably no higher with the C-2100 than with other cameras. We read more about problems because their seems to be more forum participants with this camera than with other Oly cameras. By nature when things are working well, we don't make broad announcements, such as, "It's Friday and my camera still works."

In pre-digital days my concerns were how much film to bring on a trip and to make sure I had one fresh camera battery with me. I never worried about my camera malfunctioning. Now that we are carrying around mini computers with a lens configuration attached I don't know if I should blame Bill Gates as Juli pointed out or Oly should something go wrong. Right now I am just frustrated as my new laptop is not tied up in the shop.

Since SDS can occur with a camera or laptop on a vacation it is frustrating to think about that happening. Right now I am frustrated that the Toshiba repair center has had my laptop for two weeks and dread the thought of further failures with it in a vacation along with possible camera problems.
 
Desert Dude,

Personally I do baby my cameras. I'm not overly obsessive, but I do take the time to put it away, keep it in its bag, etc. But even with babying the camera, it does get a lot of miliage! And I will not hesitate to take it whereever I need to go to get the pics that I want.

As to what to do if your camera dies, well I bought the two year extended warranty from Olympus. I almost never buy extended warranties.....I know they are mostly a rip-off and money down the drain. But when I bought my camera in August, SDS was a commonly discussed phenomenon here on the forum. I figured the extended warranty was money well spent, also considered the extended warranty also covers the expense of one free cleaning at the Olympus Service Center....almost worth the price of the warranty anyway. So, if my camera dies in the next 2 years and three months, my Olympus warranty is in force.

jim

wrote:
Desert Dude said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
--
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
 
The SDS is not common in other models..it seems to be a problem of the c2100. At least i have not heard of other models having this problem.
Desert Dude said:
RickS said:
I doubt the C-2100 failure rate is any worse than most other
digicams. My speculation is that C-2100 users tend to be more
passionate about their cameras and therefore more vocal. This can
tend to make things appear out of proportion than they really are.
Click to expand...
I agree that the failure rate is probably no higher with the C-2100
than with other cameras. We read more about problems because their
seems to be more forum participants with this camera than with
other Oly cameras. By nature when things are working well, we
don't make broad announcements, such as, "It's Friday and my camera
still works."

In pre-digital days my concerns were how much film to bring on a
trip and to make sure I had one fresh camera battery with me. I
never worried about my camera malfunctioning. Now that we are
carrying around mini computers with a lens configuration attached I
don't know if I should blame Bill Gates as Juli pointed out or Oly
should something go wrong. Right now I am just frustrated as my
new laptop is not tied up in the shop.

Since SDS can occur with a camera or laptop on a vacation it is
frustrating to think about that happening. Right now I am
frustrated that the Toshiba repair center has had my laptop for two
weeks and dread the thought of further failures with it in a
vacation along with possible camera problems.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
 
hmmm i have been carrying my camera in every hike i have been and to most of the place i have been...in dust, in heat, in humidity near the ocean, even in fire smoke...it fell on the ground from 2 feet high this weekend, went OFF and worked fine after i put the power back ON.

All this is a lot of handling but the camera is working fine after almost 10,000 photos. I don't think the SDS has anything to do in the way people use their camera because some got this after leaving the camera stored for some time, like a month or so.

I think its a manufacturer defect and it has nothing to do with the owner or the way people user their cameras.

If it was the owner's fault, Olympus would not repair it for free...as they would consider it been neglected or misused. Olympus knows very well about this defect and they should recall all camera for repair...at least they should cover the warranty on this for life time.
Ken Killian said:
Desert Dude said:
--

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.
Click to expand...
I think that it is some of all of the above. UZI owners are
backpacking, outdoors, snooping, hunting, shooting photographers,
vs the photographer that pulls the camera out for the family
dinner. That is a huge over generalization, but the point is that
I think the shooting environment plays a big part in any potential
problems that may be had. These camera are basically computers,
and if you read the manual, they have restrictions on temp (cold
and hot), and moisture. I think that many of us ignore those
restrictions. I am extremely cautious about any type of moisture.
I don't know if that caution is justified or not, but I have not
had any of the failures that you are referring to. Knock on wood.

Ken
D-460Z, C-3030Z, C-2100UZ
. )
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
 
Yes that was a very good idea...i might take one for my camera as well even if SDS is not an issue, its nice to have the camera cleaned. I already have some dust in the viewfinder :(
Sandman said:
Personally I do baby my cameras. I'm not overly obsessive, but I
do take the time to put it away, keep it in its bag, etc. But even
with babying the camera, it does get a lot of miliage! And I will
not hesitate to take it whereever I need to go to get the pics that
I want.

As to what to do if your camera dies, well I bought the two year
extended warranty from Olympus. I almost never buy extended
warranties.....I know they are mostly a rip-off and money down the
drain. But when I bought my camera in August, SDS was a commonly
discussed phenomenon here on the forum. I figured the extended
warranty was money well spent, also considered the extended
warranty also covers the expense of one free cleaning at the
Olympus Service Center....almost worth the price of the warranty
anyway. So, if my camera dies in the next 2 years and three
months, my Olympus warranty is in force.

jim

wrote:
Sandman said:
--
Desert Dude

After months of reading this forum and occasionally participating I
have noticed that the 2100 Uzi seems to have an unusual number of
problems.

First, it is evident that the majority of owners are delighted with
their cameras and the great number of postings demonstrate that it
is a camera capable of producing fantastic photos.

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.

In my case I decided on the D40 as it suits my requirements.
However, I also read complaints about it and as I know the camera
fairly well, I can almost always pick out the complainer that has
not opened the operation manual or looked at the operation guide.
With the D40 having a sliding lens cover I have also observed that
this is quite narrowly defined in tolerance. This means that if you
close it too fast and hard you can slam it into the side of the
lens. Well, try that a few times and I expect that you can trash
your D40 rather quickly.

So, my question to the Uzi owners who have had their cameras for a
while is, do you baby your camera and treat it as the fine
deliciate instrument it probably is? Perhaps that is why you have
not experienced the problems others have had.

My D40 is working well, but my Toshiba Satellite Doorstop has been
at the local service center for nearly two weeks.
Click to expand...
--
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
 
... (my small tripod) The camera fell on the lense. Fortunately, it still works fine. I also have thousands of pics. no idea how many, but at least 5-6 thousands, and all is well. maybe we all need to drop them once for longer life. From my experiance about 2 feet works well! lol
Daniella said:
All this is a lot of handling but the camera is working fine after
almost 10,000 photos. I don't think the SDS has anything to do in
the way people use their camera because some got this after leaving
the camera stored for some time, like a month or so.

I think its a manufacturer defect and it has nothing to do with the
owner or the way people user their cameras.

If it was the owner's fault, Olympus would not repair it for
free...as they would consider it been neglected or misused.
Olympus knows very well about this defect and they should recall
all camera for repair...at least they should cover the warranty on
this for life time.
Ken Killian said:
Desert Dude said:
--

Now cameras are delicate instruments and I wonder if it could be
careless handling and operation of the camera. Also, excuse my
criticism, but with anything reading the instructions with a new
purchase never hurts. That accounts for some of the complaints.
Click to expand...
I think that it is some of all of the above. UZI owners are
backpacking, outdoors, snooping, hunting, shooting photographers,
vs the photographer that pulls the camera out for the family
dinner. That is a huge over generalization, but the point is that
I think the shooting environment plays a big part in any potential
problems that may be had. These camera are basically computers,
and if you read the manual, they have restrictions on temp (cold
and hot), and moisture. I think that many of us ignore those
restrictions. I am extremely cautious about any type of moisture.
I don't know if that caution is justified or not, but I have not
had any of the failures that you are referring to. Knock on wood.

Ken
D-460Z, C-3030Z, C-2100UZ
. )
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C700 FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
Click to expand...
--

'Someday, I'll look back on my life and say: 'thank you God, for showing me who I am ', ----------Richard --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.fototime.com/inv/F52512550C1770C
 
Daniella said:
Sandman said:
Desert Dude,

Personally I do baby my cameras. I'm not overly obsessive, but I
do take the time to put it away, keep it in its bag, etc. But even
with babying the camera, it does get a lot of miliage! And I will
not hesitate to take it whereever I need to go to get the pics that
I want.

As to what to do if your camera dies, well I bought the two year
extended warranty from Olympus. I almost never buy extended
warranties.....I know they are mostly a rip-off and money down the
drain. But when I bought my camera in August, SDS was a commonly
discussed phenomenon here on the forum. I figured the extended
warranty was money well spent, also considered the extended
warranty also covers the expense of one free cleaning at the
Olympus Service Center....almost worth the price of the warranty
anyway. So, if my camera dies in the next 2 years and three
months, my Olympus warranty is in force.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I've been thinking about getting the 2 year warranty recently. Am I right in my assumption that you don't have to buy it at the time you bought the camera, but can buy it afterwards within the original year warranty, and assuming I registered the camera with Oly?

Also, is there any place that sells the Oly 2 year warranty that covers the UZI that is cheaper than the $80 that Adorama charges (I noticed that B&H is higher at $99):

http://www.adoramaphoto.com/catalog.tpl?op=details&sid=10216597421622746&sku=IOMEWG2
 
I was downloading images and had left the camera on the desk...the strap was hanging over the edge and reached out to grab my hand as I swung around. I think the camera needed to go out....you know..to find a fire hydrant or something to shoot...

Well anyway I was not intending to take it out, so I guess I moved faster than the camera could hold on to my hand and it went bouncing to the floor below...about 2ft down...on to the carpet...whew!! glad I have carpet...it hit my shoe, flipped over and landed on its back.

Strangely enough it is working better now than before...has not locked up and seems to focus quicker....think it might have had a wake up call???

:)

--
RichO :)
http://www.pbase.com/richo/
http://www.richo.org/LearningCenter/faq_olympus.htm
'Life is a dance, Love is the music.'
 
Sandman said:
Desert Dude,

Personally I do baby my cameras. I'm not overly obsessive, but I
do take the time to put it away, keep it in its bag, etc. But even
with babying the camera, it does get a lot of miliage! And I will
not hesitate to take it whereever I need to go to get the pics that
I want.
Click to expand...
Sandman,

Yes, I essentially baby my D40 as well. However, I do not use a camera case for it at all. It fits easily in my pants pocket and with nothing else in the pocket the only thing to worry about is a bit of cotton lint in the view finder.

When people compare start up time with cameras they never mention the time you mess around with getting it out of the case. I also mountain bike and carry it in a small carry bag on the front handle bars. Now that's a lot of bouncing. All I do is stuff a bunch of old cotton dish towels into the bag and cradle the camera in those. I carry my camera everywhere.

Correction to my previous post on the Toshiba Satellite doorstop. I mistyped that it was not in the shop. The "t" should be a "w" as it is now in the shop.

Anyway, I started this thread as I am curious about reliablity of the electronic products we use for photography, both cameras and laptops, etc as stroage devices. It is curious to see how much control we have over reliability in the way we treat or handle our cameras and laptops versus plain luck and/or questionable design of some products. Seems like the Uzi owners have no differnt experiences than with any other products.

And considering what has happened to a few of the cameras you would think they might even have nine lives!
 
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