Top 20 Casio Exilim EX-P700 Digital Camera Questions & Answers

If the estimation of the main control board is high it is better to buy a new camera with better feaures than to invest on old technology.
So try if you get some benefit from scraping the camera for spares.

Fixing a Lens Error on a Digital Camera

This has to be THE most common failure mode for a digital camera. Some common error messages that might show up on the LCD's of cameras with this problem include “E18 lens error”, or “lens error, restart camera”. Some cameras might show nothing at all, but merely make a beeping noise as the lens goes out, then in, then the camera shuts off. Sometimes the lens won't even move.
The problem is actually quite common throughout all camera brands. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended. Believe it or not, one BIG contributor to lens errors is using a camera case. Sand, gunk, case fibers, etc... accumulate at the bottom of the case. These materials love to cling to the camera by electrostatic build-up from the camera rubbing against the side of the case (especially those cases with soft fibrous intreriors). Once these materials work their way into the lens mechanism, that's all she wrote. I have many Canon's, and NEVER use a case for this very reason.
A camera owner that suffers this problem may have no recourse for having the camera repaired. Many camera makers will not honor repairing this problem under warranty as they claim it is due to impact damage to the camera, or sand or debris getting into the lens gearing mechanism (neither of which is covered under warranty). The quoted repair cost is usually close to or more than what the camera is actually worth.
Fortunately, about half the cameras that suffer this failure can easily be fixed by one of the following methods. None of these methods involve opening the camera, although some have potential to cause other damage to the camera if excessively done. If the camera is still under warranty, before trying any of these, please please first contact your camera's maker to see if they'll cover the repair, or to determine how much they'll charge for the repair. Who knows, you might get lucky. But if they quote you a number that's higher than the value of your camera, you may want to consider the following methods.
The methods are listed in the order of risk of damaging your camera. Thus make sure you try them in the listed order. And remember, these fixes (especially #6 and 7) should only be considered for a camera that's out of warranty, who's cost of repair would be excessive, and would otherwise be considered for disposal if unrepaired:
Fix #1: Remove the batteries from the camera, wait a few minutes. Put a fresh set of batteries back in (preferably rechargeable NiMH 2500mah or better) and turn the camera on. If that didn't work, try pressing and holding the Function or OK button while turning the camera on.
Fix #2: Remove the batteries, then remove the memory card. Then install new batteries, and turn on the camera. If you get an Error E30, it means you don't have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the memory card and turn it on one last time.
Fix #3: Insert the cameras Audio/Video (AV) cable, and turn the camera on. Inserting this cable ensures that the camera's LCD screen remains off during the start process. Thus extra battery power is available to the camera's lens motor during startup. This extra power can be useful in overcoming grit or sand particals that may be jamming the lens. If the AV cable doesn't fix the lens error by itself, consider keeping this cable installed while trying fixes 4, 5, and 7 as a means to provide extra help to these fixes. But note that I DON'T recommend keeping the cable installed during Fix 6 as you may damage the AV port while tapping the camera. Reinsert the cable only AFTER tapping the camera.
Fix #4: Place the camera flat on its back on a table, pointed at the ceiling. Press and hold the shutter button down, and at the same time press the power-on button. The idea is that the camera will try to autofocus while the lens is extending, hopefully seating the lens barrel guide pins in their slots.
Fix #5: Blow compressed air in the gaps around the lens barrels with the idea of blowing out any sand or grit that may be in there jamming the lens. Other variations include blowing with a hair dryer in “no heat” setting, or sucking the gaps with a vacuum (careful with this one).
Now we're entering into the realm of potentially damaging your camera in conducting the fix. There is definitely some risk here, so take care when conducting the following two fixes.
Fix #6: Repeatedly tap the padded/rubber usb cover on a hard surface with the intent of dislodging any particles that may be jamming the lens. Other variations include hitting a side of the camera against the palm of your hand. A lot of people have reported success with this method. HOWEVER, there is also some potential for damaging or dislodging internal components with this method, such as unseating ribbon cables, or cracking LCD screens.
Fix #7: Try forcing the lens. More people have reported success with this method than with any of the other methods. HOWEVER, there's obviously some potential for damaging your camera by using this method. Variations include gently pulling, rotating, and/or twisting the lens barrel while hitting the power button. Attempt to gently straighten or align the barrel if it's crooked or twisted. Another variation includes looking for uneven gaps around the lens barrel, and then pushing on the side of the lens barrel that has the largest gap (note pushing the lens barrel all the way in is NOT recommended as it may become stuck there). While doing any of the above, listen for a click that indicates that the lens barrel guide pins may have reseated in their guide slots. If you hear this click, immediately stop and try the camera.

Hello

Thank you for using FixYa for your problem

Always check the batteries first but if is it still giving the same fault, your camera is faulty.
It should be taken to an authorized repair centre for a repair estimate. Very few digital cameras have any user-serviceable parts.

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Thanks
Richard Scott
Technical Support
New Zealand

Sounds like you're using the internal memory instead of a memory card.

Try these procedures.

You don't need a driver. The best way to download pictures from your camera to your computer involves removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader (either built-in to the computer or connected via USB or FireWire). This is likely to be faster than connecting the camera to the computer, and won't run down your camera's batteries.Once the card is plugged in, it will appear to your computer as a removable drive. You can use the operating system's drag&drop facility to copy pictures from the card to the computer's hard drive, the same way you copy any other files. Or you can use any photo cataloging program such as Picasa.

You don't need a driver.The best way to download pictures from your camera to your computer involves removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader (either built-in to the computer or connected via USB or FireWire). This is likely to be faster than connecting the camera to the computer, and won't run down your camera's batteries.Once the card is plugged in, it will appear to your computer as a removable drive. You can use the operating system's drag&drop facility to copy pictures from the card to the computer's hard drive, the same way you copy any other files. Or you can use any photo cataloging program such as Picasa.

Hello Betz, You are right, the flash capacitor isn't charging. The camera however doesn't have a sensor monitoring the capacitor charge, but has one on the circuits that charge the capacitor. If they aren't powered on (because of faulty connectors or damaged components) they will not be able to suply power to the inverter circuits that will charge that capacitor. The led is blinking because at some point the charging tension is sent to charging circuitry but doesn't stop blinking because charging doesn't take place or it takes place but the wires that carry the "I'm charged and ready" signal are severed or don't make a perfect electricaly contact. I don't recomand a DiY fix for this because by opening the camera you can damage the lens assembly or expose yourself to some 300-350Volts from that capacitor if it's charging. If you decide to try to diagnose yourself this problem I can suggest you to check if that capacitor is storing some tension on it, if it does, then the problem is shurely related to that "I'm charged and ready" signal wire. In either case all the connectors must be checked. Please note also that if the inverter, or charging circuitry is broken (damaged components) the service centers will change it as a whole and woun't try to repair it. This will cost about $50-$80 without labor part. Please post a reply if you nead more directions. Good luck.

Turning on the camera while the date and time are not set or after the date and time settings have been cleared due to a total cut off of power (which occurs when batteries are dead and the camera is not being supplied power via AC adaptor) causes the date and time setting screen to appear on the monitor screen. When this happens, be sure to set the correct date and time before doing anything else.

Recording a movie of a subject that is brightly lit by the sun or some other very bright light source can cause vertical lines or bars to appear in the image during playback. This is due to a CCD phenomenon called "smearing." Note that lines or bars appear in movie images only, but not in snapshots. Smearing does not indicate malfunction of the camera.

Except for the built-in preset startup screen, changing the startup screen causes the previous screen to be deleted from startup screen memory. You will not be able to reuse a replaced startup screen unless you have its image saved somewhere else.

This could be due to any of the following reasons. 1) A dirty lens can cause whitish blurring of an image. 2) Light from the flash reflected back from the subject can cause blurring and a feeling that the image is out of focus. 3) In total darkness when AF measurements are impossible, the camera focuses for about 2 meters. Subjects that are closer or further will be out of focus. The Auto Focus Frame is red when AF measurements are impossible. In this case, use manual focus (MF).

Yes. When displayed, an uncompressed (TIFF) digital image is clearer and higher quality than a compressed (JPEG) image. You should remember, however, that it takes longer to save an uncompressed image, which means that the recording interval between images is longer. Recording Interval with JPEG Format (Compressed):?2 seconds (3072 x 2304, Normal) Recording Interval with TIFF Format (Uncompressed):?65 seconds (3072 x 2304, TIFF) • In the TIFF Mode, you cannot record until the save operation of the previous shot is complete. • The above times are based on save operations using a Panasonic 64MB SD memory card. • The above times are approximate and for reference only. They are not guaranteed. • The actual time required to store images depends on shooting conditions and the memory card you are using.

When the camera is at an angle to a business card, document, whiteboard, or other rectangular subject, one side of the subject in the recorded image may appear longer than the side opposite from it. This is called "keystoning," which is caused by the difference in distance from the camera lens to each side of the subject. The side of the subject that is closer to the camera looks longer and the side further from the camera looks shorter. Using the camera's Business Shot Mode automatically eliminates keystoning and gives a normal shape to rectangular subjects. Though the Business Shot Mode is able to eliminate the effects of moderate keystoning, certain conditions may make automatic keystone correction impossible. Also note that the maximum Business Shot Mode image size is 1600 x 1200 pixels. If you have the camera configured to record larger size images, recording with the Business Shot Mode will produce a 1600 x 1200 size image. When the camera is configured to record images smaller than 1600 x 1200 pixels, the Business Shot Mode will produce images in accordance with the currently specified image size.

Yes. If you want to restore the same startup screen after formatting built-in memory, you will need to have the image saved to some medium. The camera's default startup image is not deleted by formatting built-in memory. Formatting a memory card does not delete your startup screen.

Lens characteristics can cause straight lines to appear bent. This phenomenon, which is called "lens distortion," is normal and does not indicate malfunction of the camera. Such distortion tends to be more pronounced when the camera is at an angle when you point it at the subject.

Recording a subject that is outside the flash range can cause the subject to appear dark in the resulting image, because not enough of the flash reaches the subject. When this happens, you can use flash assist to correct the brightness of the recorded subject, so it appears as if the flash illumination was sufficient. Note, however, that recording certain types of subjects may not produce the results you expect, even if you use flash assist.

This is caused when you are using Continuous AF as the focus mode. With Continuous AF, the camera continually changes the focus by moving the lens whenever the distance from the subject changes. This is the source of the noise, which does not indicate malfunction.

Selecting a Best Shot Mode image automatically sets up the camera with the recommended settings for recording the image.