Olympus mu 790sw - mauve screen/picture
Olympus mu 790sw - mauve screen/picture
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caiss4

Original Poster:

1,946 posts

226 months

Wednesday 31st August 2011
quotequote all
About 4-5 years ago (I think) I bought my wife an Olympus 790 shock/waterproof camera which has been completely reliable until this week.

The view screen is fine on the menu but when viewfinding the scene is out of focus and completely colourless with a mauve eerie light. Pictures taken and reviewed or downloaded match the viewfinder.

I know nothing about digital cameras - anyone hazard a guess as to what's wrong? It looks terminal to me but are these things repairable or should I consider it end of life and just get a new one?

Just trying to set my expectations here as I seem to recall that this was a more expensive camera at the time. Thanks in advance.

LongQ

13,864 posts

262 months

Wednesday 31st August 2011
quotequote all
I would take a guess that the lens is not fully deploying to 'ready for use' state on start up and that might be introducing secondary issues. The lenses of compact cameras have number of tiny contacts and connectors that can disconnect over time. The problem is that these are not usually user servicable even if you take the thing apart. Add in the ruggedised factor for your camera and DIY is even less of an option if you want to keep it rugged.

I would assume that Olympus have a lost of authorised service centres somewhere on their web site. It would be worth contacting a couple to see if they are prepared to quote a guide repair price. It's not normally something worth suggesting for run of the mill compacts but the ruggedised units are relatively expensive (in the main) and repair might be a cost effective option if the features of the new models available do not appeal.

Of course that assumes you still want a ruggedised camera. If you do there is a recent comparative review of some offerings at www.dpreview.com .

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterproofcomp...


caiss4

Original Poster:

1,946 posts

226 months

Wednesday 31st August 2011
quotequote all
Thanks. I chose the ruggedised one because my wife had a habit of destroying cameras (normally by dropping them!) As you say probably wouldn't be wise to try a bit of DIY on it. I'll take a look for a service centre but if it's a new one then it'll have to be bullet proof again!