Yet another Olympus camera problem

[Fred]

I would sure appreciate hearing from someone who had this problem and FIXED
it.

Butt first -- PLEASE don't get off on another discussion about "let's check
the batteries". Osama bin there, done that. Batteries, clips,
connections -- all are fine. Camera is not seeing the batteries.

Now, please continue...

I have a C-700 which is about 18 months old. My problem isn't
ordinary battery drain, rather what I suspect to be some kind of short
circuit. Newly inserted batteries, alkaline or (brand new, fully
charged NiMH) re-chargeables only work for a picture or two. I can
open the compartment door, rub the contacts a bit, and get maybe one
more picture, maybe not.

I posted this query about a month ago, and got a suggestion clean the
contacts, check the springs, etc. I have done this and the contact points
are all good & clean. No change in performance.

Already checked the obvious -- tried several new batteries and all act the
same, batteries are not in backwards, etc. The problem is with the camera,
I know that for sure.

Thanks in advance!

Fred

PS - If George Bush is reading this, how about passing a law requiring these
cameras to last twice the number of days as their price. Otherwise, I'll
vote for the other clown.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

I would sure appreciate hearing from someone who had this problem and FIXED
it.

Butt first -- PLEASE don't get off on another discussion about "let's check
the batteries". Osama bin there, done that. Batteries, clips,
connections -- all are fine. Camera is not seeing the batteries.

Now, please continue...

I have a C-700 which is about 18 months old. My problem isn't
ordinary battery drain, rather what I suspect to be some kind of short
circuit. Newly inserted batteries, alkaline or (brand new, fully
charged NiMH) re-chargeables only work for a picture or two. I can
open the compartment door, rub the contacts a bit, and get maybe one
more picture, maybe not.

I posted this query about a month ago, and got a suggestion clean the
contacts, check the springs, etc. I have done this and the contact points
are all good & clean. No change in performance.

Already checked the obvious -- tried several new batteries and all act the
same, batteries are not in backwards, etc. The problem is with the camera,
I know that for sure.

Does it operate normally on the AC adapter?

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[Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\]

Does it operate normally on the AC adapter?

--- sam |

If I was repairing this, I'd check the flash charging circuitry. If the
reast of the camera is operating normally, then it might be the flash,
because it draws a whole lot of current during charging, and would give
symtoms like these if it were staying on an excessive amount of time.

 

[Graham W]

If I was repairing this, I'd check the flash charging circuitry. If
the reast of the camera is operating normally, then it might be the
flash, because it draws a whole lot of current during charging, and
would give symtoms like these if it were staying on an excessive
amount of time.

If the battery pack was dumping its stored energy into the camera
circuits in a matter of 1 or 2 minutes (as implied by 1 or 2 photos)
then something has got to be getting very hot very quickly.

If it (the camera) isn't, then the batteries are knackered or there is
a high resistance in the battery circuit.

One assumes that the battery pack has been assessed to be up
to its rating (in mAhrs) and that each test used a freshly charged
battery.

 

[Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\]

If the battery pack was dumping its stored energy into the camera
circuits in a matter of 1 or 2 minutes (as implied by 1 or 2 photos)
then something has got to be getting very hot very quickly.

If it (the camera) isn't, then the batteries are knackered or there is
a high resistance in the battery circuit.

For those unfamiliar with that term, especially those of us who're
'Merkins:
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/knackered

(I learned that from my days watching Dr. Who, many, many years ago.
I hear they may be bringing him back.)

 

[Niels]

I would sure appreciate hearing from someone who had this problem and FIXED
it.

Butt first -- PLEASE don't get off on another discussion about "let's check
the batteries". Osama bin there, done that. Batteries, clips,
connections -- all are fine. Camera is not seeing the batteries.

Now, please continue...

I have a C-700 which is about 18 months old. My problem isn't
ordinary battery drain, rather what I suspect to be some kind of short
circuit. Newly inserted batteries, alkaline or (brand new, fully
charged NiMH) re-chargeables only work for a picture or two. I can
open the compartment door, rub the contacts a bit, and get maybe one
more picture, maybe not.

I posted this query about a month ago, and got a suggestion clean the
contacts, check the springs, etc. I have done this and the contact points
are all good & clean. No change in performance.

Already checked the obvious -- tried several new batteries and all act the
same, batteries are not in backwards, etc. The problem is with the camera,
I know that for sure.

Thanks in advance!

Fred

PS - If George Bush is reading this, how about passing a law requiring these
cameras to last twice the number of days as their price. Otherwise, I'll
vote for the other clown.

Hi,

I have a C200 Zoom, about 2 years old, with exactly the same symptoms.
I too started out assuming that the batteries or charger were causing
this problem, but quickly realized this is not the case. If I turn
the camera on in viewing mode only, it will work fine for a couple of
minutes, then shut down. In camera mode it only lasts a few seconds -
most likely because of the current draw for rolling out the zoom lens.
The way it shuts down is exactly identical to the way it shuts down
(or used to shut down) when the batteries are flat. This indicates
that the camera control circuit/software is told by its voltage
monitoring circuit that the voltage has dropped, and it's time to turn
off.

Now, if I try to turn on the camera again, it will either not turn on
at all, or die very quickly. But if I leave it 10-15 minutes (with the
batteries in place), it will work as described above for a short time.
Measuring the voltage on the batteries (a fresh set) indicates no
measurable discharging.

To me, this indicates that somehow the connection from the battery to
the internal power supply capacitor is blocked, but not completely
shut off (high impedance mode). The capacitor is slowly charged by
whatever leakage current exists, and the camera can then stay alive
for as long as the energy stored in the capacitor will last.

The good question is what lies between the batteries and the main
power supply capacitor. In this type of electronics, there will
normally be some sort of switch mode regulator, converting the battery
voltage to whatever voltage(s) is(are) used by the electronics,
motors, etc. Unless the problem is caused by a simple bad connection
somewhere between the battery and the power supply circuit, my guess
would be that some component of this circuit is out cold.

I haven't yet opened the camera - and I don't have a circuit diagram -
but in compact electronics like this, the power supply is often
realised using an integrated circuit with no discrete parts. Well,
perhabs a small coil and a couple of capacitors. With luck, the
package is big enough to be changed manually (SSOP or larger) - but I
fear that it will turn out to be some sort of micro SMD package (QFP,
uBGA or the like).

Does anybody happen to have any knowledge in this field? I'm sure
that it's hopeless to have Olympus do the repair - it would obvously
be cheaper to buy a new camera - but is it worth the pain trying to
pry open the camera and fix it? I have access to a lab with the
necessary equipment for diagnostics and an SMD soldering station - but
I doubt that I will get very far without circuit documentation.

Niels (Denmark)