Digicam took a suicide dive...

Well the good news it that my camera didn't flood... The bad news is it didn't make it off the boat.

You see, I was taking some panoramic shots with my Oly 3020z this morning aboard a dive boat. Then I leaned over to move some gear out of my way, either myself or someone next to me bumped the tripod and sent my camera to Digicam Heaven.

Or so I thought! I switched her back on and after some frantic beeps, I noticed the zoom lense wouldn't budge and it sounded like a motor was trying to do some work (with as much clicking as a Mantis Shrimp species tank at night). So, my camera is in more of a Digicam Coma, since it isn't quite dead.

Where, oh where do I get this guy repaired? I tried a quick search online, but no dice. The camera is a little older and I think the warranty is over.

Any thoughts?

Lucky

The warranty probably doesn't cover dipping the camera in salt water.

I suspect these cameras are rarely worth the cost of repair. A new Oly 4000 cost under $400. You probably have to pay someone close to that to open it up and work on it. Make Jeff an offer for his camera alone if you already have a housing.

Then I leaned over to move some gear out of my way, either myself or someone next to me bumped the tripod and sent my camera to Digicam Heaven.  

Sounds like a case for personal liability insurance (i'm talking about the guy next to you

If your camera was swimming in salt water, there is few hope that it will survive or that it is possible to repair it. Problem is corrosion. And Herb is right, the costs of repairing it will be almost as high as buying a new one. Replacing only the LCD screen of our video camera (the only thing that had contact with salt water) cost ~ 500 EUR.

Sabine

The camera never came in contact with saltwater, since it just hit lense first on the deck. But you all have confirmed my fear... Repar > Purchasing a new camera.

Luckily, Compusa has the same model on sale this month.

Sounds like the lens motor to zoom your lens is either disengaged or whacked the lens enough to restrict its movement.

Time to knock the crap out of it or use a knife to try to fix it. First rule of engineering: If it sticks, force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.

So when you fail to fix it, just buy another. You can send it back to Olympus, but the problem with all camera repairs is that it costs money just to see what is wrong with it, plus shipping. I'm usually quoted $100-$150 just to take it apart, not knowing if it is even fixable.

By the way, a tripod on a boat is pretty useless.

Do you have a camera shop that nearby that does repair work that could take a look at it? I had a 35mm camera that I got a great deal on and I took it to "the Film Center" which is a local camera shop. They sent it away to a repair facility and it cost's $80 to fix. I had a problem with the shutter not opening. It may be worth asking about???????

Sandy