Possibly broken Powershot A620 - any suggestions ...

[amlan]

A friend of mine has dropped his almost new A620, it did not shatter into

pieces but this is what happened - whenever he is trying to turn it on, the

lens is getting stuck to a piece of broken shutter closure and could not zoom

fully. As a result its showing an error 'E18' on the LCD and stays there. Also,

due to the shock the lens seemed to got bent a bit.

 

Its still within the warranty period but I don't think a damage due to

manhandling is covered.

 

Do anyone of you have any suggestions for possible repair through Canon/local

shop (he is located at Chapel HIll, NC) or its not worth doing for a $200

camera due to too much of labor cost ?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

Amlan

[bobatkins]

You should contact Canon and ask them, but my guess is that they will need to see the camera before giving an estimate and that damage due to mishandling will not be covered by warranty. I know Canon have a basic charge of maybe $150 on most repairs on SLRs and lenses. I guess it's possible the basic charge on P&S digitals may be lower and if so it might be worth getting it fixed.

 

I'd also look through the yellow pages for a local camera repair shop to talk to.

[janvanlaethem]

Repairing a digital compact camera is extremely costly. I bought a Sony compact about two years ago for approximately 500 dollars. This summer I dropped it and the rear display broke. I can still take pictures with it, but obviously no viewing is possible until I download on a computer and all menus are controlled via the menu button and the display, so it is very difficult to make any changes.

 

I took it to a camera shop and they said it would probably cost 400 dollars to have it fixed. Today I can buy a new one with the same 5 megapixels and it will cost me roughly 300 dollars. You can always send it in for a quote, but normally even the quote will cost you money, there is a minimum charge for just looking at the camera and determining what is wrong with it.

 

So financial logic would tell you to replace it.

[wilsontsoi]

Cost of repair, especially in the States, will supersede the amount of money you pay for a new A620. Basically, buying a new A620 (if you can still find one) will most likely be cheaper. As for insurance, you might want to check out your home-owner policy, but of course the insurance company will turn around and raise your rate eventually.

[summitar]

buydig.com will probably have a few left over A620s...or you can buy a new A630 for about $230. Last year I dropped a Canon A95 about 4 feet onto a cement sidewalk. A slight nink on one corner but the cameras still works like new. I did upgrade to a 620 and bequeathed the A95 to my daughter. She just returned with 200 beautiful photos from Germany, one of which is added below.<div></div>