My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for
quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I
had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that I
can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave

Dave
I know this might sound obvious, but are you using high capacity
batteries that are required for digital camera's. Some batteries
though lasting a long time in a torch will only last a few seconds in
a camera. I dont have amy here, so my numbers and units may be off the
mark, but from memory you want 2400mHA batteries for camera's.

I would also try the battery back in your torch after they have been
in the camera as another option is a shorting problem, but my hunch is
its just the wrong batteries.

Good luck
Calum Sabey
NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544

"Dave" wrote in message
...
My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for
quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I
had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that I
can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave

Make no mistake batterys used in a torch will give the impression they are
good ie a Lemon will light a 3v torch bulb.

"Dave" wrote in message
...
My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for quite
some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I had.
This is the only fault that the camera shows.

If she bought it 2 years ago I would hazard a guess that it could be
replaced on a like for like basis cheaper than what it would cost to repair.
I'd take the opportunity to upgrade as the specs from a couple of years ago
especially the megapixels has increased substantially.

Why not claim on your house insurance if the policy covers it?

Steven.

Dave wrote:
My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for
quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I
had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that I
can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave


Time and a warm dry place. About a week.

If that doesn't fix it scrap it.

Dave wrote:
My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a
Scout leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small
stream. The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a
fully charged battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2
and 3 minutes. I know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire
up a torch for quite some time, which used to last me over a month at
the school job I had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that
I can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Home insurance claim.
The ultrasonic bath may damage any quartz crystals that may be inside the
camera.

Dave wrote:
Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave

Water, with non-ionic surficant 3 times.

Water rinse 3 times.

D.I. water rinse 3 times.

Sit at ~ 50 C for a week or two.

If it doesn't work:

Claim on insurance.

Actually it's often better to simply claim on the insurance as the
corrosion within the board/under components after just a few hours can
be enough to kill it within a year

On Feb 23, 10:49 am, "badger.badger"
wrote:
Dave wrote:
Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave

Water, with non-ionic surficant 3 times.


But only if you know that the electromechanical components (switches
mainly) are sealed, otherwise you'll do more harm than good.

MBQ

Dave wrote:
My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for
quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I
had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.



Almost certainly you're using the wrong batteries. As has been said
before, digital cameras require very high capacity batteries - 1600mAH
NiMH cells cause these symptoms on my camera. You need higher capacity.

Another Dave

--
change nospam to f2s in e-mail

If you'd got to it while it was still wet, then a couple of rinses with
isopropyl alcohol (or just meths for that matter), then dry in a warmish
place should clear out all the water. Standard method for drying things,
google for azeotropic mixtures. Obviously you are taking a chance that the
alcohol won't upset sealants, adhesives, lubricant in focussing motor etc.

"Newshound" wrote in message
...
If you'd got to it while it was still wet, then a couple of rinses
with
isopropyl alcohol (or just meths for that matter), then dry in a
warmish
place should clear out all the water. Standard method for drying
things,
google for azeotropic mixtures. Obviously you are taking a chance
that the
alcohol won't upset sealants, adhesives, lubricant in focussing
motor etc.



Some context would be handy when reading unconnected snippits in a
newsgroup

AWEM

wrote:
Dave
I know this might sound obvious, but are you using high capacity
batteries that are required for digital camera's. Some batteries
though lasting a long time in a torch will only last a few seconds in
a camera. I dont have amy here, so my numbers and units may be off the
mark, but from memory you want 2400mHA batteries for camera's.

I would also try the battery back in your torch after they have been
in the camera as another option is a shorting problem, but my hunch is
its just the wrong batteries.

Camera batteries are 2 Amp/hour. Torch batteries are 2.2 Amp/hour
Like you, my first instinct was that the batteries had reached the end
of their lives, hence the battery swap. Camera operates for a maximum of
2 and a half minutes before switching off. Leave it for ten mins. or so
and you can repeat this.

Dave

George wrote:

"Dave" wrote in message
...

My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for
quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I
had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that I
can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave


Make no mistake batterys used in a torch will give the impression they are
good ie a Lemon will light a 3v torch bulb.

Not if it is left switched on for a hour, just to see what the capacity
is like. The torch batteries had to be very dependable for my job at the
time, so I know they were good for any job.

Dave

Steven Campbell wrote:

"Dave" wrote in message
...

My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for quite
some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I had.
This is the only fault that the camera shows.


If she bought it 2 years ago I would hazard a guess that it could be
replaced on a like for like basis cheaper than what it would cost to repair.
I'd take the opportunity to upgrade as the specs from a couple of years ago
especially the megapixels has increased substantially.

Why not claim on your house insurance if the policy covers it?

Thanks, I'll take a look at the policy.

Dave

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Dave wrote:

My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a
Scout leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small
stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully
charged battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3
minutes. I know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a
torch for quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the
school job I had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that
I can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave



Time and a warm dry place. About a week.

If that doesn't fix it scrap it.

I've used that meathod in the past for mobile phones, but I wasn't sure
what to do about a camera.

Dave

Owain wrote:

Grumps wrote:

Dave wrote:

My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a
Scout leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small
stream.

Home insurance claim.


Why lose any no-claims bonus, or have to pay an excess? The Scouts'
insurance should cover use of personal possessions by leaders.

Questions will be asked. Many thanks for that.

Dave

Newshound wrote:

If you'd got to it while it was still wet, then a couple of rinses with
isopropyl alcohol (or just meths for that matter), then dry in a warmish
place should clear out all the water. Standard method for drying things,
google for azeotropic mixtures. Obviously you are taking a chance that the
alcohol won't upset sealants, adhesives, lubricant in focussing motor etc.

Good point! I had not considered the moving parts.

Thanks

Dave

In message , George
writes

"Dave" wrote in message
...
My wife bought a digital camera about 2 years ago and as she is a Scout
leader, the inevitable happened; it got dropped into a small stream.
The camera still functions apart from the fact that with a fully charged
battery, it reports a battery failure after between 2 and 3 minutes. I
know that 2 batteries I have tried are good and fire up a torch for
quite some time, which used to last me over a month at the school job I
had. This is the only fault that the camera shows.

I have taken off the back of the camera and I can't see anything that I
can clean out to get the battery management working again.

Nothing to lose, so...

Solution

1 Bin the camera and get her to buy another

2 Send it for an expensive repair. Not a financial option from the
camera shop I visited.

3 remove the back of the camera again and bung it in a
(Lidle/Maplin/Aldi) ultrasonic bath and see what it comes out like.

Solution options are

water

water and a drop of fairy

isopropyl alcohol

other, stronger solutions.

What does the team think?

Dave

Make no mistake batterys used in a torch will give the impression they are
good ie a Lemon will light a 3v torch bulb.


What's your point caller ?

--
geoff

Dave wrote:
wrote:

Dave
I know this might sound obvious, but are you using high capacity
batteries that are required for digital camera's. Some batteries
though lasting a long time in a torch will only last a few seconds in
a camera. I dont have amy here, so my numbers and units may be off the
mark, but from memory you want 2400mHA batteries for camera's.

I would also try the battery back in your torch after they have been
in the camera as another option is a shorting problem, but my hunch is
its just the wrong batteries.


Camera batteries are 2 Amp/hour. Torch batteries are 2.2 Amp/hour
Like you, my first instinct was that the batteries had reached the end
of their lives, hence the battery swap. Camera operates for a maximum of
2 and a half minutes before switching off. Leave it for ten mins. or so
and you can repeat this.

Did the camera work on rechargeables before - Fujis in particular used
to be fussy?

--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with btinternet dot com

Chris Hodges wrote:

Dave wrote:

wrote:

Dave
I know this might sound obvious, but are you using high capacity
batteries that are required for digital camera's. Some batteries
though lasting a long time in a torch will only last a few seconds in
a camera. I dont have amy here, so my numbers and units may be off the
mark, but from memory you want 2400mHA batteries for camera's.

I would also try the battery back in your torch after they have been
in the camera as another option is a shorting problem, but my hunch is
its just the wrong batteries.



Camera batteries are 2 Amp/hour. Torch batteries are 2.2 Amp/hour
Like you, my first instinct was that the batteries had reached the end
of their lives, hence the battery swap. Camera operates for a maximum
of 2 and a half minutes before switching off. Leave it for ten mins.
or so and you can repeat this.


Did the camera work on rechargeables before - Fujis in particular used
to be fussy?

Yes, it was fine with the 2 Amp batteries. It has been to Oz, Canada,
the USA and a few european countries, with no problems, using the
original batteries.
I reckon that I will put the camera in the ultrasonic bath later this
week and see what comes out. It will be either a fully functional camera
or a water logged mess. I'll let you know which :-)

Wife is now looking at a new camera, so what's the loss?

Dave