Canon Cameras Contain Crap Components!
Ah, how all occasions do inform against me. A mere four days after buying a new SD card for my Canon SD400, as the previous card caused all kinds of nasty firmware crashes, I turn it on and lo and behold -- the LCD screen has a purple, dime-sized crack right in the middle of the screen, rendering it completely inoperable but displaying the lovely psychedelic colors indicative of a busted LCD screen.
This was the camera that I had bought for the express purpose of documenting my last year of high school, shelling out about $400 -- not an insignificant sum for a humble student like me. Setbacks like this, when all I really want is a portable snapshot camera to capture images of my everyday life, are incredibly frustrating, as anyone who's ever cracked an LCD can attest.
And believe me, I'm no stranger to cracking liquid crystal displays. From an early age, I showed an affinity for destroying consumer electronics, as countless Captain Planet handheld video games fell prey to my klutzy hands. Later on, I left a nice fracture on the display of an old Packard-Bell laptop. I finally learned my lesson when I was dumb enough to carry my cell phone in my back pocket -- and had to pay to fix the brand-new thoroughly busted screen.
Although the latest incident didn't come as a surprise, since I've developed a healthy mistrust of every display I see, it still left me puzzled. Ever since my feat of incredible cell-phone stupidity, I've treated all my LCDs with the utmost affection, taking care not to expose them to extreme temperatures, keeping my devices in protective cases, and making sure I never ever apply pressure to their tender and delicate little selves. The camera had been wrapped in a sock, merely sitting in my backpack when I discovered the damage. I've never dropped it, sat on it, carried it improperly, played hockey with it, or hurt its feelings in any way. Plus, the outer layer of plastic is completely intact, though you can't tell from the angle below. It's the inner layer that's cracked.
Like any good citizen of the Information Age, my first resource (even before I went to dig up the warranty) was Google. As a quick search for "canon cracked lcd" or "canon broken lcd" reveals, it's certainly not an uncommon problem. It seems that either Canon LCDs are unusually delicate, or their operators are total dingbats. Canon's warranty seems to support the latter -- it expressly blames any problems with the LCD on "misuse, abuse or failure to operate the PowerShot Digital Camera as set forth in the operating instructions." Anecdotal evidence reveals that most sales reps will inform you, if you inquire about the warranty, that you must have dropped the camera, even if you never have. A call to Canon Customer Care enlightened me further:
Canon Corporation, it pains my heart to speak ill of your products -- although I think I just did, my original intent was not to go on an anti-Canon tirade. Except for the crappy LCD and the firmware problems, the SD400 is otherwise a wonderful compact camera that takes fantastic photos. But if you're in the camera market this holiday season, I'd suggest that you look past megapixels and shooting modes when you make your decision, and base your decision on the feature that really counts -- the little piece of plastic that goes between the LCD and the rest of the world. Although I'll probably get my camera fixed one way or another, it's unlikely that with the digital camera market as competitive as it is I'll be buying another Canon anytime soon.
Edit: Digg it.
This was the camera that I had bought for the express purpose of documenting my last year of high school, shelling out about $400 -- not an insignificant sum for a humble student like me. Setbacks like this, when all I really want is a portable snapshot camera to capture images of my everyday life, are incredibly frustrating, as anyone who's ever cracked an LCD can attest.
And believe me, I'm no stranger to cracking liquid crystal displays. From an early age, I showed an affinity for destroying consumer electronics, as countless Captain Planet handheld video games fell prey to my klutzy hands. Later on, I left a nice fracture on the display of an old Packard-Bell laptop. I finally learned my lesson when I was dumb enough to carry my cell phone in my back pocket -- and had to pay to fix the brand-new thoroughly busted screen.
Although the latest incident didn't come as a surprise, since I've developed a healthy mistrust of every display I see, it still left me puzzled. Ever since my feat of incredible cell-phone stupidity, I've treated all my LCDs with the utmost affection, taking care not to expose them to extreme temperatures, keeping my devices in protective cases, and making sure I never ever apply pressure to their tender and delicate little selves. The camera had been wrapped in a sock, merely sitting in my backpack when I discovered the damage. I've never dropped it, sat on it, carried it improperly, played hockey with it, or hurt its feelings in any way. Plus, the outer layer of plastic is completely intact, though you can't tell from the angle below. It's the inner layer that's cracked.
Like any good citizen of the Information Age, my first resource (even before I went to dig up the warranty) was Google. As a quick search for "canon cracked lcd" or "canon broken lcd" reveals, it's certainly not an uncommon problem. It seems that either Canon LCDs are unusually delicate, or their operators are total dingbats. Canon's warranty seems to support the latter -- it expressly blames any problems with the LCD on "misuse, abuse or failure to operate the PowerShot Digital Camera as set forth in the operating instructions." Anecdotal evidence reveals that most sales reps will inform you, if you inquire about the warranty, that you must have dropped the camera, even if you never have. A call to Canon Customer Care enlightened me further:
ME: Hi. The screen on my PowerShot SD400 seems to have spontaneously broken, and I'd like to see if I could have it repaired under warranty.So now I'm left with several options -- tempt fate and send the camera off to Illinois where, through the process of deductive reasoning, Canon will make a ruling as to whether or not I am guilty of camera malfeasance. I could replace the screen on my own, with the help of the internet, a process that will cost approximately 50 bucks and definitely void my warranty. The cost isn't that high, but it's the principle of the matter. Caveat emptor, I suppose. Or I can just give up and use the damn thing as a paperweight.
CANON: The warranty doesn't cover pressure damage to the LCD screen, but if we determine that it was not damaged due to misuse or abuse, we may be able to replace it.
ME: Great.
CANON (After collecting my name, phone number, &c.): You'll need to remove the battery and memory card from your camera, wrap it in bubble wrap, put it in a box, and send it to our repair center in Illinois. Make sure you include a note with your name, phone number and email address, and your original receipt. Once it's there, we'll determine whether the screen was broken due to operator error and may or may not replace it.
ME: So you'll have somebody look at the screen and guess how the camera broke?
CANON: That is correct.
ME: Do you have like a special team of scientists that do that? Or a detective?
CANON: We'll have a technician take a look at it.
Canon Corporation, it pains my heart to speak ill of your products -- although I think I just did, my original intent was not to go on an anti-Canon tirade. Except for the crappy LCD and the firmware problems, the SD400 is otherwise a wonderful compact camera that takes fantastic photos. But if you're in the camera market this holiday season, I'd suggest that you look past megapixels and shooting modes when you make your decision, and base your decision on the feature that really counts -- the little piece of plastic that goes between the LCD and the rest of the world. Although I'll probably get my camera fixed one way or another, it's unlikely that with the digital camera market as competitive as it is I'll be buying another Canon anytime soon.
Edit: Digg it.
posted by E.C. Mendenhall | 20:10
7 Comments:
pobre connor, the camera has worked wonderfully for me, eight countries, over two thousand pictures, one summer and two quarters of school...same little black sock. keep trying karma might come around your way.
How did you take pictures of your camera, if your camera was broken?!?
-L to the T
I finally learned my lesson when I was dumb enough to carry my cell phone in my back pocket -- and had to pay to fix the brand-new thoroughly busted screen.
I believe that that was your sister who paid for it...
Nope. That was me. Or maybe she did. But it was a birthday gift. Either way, I messed up my phone.
They suck almost as much as HPs.
Semi-Relevant Google Video for the day:
http://tinyurl.com/dhffh
just like your's, my camera's lcd screen spontaneously decided to break. it was going to cost just as much as a new camera to fix it, no bullshit. so i bought a new one. big$$ but whatever. the broken one still functions, you just cannot look at the pics on the camera, you have to use it like the old school cameras, the ones that have no lcd screen. jeez those days seem so far gone. then slip the memory card into the computer and problem solved, i guess.
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