Basic Troubleshooting Digital Cameras

Digital cameras make taking photos easy, but only when our cameras function properly. When your camera misbehaves, there are steps that you should take to troubleshoot it so you can start snapping photos again. Identify Your Camera Before we dive into trouble-shooting your digital camera, we’ll take a look at some of the important information about and specifications for your camera that you should know. First, identify the manufacturer and model of your camera. Common manufacturers include Canon, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony, as well as many others. The camera manufacturer’s name is usually printed on the body of the camera. You’ll also find it printed on your owners manual. Likewise, the model name and number of your digital camera is probably printed on the camera’s body. Most cameras have a series name, such as Canon’s PowerShot line, Nikon’s Coolpix line, or Sony’s Cyber-shot line. In addition, most cameras also have a model number. For example, Canon’s PowerShot SD40 is from the PowerShot line and has a model number of SD40. Once you know the manufacturer, series name (if applicable), and model number of your camera, you can search the manufacturer’s site, the Web, and other resources for information about any problems that you encounter with your camera. Finally, if you need to call the camera manufacturer for technical support, you should try to locate the serial number of your digital camera before you place the call. The serial number usually starts with “SN,” “SN#,” or “No.” and is printed on a label or a barcode on the bottom of the camera. If you can’t find the serial number, the manufacturer should be able to help you locate it when you call for tech support. Find Other Camera Specs As you troubleshoot your camera’s problem, you’ll find that it helps to know the camera’s specifications. Some of the details of your camera’s specs are visible from a simple examination of the camera’s body. You can probably identify most of the shooting modes by examining the camera’s mode dial. You’ll also find that the focal range of a lens is usually printed around the barrel, close to the lens. You’ll probably find many of the specifications printed on the box that your camera came in. Detailed specifications are usually available in your users manual and on the manufacturer’s Web site. In-Camera Errors

Problem: My digital camera doesn’t recognize my flash memory card.

Solution: There are several reasons that a camera may not recognize a memory card. To troubleshoot, first determine if the card worked in your camera in the past. If it worked in your camera before but now your camera doesn’t recognize the card, the card is likely either formatted wrong or corrupted. If you formatted your memory card on your computer rather than in your camera, there’s a good chance that this is the source of the problem. Digital cameras use the FAT (file allocation table) file system, which is the same file system used by Windows 9x/Me/NT. Windows XP can also use a FAT system, but it also supports a newer technology, NTFS (NT file system). The FAT file system is available in several forms, including 12-, 16-, 32-, and 64-bit. Although your computer likely uses NTFS or FAT32, your digital camera probably uses FAT12 or FAT16. These file systems are older than the ones that your computer uses, and therefore your digital camera may not be able to read newer formats such as FAT32.

You camera will not recognize NTFS formatted data. If your camera no longer recognizes a card that you formatted with Windows, you can try to resurrect the card by reformatting it in Windows using a different file system. Connect a flash memory card reader to your computer and insert the memory card. Double-click My Computer and then the icon that represents the card reader. Make sure that you’ve selected the correct drive so that you don’t accidentally delete the data on one of your other connected drives. Right click the icon for your card reader and click Format. In the resulting window, click to select FAT under File System. Make sure that Default Allocation Size is selected. Then make sure that both the Quick Format and Compression checkboxes are selected. Next, click the Start button. You will lose any data on the card, and this will format your card in FAT16, which is compatible with most digital cameras. After Windows finishes formatting the card in FAT16, right-click the card reader’s icon and click Eject. Remove the memory card, insert it in your digital camera, and turn your camera on. Your camera will probably recognize the card. If so, before you do anything else, format the card in the camera, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If your camera still doesn’t recognize the memory card, insert your memory card in the card reader again. Click Start and Run. In the Open field, type cmd.exe and click OK. When you see a command prompt, type the letter of your memory card reader, followed by a colon (:). For example, if your card reader is the G: drive, you would type g:. Then type /FS:FAT. So if your card reader is the G: drive, you’ll type g:/FS:FAT at the command prompt. Press ENTER. Finally, close the window with the command prompt. After you properly eject the memory card from the reader, insert the card in your digital camera. If your camera still can’t recognize it, the card itself is probably damaged, and you should invest in a new memory card. If your camera can’t recognize a new memory card, either, you’ll need to contact the manufacturer to repair your camera. There may be a problem with either the camera’s memory card slot or the camera’s internal motherboard that causes data corruption. Finally, to avoid formatting problems in the future, always format a card using your digital camera instead of Windows. The method of formatting a card varies among camera brands and models, so you’ll need to consult your users manual for instructions.

Problem: My digital camera’s LCD displays an error code or error message that I’m not familiar with.

Solution: Consult your camera’s users manual or the manufacturer’s Web site to determine what the error code means. For example, according to Canon’s Web site, when a Canon digital camera displays “E18” on the LCD, there is some type of problem with either the lens or the lens cover. Take the time to research the error message. Armed with knowledge about the error, you may be able to solve the problem yourself. Difficulties Moving Photos From Camera To PC

Problem: I’ve connected my camera to my computer, but my camera can’t transfer the photos to the PC.

Solution: First, double-check the transfer procedures for your camera. Some cameras require only that you press the power button. Other cameras also require that you turn a mode dial to a USB Transfer mode. Sometimes data transfer problems occur because your camera’s driver (software that tells your PC how to communicate with an external device) has become corrupted. You have a couple of options. You may download the most recent driver for your camera from the manufacturer’s Web site, install it, restart your computer, and then try to transfer photos again. Another option is to bypass the driver problem by using a card reader to transfer photos to your PC. Make sure that you buy a card reader that supports the type of memory card that your camera uses. When you use a card reader, you’re less likely to encounter the device conflicts that often occur when a camera’s driver conflicts with another device’s driver. (This is especially likely to happen if there’s more than one digital camera in your home.)

Problem: My camera’s batteries don’t last long enough to reliably transfer images from my camera to my computer.

Solution: As we discussed in the previous solution, memory card readers are an excellent alternative to transferring images directly from your digital camera. Card readers don’t require an external power supply. They gather all of the power that they need from a PC’s USB or Fire- Wire port, so you don’t need to worry about the toll that transfers take on your camera’s batteries. Also, data corruption is less likely because you don’t need to worry about losing battery power during a data transfer.

Problem: I don’t see an icon for my digital camera in My Computer.

Solution: First, make sure that the cable for your camera is firmly connected to both the camera and to your PC. Also, doublecheck that your camera is turned on and, if it has a USB Transfer mode, that you have pressed the right button or turned the mode dial to the proper position. If you still can’t find an icon for your camera in My Computer, remember that some cameras show up as removable drives. Trouble Viewing Photos On A PC

Problem: I can’t open RAW images on my PC.

Solution: To view RAW images on your computer, you’ll need to use special software. You may use the software that came with your digital camera, or you can use an application that supports viewing and processing RAW images. For example, the Adobe Camera RAW plug-in for the Photoshop and Photoshop Elements programs lets you open and process RAW images. Because RAW files are proprietary to each digital camera, you’ll need to save your images in a universal format, such as TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) when you’re done processing the RAW file.

Problem: Some of my photos on my card are messed up. For example, part of the image is missing, there are colored stripes running across my photo, or it has random color blobs and digital noise throughout the image.

Solution: When you see garbled or otherwise "messed-up" images on your camera, it usually indicates that the images are corrupted. Luckily, there are software programs that may be able to repair corrupted images. For example, Photo Rescue Wizard PC ($29; www.datarescue.com) is software that applies algorithms to corrupted data on a memory card to recover lost data. This doesn’t always work, but often you can save at least some of your photos. If you don’t need to recover the photos from the memory card, try to format the card in your camera. If you continue to see corrupted images in the future, you should buy a new memory card. If you still see corrupted images, even after switching to a new memory card, you should contact the camera manufacturer because there may be a problem with your camera that is causing it to write corrupted data to your memory cards.