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Perhaps the great camera comeback
By TheAngelForever | July 20, 2009
Back in January I wrote about the death of my little handy dandy point and shoot digital camera. Here is a reminder of what my camera looked like:
I was not willing to invest money in my camera. When we contacted Canon they told us that we could send it in and they would look at it. The cost for a diagnostic check was almost as much as a new camera. Over the months I whined a lot about not having my little camera with me. I missed the convenience of being able to toss it in my diaper bag. Instead I would schlep JL’s big camera with me to events where I needed to take photos.
When we arrived home from Disney World my father was quite upset with his Canon PowerShot A570. It was starting to do similar things that my camera had done. He went to different stores and was quoted prices to look at it. In the end, he decided to purchase a new bigger camera. During one stop at a small camera store Dad happened to mention the problem that we were having with our Canon’s. The suggested that we try something with our cameras. We should use some rubbing alcohol on a Q-Tip to the battery area to clean the contacts.
What the heck, I certainly could not make the camera any worse .
Yesterday I charged up some new AA batteries in my Energizer unit and took out some rubbing alcohol. I put the batteries into the camera and decided to test it out. Much to my surprise, I did not see the flashing red dying battery light. In the past I would see this as soon as I put in fresh batteries, whether rechargeable or not. Today I took the camera out with me and the batteries are still going strong. I am not holding my breath just yet, but it looks like it could be a new life for my little camera.
So far I have taken 54 shots, off loaded the pictures and these batteries are still going. Some of the memories captured include the following:
JSL heading off to get into my car before we went to the post office, Staples (great bargains this week), and Target.
Then it was time for both of the boys to get into their seats in my car.
Before dinner JSL actually asked to take some photos with Daddy. Here they are having some fun.
While doing some cleaning we found an old pair of shades that had been NHL’s. Now they are perfect for the little dude.
Oh my how I have missed my little camera. Who knew that a simple cleaning with a little rubbing alcohol could do the trick. So glad that I did it myself instead of spending ~$100 sending it away. Here is hoping that it continues taking many more photos of our special family moments.
Topics: customer service, decisions, interesting, jl, jsl, nhl, photos, vent | 9 Comments »
July 20th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
My camera just started doing that. I’m going to try the rubbing alcohol to see if it works! Thanks!
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July 20th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
hooray!
July 21st, 2009 at 4:23 am
Well, yay!! And I love that car seat. – Is that cow print? My beast friend would be in Heaven.
Upstatemomof3’s last blog post..How Do You Love A Picture?
July 21st, 2009 at 8:25 am
That’s so great that a simple, inexpensive solution fixed the problem!
That first photo, your little guy has such a determined stride. He must have really wanted to go shopping!
July 21st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Thanks I am going to five it a try with my camera! Great tip.
Susan Lindgren’s last blog post..Ramblings of Young Love and Potty Training
July 21st, 2009 at 4:18 pm
We have fixed our stove and washing machine recently by just googling the symptoms and fooling around with it. I should say my husband fixed the appliances. I just sat there and read him the directions. It is so awesome when you can find an easy and inexpensive fix.
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July 21st, 2009 at 4:48 pm
@Kim –
Definitely give it a shot. I was so ticked off that we had never heard of this before and Canon never told me to try it. I lost so many great photo opportunities not having my little camera with me. Keep me posted on how it goes.
@Phyllis –
I am still holding my breath. . . but soon I will be ready to celebrate!
@Upstatemomof3 -
Yes, I quite happy about this . . . assuming it keeps working. Of course hubby was hoping to give me his camera and get himself a more sophisticated one. Not happening now. Yes, that is a Britax carseat with cow print. We were in a car accident ~3 years ago. After it my son picked this one as a replacement. We love it!
@Elizabeth -
LOL – The little guy was just happy to be heading out of the house in general. He loves to be out and about. I wish everything was this cheap and easy to fix. Of course, it would have been nice to know to try this back in November when things started really acting up. So many priceless moments not caught on camera since I did not have the little point and shoot with me. *sigh* Oh well, I have it now.
@Susan -
Glad I could help. I figured a lot of people may have similar issues with digital cameras that use AA batteries. Please let me know how it works out for you. My handy dandy camera is still going strong today!
@Jen -
We Googled tons about my camera and the issues, but nothing ever had solutions. In fact, we simply read that most Canon’s did this and people were stuck. Hubby even posted on his digital imaging forums to see if there were any suggestions and nobody thought about it being a simple fix. Glad that you were able to do all of the fixing thanks to your hubby. We are good if it is a computer related fix since @TechyDad does mostly those.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:03 pm
[...] I saw this post by Beth just the other day describing what she did when her camera did the same thing mine is.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 am
That’s great!!
I recently gave my digital point and shoot to my dad. Considering I don’t think he has even used it all yet, I’m wishing I would have kept it. I never even thought about the fact that it would be perfect to keep in my purse. There are plenty of times that I wished I had my camera, but I have a DSLR and it is too big to carry every where I go.
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