Olympus Camedia C-5060 Wide Zoom Dead / Gone nuts

[sol_k]

I have a Camedia C-5060 zoom, which I purchased as a replacement for a C-5050 that dropped dead on me because of

a lenz problem. That aside , I have been using the C-5060 Wide Zoom for a while and to be honest with you it is a

good camera and fits my functionality well. I am happy with most pictures. A few problems with color and zooming

on small objects and taking images in not so good of lighting but over all just what I need. I have kept the

camera with much care handling it with much care at all times. A few days ago , I picked the camera up to take

some images and the damn thing has gone crazy. The LCD and the function buttons do not work, the display on top

of the camera displays nonsense and by pressing some of the keys it just goes totally crazy displaying all the

possibilities and at one point even a blub of black color ( this went away after shutting off and letting it be

for a few minutes). I did the two button reset , and have two of those BLM-1 batteries, and charged batteries one

more time to no avail. Reading forums , it seems the problem might be related to the dial on the camera but to be

honest with you I have no idea what is happening. All I know is that I have handled the camera with much care at

all times and I just am so disturbed that out of the blue , I have a dead camera on my hand. It should not be the

case that a camera you buy would have a defect which will result in a dead camera at one point, as it seems to be

the case here.

 

So bottom line, if anyone knows anything about such problem , Short of sending it to Olympus for them to tell you

they want $200+ to fix the camera , I would really appreciate it if you would let me know. I am at the point that

I can't even pay for shipping the damn thing to Olympus set aside to go out and buy another camera.

[GerrySiegel]

The C 5060 is now about oh maybe four years out of production. I still have my C 5050 and-knock wood- it still

works. There was a recall on the sensors for the C 5050 but I didn't read about any such failures on the C 5060

except knob problem. If you write to Dr Wrotniak , see his article:

 

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/c-wz/index.html

 

W is a long time user of that camera he might give you the good or bad news and some ideas. For my part, if I

had the choice I would go for a refurbishment of such a classic camera with features that are hard to replicate

in any small models nowadays. Not everyone will agree of course,yet this is a desirable camera with a short sales

life---little profit for the company I think.

Last thought. Electronic gizmos often fail catasrophically and suddenly. Not like our human organs :-) I had no

great ideas but wanted you to get at least one half answer to your plea for help...

[robert_jaques]

I would guess you have one with the mode dial problem. I bought one of these new in 2005. Within 2 months I had to send it back because of a lens motor problem and then another month later I had to send it for repair to have a new mode dial. Fortunately this was all covered under the manufacturers warranty and I have not had problems since with the camera. I would not reccommend buying one of these cameras second hand unless the seller can verify that the mode dial has been replaced. The issue of the mode dial may have been resolved with the later C 7060 as I have not heard of any problems with this model.

Apart from the issues stated this is a great little camera IMHO. Takes awesome macro photos and is worth owning just for the rotating screen and 28mm wide angle lens. May be worth fixing if you are happy with the camera because it has some unique features that cannot be found on most modern point and shoot digitals (ie RAW mode , 28mm lens, rotating screen, hot shot, magnesuim alloy body etc). Plus it has excellent image quality.

My advice would be to send it to Olympus and ask for a repair quotation. If you decide not to have it repaired you will proberly only have to pay a nominal charge for them to investigate the problem.

[Brian]

<P>This is a tough one, because as both respondents have already said, this is a desirable camera if it works. I have its newer sibling the C-7070 and have had it for 3 years. Not only is it a great camera but you can't buy anything like it now.</P><P>I would really look into a repair. The cost would be less than a replacement new camera of similar quality -- if you could find one.</P>

[sol_k]

Thanks to all the responses.

 

have a temporary fix to my problem which I will explain later at detail.

 

I do strongly feel scammed by Major companies like Olympus.

 

It should not be the case that a camera sold for $800, would after a time period develop a problem having nothing to do with amount of care the owner gives it. Such problems must be addressed by Makers and resolved at no cost to consumer. You cannot discount lifetime simply because the manufacturer used some part that has a certain life time. The more the consumers bend over the more they will get screwed in the future. If this was a $5 camera, then all said was true but it is not. I have full intentions to get on the case of Olympus America and see to it that they restore every single camera with such problems which is brought to their attention, free of charge . I will take them to court if I have to .

 

I really am surprised at the WD-40 use in one of the suggestions to fix the dial problem. I can't even imagine , I would do such a thing even though I was so tressed that I might just have done so.

 

Aside from that, my camera's problem seems to be centered around the on-off switch. Reading over the responses and articles helped in determining this and the temporary fix I use to get the camera to function. I simply exert minor pressure upwards when I am turning the on off switch and all is well and camera is fully functional. Once every few times camera does not turn on properly , in which case I simply shut it off, and exert minor pressure just under on-off switch as I am turning it to ON position. This has been working for me for a few weeks and I am not sure how long it will continue to work like this but it does work with this trick.

 

The other freaky thing worthy of mention is that I found a plastic/rubber washeron my cluttered desktop which seems to be the size of the dial/knob/on off switch in diameter. Now I have no idea if this belongs to the camera or not although I know whatever that lands on my desktop and I have no idea where this came from . I wonder if it is actually a washer belonging to the underside of the on off switch , which would in some way explain why exerting bit of pressure under on off switch makes the camera turn on properly and function well. I still though have not figured out if it in fact is a washer from the camera that has somehow managed to pop off or from something else which might have been placed on my desktop by someone else. If it is from the camera then it just copped by itself. I have not noticed any such washer in any of the images posted about the dial problem. When I figure this out I will add addional postings to this forum.

 

So other than that , time permitting, I will politely contact Olympus, explain my problem and the fact that I have literally handled the camera with extreme care and that I expect Olympus to resolve this problem for me free of charge and if I do not get a favorable response, then I will seek other solutions through other venues that would get their attention the way it should. Selling major products with marginal parts that tend to fail after a passage of time is not an acceptable term for me. If such is the case, then they should put a label on the camera that says ( WARNING: THE DIAL ON THIS CAMERA WILL ONLY FUNCTION FOR 1 YEAR AND MAY BE A BIT MORE IF YOU ARE LUCKY, SO BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK).

[boriana_pereva]

I was glad in a way to realize, after I read about the problem you have with the Olympus Camedia c-5060, that I am

not the only one who faces this problem and thinks that it is unacceptable in the case of such an expensive camera.

The solution you gave (lifting a bit the on/off button when starting the camera) was a good one and worked for me too.

But it is also an annoying solution because doesn’t really fix the problem and sometimes the camera still behaves

crazy. So I was really wondering if you found any more permanent solution to this problem and if you could share it

with us. It would be a tremendous help, especially because I am in Latin America right now and will stay here for a

year, which makes almost impossible to repair it here.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Adriana

[simon evans.]

I bought a refurbished C-5060 in 2006, just about the time they were discontinued, so thankfully it was cheap. I had read about the dial issues but mine was fine. However, the rear screen is reddish now, it makes it hard to view and assess images. It's not 'proper' broken but not worth fixing (to me anyway, I don't love this thing). It's not like it has been used much - the OMs get a lot more action - and it is always kept in a good padded pouch. I'm resigned to it. I've heard of too many digicams playing up after little use, I think it's an inevitable part of the cost of manufacture and short expected model life. Everything is disposable now because it's not worth repairing, labour costs in Western countries are so high that it's cheaper to get a new one than pay a (trained) tech to fix it.