F707 Problem w/EVF and LCD screen

I assume this is related to your LCD monitor.
I think you mean dead pixels. The LCD monitor has tiny pixel elements, one for each red, blue, green color and each one of these colored pixels are turnes on by a transistor. When a transistor fails then the colored pixel it controls does not light up. This is a dead pixel and it shows up as a tiny black dot.
If the screen displays a blue screen, a dead blue pixel will appear as a tiny black dot in the blue screen.
You normally would not notice a few dead pixels unless they are grouped together.

Hello, I think I know what the problem is..we'll see. On the back of the s5600 there is a button marked EVF and LCD(EVF on top LCD underneath) try clicking this button to see if your LCD screen becomes available, only one of these can be used at a time and the default for playback is the LCD screen. However if you have set it to EVF it will revert back to this format when you leave playback and try take new footage. I hope this helps and it is nothing more complicated. I have some problems myself and know how it feels. Alan

well that could be because the screen is going bad. you might want to get another one or take it in to get it fixed, no more than 100 to fix your screen.

It's a known issue with both the A1 and the A2, and is caused by very poor design of the strain relief to the flexible circuit board which eventually cracks. If you open the EVF you'll see a small piece of blue or yellow tape on the pcb just where the damage occurs: this was clearly Minolta's pathetic attempt to prevent the problem.

There is effectively no fix for this as the only way ro repair it is to replace the pcb and to keep costs down Minolta made the EVF flexi pcb an integral part of the entire pcb which snakes it's way deep into the camera. If only they'd redesigned it as a separate replaceable section then things would have been easier. You'll notice that Minolta omitted the tilting EVF from the successor to the A2, the closely related Dimage A200.

The best you can attempt to do is to peel off the rubber eyecup (it has a tendency to tear, so be very careful) and then remove the two screws from the underside of the EVF. You'll then see part of the EVF pcb. Note that there are actually two pcbs layered together, one does have a joint in it, but sadly it's not the one which has broken. You'll see a red and a black wire connecting to a plug which attaches to a socket mounted on a side spur of the broken pcb. The blue or yellow tape I mentioned earlier will be stuck to this spur (ignore the second piece of tape right near the EVF lens). Now set the selection switch to the EVF position and turn on the camera. By carefully and gently manipulating the broken area (the break is usually microscopic, so don't expect to see the damage) you can usually achieve a position where the EVF lights up. You may need to apply more tape or some folded paper packing beneath the pcb to get the EVF to remain illuminated, and usually will need to give it umpteen attempts so be patient. When it stays illuminated, reassemble and gently fold the EVF back down. You'll often find that you have to repeat the job a few more times as the action of moving the EVF back down upsets the "repair". Once it's down, and the fix appears to be stable (i.e. it doesn't black) out or blink every time you touch the camera) then carefully glue the eyecup back on and use your preferred method to stick the EVF in it's parked position. I use thin double-sided adhesive foam jointing tape: if you live near a modelling shop or know a radio control modeller, ask for a piece of thin servo tape.

The bad news is that this repair will not last and that you'll have to either learn to love the LCD panel or resign yourself to regular re-fixes, but eventually the damage progresses until beyond repair. For the same reason, if you replace it with a used example, go for the A200 instead. It has the same lens and many of the same features as the A2, although ditches many of the useful manual switches in favour of menu-driven settings.

If you are lucky enough to actually obtain a complete and unused flexible pcb then expect three things: 1. it will cost more than the camera is worth; 2. it will cost far more than that to have it fitted; 3. it WILL fail unless you stick the EVF down permanently as Minolta never revised the design. You probably won't find the part though as Minolta pretty well exhausted the spares supply whilst making repairs under warranty.

The same fault occurs to pretty much all cameras which have articulated displays, whether EVF or LCD and is why top-spec cameras aimed at professional users omit this feature. Pro's want reliability and give their gear a hard time, so articulated gadgetry is a liability.

It's a real shame as the A2 was otherwise my near-perfect all-rounder. In my case I only encountered the problem after buying a broken A2 for spares (just for the rubber eyecup and a few minor parts) and just a few weeks after investing in the rare, expensive and vital BP-200 battery grip. I've stopped using mine altogether now as I simply cannot get to grips with composing on an LCD panel.

Sorry this isn't all good news, but hopefully you'll find my posting to be of use and will be one of the lucky ones whose DIY fix lasts. Feel free to ask me for further advice and please don't forget to rate my answer.

COLORS OF LCD SCREEN HAS TURNED TO PINK AND PURPLE WHAT TO DO NOW?

That is true, problem is as old as lcd projection. Suggest buying a dlp product. they don't color decay

Hi,
A pink or red screen which may gradually turn back to it's appropriate color indicates the lcd is going out. It could last quite some time in tht condition, but it's going. replacement isn't too bad though.
good luck

That's odd. I had the 707 (may she rest in God's eternal peace), and never thought that dust could get behind the lens. Do you see the dust when you look through the EVF, or when you look at the lens itself? Either way, one way to test it is to set the camera to the smallest aperture (f/8), infinity focus, and shoot a clear blue sky. Open the picture in your editor program, and see if the dust shows up. That's a technique to use with an SLR to see if the dust inside would affect a picture, so I'm not sure if this will work with the 707.

Yes it is. I believe Panasonic knows that the built in flash casts a very blue tint so they set the flash WB to very red to compensate. Therefore before the flash is triggered as when you watch the LCD. Some threads here even suggested adjust the WB further 2 knots to the red manually (press " up" a few times on the 4-way button to have better skin tone. Try it. The setting stays even when you turn off the camera.