Got a faulty digital camera? Read on....

These are some of the problems I have encountered over the years. It mainly relates to Fuji digital compacts but could just as easily relate to any brand of camera.
The focus error for Fuji's S5200/5600 below Is a common problem with this model so I have listed it here to help those with this model of camera.

FOCUS ERROR FUJI FINEPIX S5200/S5600

Firstly, remove all the screws from the cases. There should be 4-5 little pozi screws on the sides and underneath. Once these are out open the battery door and the card door and ease the rear case up from the bottom gently. The screen ribbon will be attached to the board as well as the key pad ribbon so be careful how far you lift the rear up. The screen locking tab on the socket will lift up and the keypad tab should slide down to release the strip. You will notice the screen ribbon has been folded and creased when it was assembled. Try not to flatten these out as it will almost certainly split and then you will be in trouble! You will notice the top part of the rear case will still be attached to the front and no screws holding it. Plastic clips are under here so take care to free these as they can be difficult but with patients they will unclip. Once the rear case is off it will just be a question of removing the different plugs and ribbons and undoing the screws to the main board before removing it. There is a plug on the underside of the main board which connects to the power board. Remove the main board as vertically and level as you can. The EVf eye piece will come out with ease. It just sits in there with no clips other than the ribbon and 2 pin plug (1 white wire and 1 pink ). With the main board out you will need to be a little more careful with the power / flash board underneath. The flash will still be holding a charge so BE CAREFULL! As with the main board this power board will have cables plugged in it. All the cables and ribbons for both boards will be of different types and sizes, and in some cases colours, so you can't get them mixed up. undo the screws holding the power board and lift it clear. The metal plate underneath is held in place with two screws, 1 on the bottom and 1 on the left by the speaker. These screws also hold the lens unit in place. There is another screw holding the lens on the top right so remove this once you have removed the metal plate. The lens should now lift clear of the camera. The FOCUS drive is the motor located at the back nearest the sensor (CCD) The 1 at the front is the ZOOM motor. To access fully the focus drive you will need to remove the back of the lens first. On the S5600 this is done by removing the sensor screws and the plate covering the sensor but not the sensor its self. around the sensor is a strip of ribbon stuck to the back of the lens unit with little earthing tabs (3 off) and under these there are three screws to hold the back of the lens plastic to the front part. By peeling back gently the ribbon strips you should be able to locate these screws and then remove the back of the lens as one part revealing the focus lens. Remove the screws for the focus motor but don't just lift it clear as there should be a little clip and tension spring attached to the long thread and the focus lens. The lens travels up and down this thread to focus the picture. This clip assembly will be what you are looking for as it can just come unclipped from the lens and hopefully will just need clipping back. If it is damaged then a replacement part will need to be sourced. I can effect a repair if they are damaged but unless you are able to do this yourself a replacement would be your best option. Another camera off ebay or some where would be cheapest for donor parts. If all is well then its just a case of re tracing your steps to re assemble. GENERAL FAULTS LINES ON PHOTO'S OR OVER EXPOSED PICTURES Most of the time this is due to the shutter not closing completely over the lens. Anything could cause this but I have mainly found residue from moisture causing this problem. To rectify this the lens has to be removed and then stripped. Parts of the lens assembly are in accessable due to the way they are manufactured but the shutter should be accessable for cleaning. The shutter works from an electro magnetic switch that fires the shutters across the lens at high speed. Quicker than any conventional mechanical spring or some such. The down side to these is they have almost no torque like any spring or motor so even a tiny amount of dirt/grease or moisture residue can foul a shutter leaf. One tip to isolate the problem with this is to use the video function. The video function does not use the shutter so will be un affected. Depending on your camera model it is possible to adjust the zoom so that you can see the shutter fire inside the lens when you take a picture. The shutter should cover the entire lens inside when fired. If there is a gap or the shutter does not fire at all then your pictures will come out over exposed or have lines across them. LENS BUZZING OR CLICKING ON POWER UP Buzzing sound from the lens on power up or the lens extending slowly and the zoom has problems? The motor for the lens drive has a counter wheel and a sensor to control the lens. the buzzing sound is the wheel hitting the sensor as it rotates. ZOOM OR FOCUS ERROR The lens is a complex assembly of plastic rings, guide pins and springs. The lens operates on either plastic or metal guide pins running along grooves inside. Any damage to the lens may cause it to stop or jam. Forcing the lens by hand could result in more damage because the whole thing is designed to be powered from the drive motor. If you force the lens to retract you run the risk of damaging the little cogs inside. Remove the motor and the lens should move freely. POWER PROBLEMS Many cameras have a fail safe or protection switch some where. This could be located by the battery door or by the memory card door and your camera will only power up when this is actuated. Common causes for not powering up are: 1) The tab on the card/battery door has been broken off and will no longer make contact with the switch. 2) Excessive force or impact on the cameras door has damaged the switch inside. Other possibilities for power problems could be blown fuses. If you have a mains adapter with your camera and it won't power up with battery but will with mains then the fuse for battery has blown. There are several fuses inside the camera and most are surface mount component type fuses. These are soldered to the board and may be coded by colour or letter. To find these it is wise to purchase a service manual for the correct types used. LENSES IN GENERAL All cameras have a lens set up of one type or another. They may have been made by different manufacturers but the error codes are all the same. Zoom error, focus error or lens error. KEYPAD FAILURE / SCREEN WHITE OUT / DISTORTED OR COLOUR WASHED PICTURES Most of the different parts to your camera are linked to the main board by means of ribbon connectors. The screen and/or keypad ribbons are folded, some times twice, over and the folded edge can, over time, split resulting in loss of control or screen white out. Some times the CCD or Optical sensors ribbon has to be folded around the edge of the board and this can also split causing imaging issues. These are virtually impossible to repair so the only solution is to replace.