Our brand new (discontinued) Minolta F200 digital camera is freezing up on me intermittenly. I’m talking about the actual camera (not the computer stuff).
After I shoot a picture, and during the time that the orange light is supposed to be flashing (indicating that data is going to the SD Card), the camera freezes. Alas, the orange light does not flash, but simply remains on.
I wait for a while and eventually turn the dial to the Off position. But the lense doesn’t retract as it is supposed to. It is frozen.
I then turn the dial back to AUTO Camera (ie, ON position), but nothing happens. Still frozen.
The only way I’ve found to unfreeze the camera is to remove the two hydride AAs and reinsert them. Then the lenses retracts and the camera is ready to go.
I have been able to take pictures, but at random points, the camera crashes!
The batteries were new and had just been recharged, so I don’t think that is the issue.
I searched Usenet, but couldn’t find any post with a similar problem. Any suggestions?
Sounds like a firmware problem. It’s not unlike your PC freezing up and only being able to fix it by turning it off and rebooting it. If it’s new, take it back and get it replace or repaired. You said it’s discontinued, and this may be the reason. Tell them you’d prefer a different model. Trust me, if you make enough of a fuss high enough up the chain, you’ll get what you want. Having worked in retail for years, I can tell you that from experience.
Handy, I may try a new card. The problem is that it takes SD cards, and I think maybe I’d prefer a Canon camera instead. Canons take CF. So, I don’t know if I want to invest any more in this.
QED, if none of these suggestions work, I will go back to the store and make a fuss. Thanks.
Enipla, the batteries are Sanyo brand (came with the camera) and have a charge of 1850.
Ugh. Never use batteries that have the camera manufacturer’s name on them. They’re always 3rd rate cheapies that never last long. Try a set of major brand batteries instead.
I tried some half-used alkalines and the camera was still acting FUBAR. However, when I used the (recharged) Sanyo hydrides, the camera worked flawlessly.
I took about 30 pictures, recorded sound, transfer to the PC, deleted files. A big work out. And the camera didn’t freeze.
I’m a bit worried, however, because I think the problem is that when the battery gets low, the camera f’s up. Going to watch it for a while and will report back here when I learn more. Thanks to everyone for great suggestions.
Handy, this F200 doesn’t come with an adapter. But that’s a good idea. I’ll look into gettng one.
Annoying, yes. Frustrating, yes. But worrisome, no.
It is not unusual for digital cameras to behave strangely when the battery charge gets low. Even the professional rigs will do this.
Case in point: I shoot with the Canon 1Ds tethered to a Mac G4. When the battery is nearing exhaustion, I get an on-screen message that reads something like “the camera has powered down because the memory card slot cover was opened…”… huh?? ???
So again, I wouldn’t worry. I’d just get used to this as a less-than-subtle indicator that its time to recharge the batteries.
