HS50 out of warranty, is it worth fixing?

My wife's HS50 EXR camera (which she never uses, I use it occasionally for long telephoto shots I cannot get with my "better" cameras) has been gradually getting a problem that has now become an obstacle to its use. The mode dial has been randomly changing modes, or showing which mode is set (momentarily blocking the viewfinder) even when no one touches the dial. This morning, when I wanted to change modes, it would not change at all, until I turned the dial ten times in succession. Since it is out of warranty, Fujifilm quoted me $150, plus shipping for a repair. Frankly I doubt it is worth that. Anyone have any experience with a Fuji repair that was not done by Fuji? Would you spend that much to fix that camera?

regos said:

My wife's HS50 EXR camera (which she never uses, I use it occasionally for long telephoto shots I cannot get with my "better" cameras) has been gradually getting a problem that has now become an obstacle to its use. The mode dial has been randomly changing modes, or showing which mode is set (momentarily blocking the viewfinder) even when no one touches the dial. This morning, when I wanted to change modes, it would not change at all, until I turned the dial ten times in succession. Since it is out of warranty, Fujifilm quoted me $150, plus shipping for a repair. Frankly I doubt it is worth that. Anyone have any experience with a Fuji repair that was not done by Fuji? Would you spend that much to fix that camera?

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Well for $200 Fuji sent me a brand new boxed HS50 camera with original accessories and a new warranty.

How did you manage that?

regos said:

How did you manage that?

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By calling them a lot lol. The original HS50 I bought was used from Amazon, for $280. The command dial broke so I sent it in and they told me instead of fixing it they would send me a new one for another $200 and give me a new warranty.

regos said:

How did you manage that?

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Incidentally, they also offered me a new S1 for $330

I have decided to go ahead and send it in to Fuji. I posted some woodpecker pictures I took with it yesterday, and the quality at full telephoto was good enough to make me not want to give it up. I bought it just for the telephoto lens, which my wife wanted.

I like those- nice dynamic range! If you fill out their return form make sure to check mark the thing where it says you would be fine with them sending you a replacement camera.

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https://supermanalexthegreat.shutterfly.com/

Since you have sent it back let me offer this advice.

Check it out, and if it works well, fine. Enjoy using it.

If not do not waste more time and energy, and simply buy another camera, an HS50 if you like yours.

My experience is that these cameras do not stand up to years of hard use and if you get 5 years or so they are a good value and I continue to use them but regard them as disposable.

The technology develops so much that after this length of time, newer and better stuff is available. Repair on these HS cameras is risky and certainly not worth an extended effort.

Dr JLW said:

Since you have sent it back let me offer this advice.

Check it out, and if it works well, fine. Enjoy using it.

If not do not waste more time and energy, and simply buy another camera, an HS50 if you like yours.

My experience is that these cameras do not stand up to years of hard use and if you get 5 years or so they are a good value and I continue to use them but regard them as disposable.

The technology develops so much that after this length of time, newer and better stuff is available. Repair on these HS cameras is risky and certainly not worth an extended effort.

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Have you noticed that these compact cameras aren't as rugged as even entry level DSLRs? Because this camera sure looks like an entry level DSLR. Which part breaks down first?

I have Olympus compacts and entry level dslr since 2005 and they still work perfectly.

I do not believe the OP's problem was ruggedness.

It was an intermittent contact inside the camera.

I had a similar issue with my HS-10 after a about three years. My camera would occasionally fail to power up when I turned it on. It always came on after one or two ore tries and I fixed it by spraying some contact cleaner near the switch after being careful to protect the lens, that stuff is really nasty on clear plastic. I recommended this to another person who posted about a similar problem and it seems to have worked.

I suspect that if Fujifilm repaired the camera rather than swap it, they probably opened it enough to get contact cleaner on the bad switch and buttoned it back up. That is about $150 worth of professional labor here in the US or in Japan.

This kind of problem more often arises from lack or frequent use rather than excessive use.

I did have a durability problem on my HS-10, the tripod socket failed. I used a monopod a lot. I made a plate to cover it, with a new threaded hole, and epoxied it over the old socket and I still use the camera after about 4+ years. It is on a dedicated macro stand.

I haven't sent in the camera yet. I wonder if trying the contact cleaner spray might be worth trying. I assume the problem is a loose, or intermittent, contact. But if it is electronic, rather than mechanical, then the spray cannot help.

If it will cost me $175-$200 to have Fuji repair my HS50, is it worth spending that much, when I can buy a new Panasonic FZ70 for $247? Similar quality, more zoom, brand new.

Dr JLW said:

I do not believe the OP's problem was ruggedness.

It was an intermittent contact inside the camera.

I had a similar issue with my HS-10 after a about three years. My camera would occasionally fail to power up when I turned it on. It always came on after one or two ore tries and I fixed it by spraying some contact cleaner near the switch after being careful to protect the lens, that stuff is really nasty on clear plastic. I recommended this to another person who posted about a similar problem and it seems to have worked.

I suspect that if Fujifilm repaired the camera rather than swap it, they probably opened it enough to get contact cleaner on the bad switch and buttoned it back up. That is about $150 worth of professional labor here in the US or in Japan.

This kind of problem more often arises from lack or frequent use rather than excessive use.

I did have a durability problem on my HS-10, the tripod socket failed. I used a monopod a lot. I made a plate to cover it, with a new threaded hole, and epoxied it over the old socket and I still use the camera after about 4+ years. It is on a dedicated macro stand.

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Wow, that's a lot of work for one camera. Maybe the S1 with its weatherproofing (when I called Fuji they said it was water/dust/mildew/mold resistant) would be more durable?

regos said:

I haven't sent in the camera yet. I wonder if trying the contact cleaner spray might be worth trying. I assume the problem is a loose, or intermittent, contact. But if it is electronic, rather than mechanical, then the spray cannot help.

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It's always worth trying considering the high cost to repair but I agree, it doesn't always work. I used a contact cleaner/lubricant spray on an old Fuji camera's power switch that was binding, making it very difficult to turn the camera on and off. That worked very quickly and the problem never returned.

I've also had electronic problems that the spray fixed (with an old digital radio) but it didn't help an HS10 that had an electronic failure that initially let the camera take one or two shots before powering down getting progressively worse, not staying powered on long enough to view or take any photos and generally acting weird, such as when the power switch was on the ON position but the camera appeared to be totally dead, moving the power switch to the OFF position would wake up the camera for a couple of seconds.

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regos said:

If it will cost me $175-$200 to have Fuji repair my HS50, is it worth spending that much, when I can buy a new Panasonic FZ70 for $247? Similar quality, more zoom, brand new.

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That's more than I'd pay to have it repaired but call Fuji's tech support. If they have any HS50's left in stock you could get a new Fuji (with extras, such as another battery, case, memory card and/or mini-tripod) for a decent price using Fuji's Customer Loyalty Program. If no more HS* cameras are available you might be offered a new S1 kit instead.

Warning: Many of the features we've gotten used to with Fuji's HS* series cameras have been removed from the S1, enough that I'd rather buy a Nikon P610 instead. But the P610 also lacks some useful features, such as the ability to shoot and save RAW files.

Dr JLW said:

I did have a durability problem on my HS-10, the tripod socket failed. I used a monopod a lot. I made a plate to cover it, with a new threaded hole, and epoxied it over the old socket and I still use the camera after about 4+ years. It is on a dedicated macro stand.

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Yup, one of the concerns I had before I picked up my HS50 was its plastic tripod socket. Fortunately I have a quick-release clamp on top of my tripod (and would do the same for a monopod), so I added a quick-release plate to the HS50, which I essentially consider to be permanently attached. So the screw socket on the HS50 won't get worn out from constant mounting/dismounting from a tripod.

Steve

1) I refrained from suggesting contact cleaner spray to you because I do not know where the contacts are that are causing your problem. If they rare deep inside the ca,era it will require take down to get to place where it will do some good. My camera problem was on the a surface switch and I though there was a good chance the stuff would get to the right place and it did.

It is an option for you if you decide

a) you are not going to send it in for repair

b) you can live with the stuff wrecking the camera since you are prepared to replace it

If you really like it and are going to send it in for repair a botched spray with contact cleaner makes the repair a lot harder, so don;t try it.

I would not spend $175 + for a repair of one of these cameras. For another $100 or so you could get a new one and have a years coverage.

Camera repair is bad business on both sides. It requires a lot of training and equipment and there are a lot of things that can go wrong. The repairer has to charge a reasonable amount to get a return on the investment in time and equipment. There is a lot of plastic in these so they d not do well if repeatedly taken down for repair. Do overs are even more risky.

The fundamental problem is manufacture takes place in a clean room environment with everyone wearing special clothing and care taken to keep foreign objects out of the assemblies. There are lots special tool and jigs to do the assembly and special test stations to verify it all works as layers of electronics are added..

Repair cannot be done in this environment because the camera has too much dust dirt and crud to allow it into such an environment.

Others have suggested alternative cameras for about the cost of the repair. They are also a better option unless you make real use of some features of the HS50 that are not available in these.

Yes the plate was a lot of work. The socket was failing and I had hoped that it would prolong the socket life but eliminating the need to mount and unmount the screw.

I like making stuff like this so it was some fun. My plate also moved the tripod socket to the be under the lens and is also an anti twist plate for the Arca QD mount. Another tricky part was providing clearance to open the battery compartment.

I made another for my HS-30 which is still screwed onto it and has an Arco plate on it. It use it often on a monopod when I travel.

I keep the HS 10 because it is great for macro work and I even use the high speed video on rare occasion. to my knowledge no other camera can do that and 900+ frames per second is useful to me at times. When it dies,I will not repair it or have anyone else do it.

Dr JLW said:

Others have suggested alternative cameras for about the cost of the repair. They are also a better option unless you make real use of some features of the HS50 that are not available in these.

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Well, Fuji quoted me $150 for any repair, plus shipping, which is how I came up with a $175-$200 estimate for total cost. If they offered me a new unit for that much, with a warranty, I would take it. But to repair my old one? As I mentioned above, a new Panasonic FZ70 is $247, and it is similar quality, maybe better video, with 1200mm equivalent zoom. Does that not make more sense?

Actually the price on Amazon is now down to $229 at one authorized seller. It is a discontinued model.

I'd take a look at the Pany and compare features. Also, since this is your wife's camera, it is a good idea to get her thoughts.

There is a lot of benefit to staying with a camera you know, if you have invested a lot of time in getting to know your 50. It's also fun to learn a new camera so you have two good options.


Either way, I would replace rather than repair.

Dr JLW said:

Yes the plate was a lot of work. The socket was failing and I had hoped that it would prolong the socket life but eliminating the need to mount and unmount the screw.

I like making stuff like this so it was some fun. My plate also moved the tripod socket to the be under the lens and is also an anti twist plate for the Arca QD mount. Another tricky part was providing clearance to open the battery compartment.

I made another for my HS-30 which is still screwed onto it and has an Arco plate on it. It use it often on a monopod when I travel.

I keep the HS 10 because it is great for macro work and I even use the high speed video on rare occasion. to my knowledge no other camera can do that and 900+ frames per second is useful to me at times. When it dies,I will not repair it or have anyone else do it.

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Did your HS30 have the same kind of failure? I thought compacts were supposed to last longer than consumer level DSLR (based on mirror movement and shutter actuations.)