Problems with 404: Scratched lens, shutter noises, overexposed pics etc

Sotiris Tsaftaris said:

I bought a minolta dimage s404 last June.

I opened the camera case and i saw that the lens was scratched.
Unfortunately I was leaving for vacations the next day for 2 months
and I couldn't do anything.

There I discovered that the scratch affects the image quality a
lot. In daylight pictures with pictures at the suns direction have
a huge with spot in the middle. Also some night pictures have some
weird bright pixels at a very certain position.

The shutter when you press it half way to lock the focus makes a
weird noise. I looked at the camera and I saw that shutter stays
open for a few secs even when it locks and then closes. The later
is what making the sound.

Also sometimes with no reason a landscape picture become
overexposed. With that I mean that these pictures are very white. I
assume that the camera makes a wrong estimate on the ISO
sensitivity and 'burns' the picture. Later I take the same shot and
the pictures come out nice.

I called minolta and they said that I should talk first to the
dealer. The dealer said that they cannot do anything since the
30day return period was over.

I called minolta again and they said that I will have to send the
camera and they will decide if they will repair for free or for my
cost or if they will replace it.

Do you have any suggestions? Do you think all the above are caused
by the scratch?

If I send the camera should i include some pictures to show them
what I mean and in what form? Do you have any idea how much they
will charge to fix the scratch of the lens. Will they have to
replace the whole lens?

All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance for your time and attention.

best,

SoToS

Click to expand...

Arcturus said:

Replacing the lens seems to be the obvious fix to this problem.
However, I wouldn't expect the outer GT lens to be cheap. Also, the
camera suffers from mechanical noises, which means that somehow it
dropped and broke inside (maybe in the same senario fits the
scratched lens). This doesn't sound cheap fix at all my friend.

My opinion : Send it to them, let them test it any way they like.
They may deside that it is a factory fault, who knows? I wouldn't
bet on this though ;o) No, you dont' have to shoot any "bad"
pictures, they have ways to check it themselves.

Good luck
jim

Sotiris Tsaftaris said:

I bought a minolta dimage s404 last June.

I opened the camera case and i saw that the lens was scratched.
Unfortunately I was leaving for vacations the next day for 2 months
and I couldn't do anything.

There I discovered that the scratch affects the image quality a
lot. In daylight pictures with pictures at the suns direction have
a huge with spot in the middle. Also some night pictures have some
weird bright pixels at a very certain position.

The shutter when you press it half way to lock the focus makes a
weird noise. I looked at the camera and I saw that shutter stays
open for a few secs even when it locks and then closes. The later
is what making the sound.

Also sometimes with no reason a landscape picture become
overexposed. With that I mean that these pictures are very white. I
assume that the camera makes a wrong estimate on the ISO
sensitivity and 'burns' the picture. Later I take the same shot and
the pictures come out nice.

I called minolta and they said that I should talk first to the
dealer. The dealer said that they cannot do anything since the
30day return period was over.

I called minolta again and they said that I will have to send the
camera and they will decide if they will repair for free or for my
cost or if they will replace it.

Do you have any suggestions? Do you think all the above are caused
by the scratch?

If I send the camera should i include some pictures to show them
what I mean and in what form? Do you have any idea how much they
will charge to fix the scratch of the lens. Will they have to
replace the whole lens?

All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance for your time and attention.

best,

SoToS

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Sotiris Tsaftaris said:

But why I am out of warranty?

And why they wouldn't believe me.

thanks

SoToS

Click to expand...

Richard B. said:

Minolta can test the camera and make a determination if a
manufacturing defect exists. In this case, they should simply
replace. If the camera is damaged the expense will be yours or the
dealers. The dealer probably suspects this and is not interested in
getting further involved..

One posible scenario here is that the dealer had previously sold
the camera to someone else who later returned it in a damaged
condition. The dealer didn't realise the camera was damaged and
repackage for a new sale. If this is the case, the dealer should
repair or replace at his expense.

However, from the dealers perspective he can't tell if you or the
previous buyer damaged the camera, so it is cheaper for him assert
that you damaged it rather than the previous buyer.

Sorry I don't have any great answers, but I suspect the above may
explain what is going on.

Good luck,
Richard.

Sotiris Tsaftaris said:

But why I am out of warranty?

And why they wouldn't believe me.

thanks

SoToS

Click to expand...

--
Richard B.
S404 gallery http://www.ericksonbird.com/samples

Click to expand...

rikster said:

Richard B. said:

Minolta can test the camera and make a determination if a
manufacturing defect exists. In this case, they should simply
replace. If the camera is damaged the expense will be yours or the
dealers. The dealer probably suspects this and is not interested in
getting further involved..

One posible scenario here is that the dealer had previously sold
the camera to someone else who later returned it in a damaged
condition. The dealer didn't realise the camera was damaged and
repackage for a new sale. If this is the case, the dealer should
repair or replace at his expense.

However, from the dealers perspective he can't tell if you or the
previous buyer damaged the camera, so it is cheaper for him assert
that you damaged it rather than the previous buyer.

Sorry I don't have any great answers, but I suspect the above may
explain what is going on.

Good luck,
Richard.

Sotiris Tsaftaris said:

But why I am out of warranty?

And why they wouldn't believe me.

thanks

SoToS

Click to expand...

--
Richard B.
S404 gallery http://www.ericksonbird.com/samples

Click to expand...

It is a simple case of waiting too long to complain. If you were
on a vacation they could say you took it with you and if you said
you didn't how could you prove it. A real dilemma. But i would
include a written explanation of the circumstances then say three
hail maries and get a rabbits foot and a four leaf clove throw some
salt of your left shoulder avoid walking under any ladders or
meetin any black cats and if you believe in divine intervention i
would say a good prayer is in order . I wish you luck.

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