Olympus SP-350 malfunctioning

[grav8e]

I currently have an Olympus SP-350 and recently have had some problems with it.

Right now when I turn the camera on, it doesn't seem to "see" anything...meaning the scene does not register on the monitor in either photo or video mode. I can view all menu items fine and view any photos already taken before the problem started, so the monitor works. Right now it will even take photos, but the result is just a blank image.

There seems to be a "communication" problem between the lens and the hardware portion, not sure how else to describe the problem. Anyone know what might be happening and whether this is an easy fix?

[Photo-John]

Have you tried taking a picture and then downloading it to the computer to see if the sensor is capturing anything? I think that's the next step for identifying where the problem is. That said, if you have an electronic problem like that, it's probably time to buy a new camera. That would be too bad because I think the SP-350 is a nice little camera.

[grav8e]

Have you tried taking a picture and then downloading it to the computer to see if the sensor is capturing anything? I think that's the next step for identifying where the problem is. That said, if you have an electronic problem like that, it's probably time to buy a new camera. That would be too bad because I think the SP-350 is a nice little camera.

Yeah...same thing, a blank image. Is it worth me trying to break it open to see if there's some loose connection? Reason I ask is after this happened I was looking at it all over and accidentally dropped it about a foot or so onto the carpet. When I tried again it worked...but then after I shut it off then turned it on again it was back to not working again.

[Photo-John]

If you consider that it's already done for, and you don't intend to try to get it repaired, then it's worth cracking open to see if you can fix it yourself. But if you have any intention of getting it professionally repaired, better leave it be. My opinion is it's probably broken and not worth getting repaired. So you don't have much to lose. Unfortunately, compact digital cameras are a somewhat disposable commodity. They lose their value so quickly and cost so much to get repaired that you're better off just buying a new one instead of getting them repaired.