Canon Powershot A95 CCD Issue

September 26, 2007

I brought my 2-year-old Canon Powershot A95 digital camera to the Canon Service Center in Pasong Tamo, Makati yesterday. It has been malfunctioning since summer. Though could still be used at times without any problem at all, more often than not it leaves my mother frustrated because all she's getting are purplish, distorted images like the one shown below.


I initially thought it was just an LCD problem, that when loaded to a computer the images should look just fine without the purplish color, the distortion and the horizontal lines. But when I did transfer the .jpg files to my laptop and opened the files in Photoshop, they were still purplish, distorted and marred with lines. It occurred to me then it wasn't a simple LCD problem but a more serious CCD malfunction. Then it came to mind that 2 years ago Canon issued an advisory regarding a CCD issue plaguing several Powershot models. I did remember looking up the list of affected models but was relieved to find out then that the A95 was not in the list. My A95 warranty expired a year ago and not wanting to shell out a large amount of money for its repair I did not care to bring it to a service center. Anyway, I am using another digital camera: a Canon Powershot S3 IS. I just let my poor A95 die away in a cold dark place (cabinet drawer). Then 2 nights ago, I stumbled upon an A95 up for sale at TipidPC. The seller who goes by the handle of littlesealgirl posted about the ccd malfunction her A95 had in the past - the very same ccd problem with my A95 . It was fixed by Canon Philippines for free and all is well with her camera since then. That prompted me to search for the Canon advisory and the list of affected models. Here's the link. 11 models have been added to the list including the A95. The malfunction is brought about by a sudden change in temperature and humidity which causes a ccd wiring to be undone. Most cameras affected by the problem are those in Asia.

So yesterday I went to Canon Service to have my camera fixed. After confirming that it was indeed a ccd sensor problem, the desk guy told me Canon will fix it at no cost. But it will take 14 working days for the repair (about three weeks). The new experience (a welcome change, I hasten to add) for me as far as repairs go is the desk guy did not hassle me for the receipt or the warranty card.* Now that's customer service. (I'm starting to feel a little guilty for shifting to the dark side but that's another story.)


*When I brought in my laptop for a check up, HP did not require any receipt or warranty card from me either. But the follow up was gruesome. What's worse, the call center agent with thick Visayan accent demanded that I talk to him in English! Well, that's another story - a horror story at that.

UPDATE HERE