FujiFilm

[Patric]

Hi All , I have a FujiFilm finepix S20Pro Digital camera . It is a few years old .I used it last year on my trip Inuvik in the Northwest Territory's , & in Alaska on the way home . It Work great , But after it sat a few months at home I tried to use it , and it looked like I was pointing out a window sideways going 300 miles an hour . A lot of streaks . I changed the batteries , and that didn't help , but I played with it a wile ,and it cleared up .

I got it out lately ,and it is all streaky again . I called Ritz Camera , and they said they could send it in . But they thought it was a light sensor or something like that , and it would be cheaper to buy a new camera .

So is this a common problem with all Digital camera's , or does it happen to one brand more that others , or is a just luck of the draw ?

[WildBil]

I don't think that failures like the one you have are common to all digitial cameras, or even to all Fuji Digitals, although I had a never ending string of focus problems with a FinePix S9000. I waited too long (past the 1 yr. warranty) to send it in. They could not fix it; but replaced it with a rebuilt one for about $170. It had a differnet serial number, but the same low light focus problems.

For the most part, I think that the person at Ritz was right. Its probably not worth sending it in. There is not much in them that can be replaced. And you might end up with the same problem the next time it sits in the drawer.

I solved my problems with a Nikon D-40. Focuses better than my old Minolta 35 mm did, let along the S9000. Its really fast. It was a great present from my family.

You can find Fuji camera repair on the web, and deal with them directly. That is what I did. It might be cheaper than having Ritz send it in for you, but by the time you finish boxing it up, insuring it and shipping it - it might not be worth the hassle.

Canon and Nikon both have great point and shoot cameras. My wife really gets great pictures out of her Canon PowerShot A630 - she likes it because it has enough of handgrip on the right side that she can hold it steady with one hand, which is great for the back of the LT.

[bflemingor]

I have always had Canon cameras, with a Casio or two tossed in - Casios never survived & most Canons were rock soid (unless I did something stupid).

Now, I seem to always end up with a Canon...

[dmatson]

Wow, I thought this was going to be a question about Fuji Film! I haven't bought film for a long time. My Cannon S500 is doing something like that, I got a SD900 and didn't use the 500 for a few months and when I tried to use it a few weeks ago the LCD display was very streaky and the color was way out of balance but when i took a picture it came out fine, wierd must be the displays gone bad. I will still use it as i turn off the display when I take pic's on the bike to conserve the battery. The S500 also has a much sharper lense than the SD900.

[Patric]

Well , We when out and bought a FujiFilm S5700 , to replace our S20Pro . I don't know much about it , but it wasn't too much money . So we thought why not . Going by the numbers it is a better camera that the old one , at less that 1/3 the cost . We are headed to the Sidecar national rally in Duluth next week & the RA Rally after that so we will find out how well the S5700 works then .

I think that it maybe be possible that the S20Pro just needs cleaned up , but that is 1/2 the cost of the new one . Plus it still may need some expensive parts .

Why I think a little cleaning might fix it is , I have some ( a little ) corrosion on the hot shoe . After 1,300 miles of gravel road last year . Going up the Dempster Hwy. to Inuvik , the Top of the world Hwy to Alaska , the Taylor Hwy to Eagle & the Cassiar back down . Maybe a little calcium chloride got in the camera , and some of the contacts inside the camera are also corrode ? Also We when on a cruse the year before . We flu to Hawaii , cruised around the Hawaiian islands , and then sailed to Mexico . We were at see 5 days across the Pacific getting to Mexico . Maybe a little salt got in there ?

So when we get back from the U.P. I may just pull the S20Pro apart and have a look see .At this point it can't hurt .