Digital cameras 101

[Fiona *Austin]

I have a Minolta Dimage 7i... I just went to get it repaired today and found that it will cost £200 for Minolta to fix (it's a standard minimum cost) .. does anyone have any suggestions as I could get a new camera for this.  I like the camera - it would seem outrageous to throw it away, which is basically what the chap in the shop said we may as well do.   I'm used to it, I take good pics with it, I want to save it!  But not at a crazy cost.   It's either the light meter or a focusing problem.  The outcome is that the pictures are all blurred, but it can focus in Very bright light.

Help - I don't want to throw it away, but I don't want to spend silly money on repairs either.

[Deb]

Hi, I'm curious ... are your images blurry (a result of slow shutterspeed) or out-of-focus (a function of focusing and/or aperture)? What did the service person say was the problem?

As to your question, if it continues to work fine under bright light conditions ... use it for that. :-) Otherwise, I guess it depends on what you paid for it compared to what it'll cost to repair it. You may find that there is a more advanced digicam out there that you would prefer to have.

[ShutterbugGail]

Before sending it in, take Deb's suggestions and make sure to take some more tests to determine if there is something other than a camera malfunction. If there is a problem then you have a tough decision to make.

While the cost to repair is high, buying an equivalent, feature-rich camera such as yours can cost 2-3 times more. Your camera, while about three years old, received excellent reviews when it came out. It appears to have cost about $600 U. S. new.

It has 5 megapixels, which is enough for most of us. And it has a great zoom range: Wide angle to 7X zoom (28mm - 200mm/35mm equivalent).

If you love the camera, it may be worth repairing it. You can get a new one for the cost of repair but it won't have as many features as your current camera. On the other hand, if you feel you want to move on to something else and spend more money, you'll have a newer camera with a new warranty.  Newer cameras are probably faster, lighter and have additional features such as an autofocus assist lamp, but these may not be important to you.  With a newer camera, you may have to buy different type memory cards and/or batteries, so keep this in mind when thinking about cost.

btw, if you do have it repaired, ask how long the warranty is.