Today, a number of camera companies have announced product “advisories” due to discovered defects in their cameras.  If these defects posed safety hazards, they would be called “recalls” but since they are more of a nuisance, they are called “advisories” so that the companies do not assume liability.  I make this point not because I’m annoyed at the companies (although I am) but to explain the difference between a “recall” and a “product advisory.” 

In any case, apparently, a few batches of Sony manufactured sensors are exhibiting problems which result in a distorted image, or a black image.  Since many of the compact and video camera manufacturers use Sony sensors, this has created an industry-wide problem.  Keep in mind that only cameras using the Sony sensors from a specific bad batch may exhibit the problem, so check your camera model, serial number, and continue reading for a full list of cameras with serial numbers that fall under the advisory.

The problem:

It has recently come to our attention that a limited number of
cameras/camcorders manufactured prior to March 2004 that incorporate a certain
type of image sensor device (CCD) may exhibit the following problem:

When the camcorder is used for acquisition in the camera mode, the LCD
panel and/or electronic viewfinder exhibits either a distorted image or
no image at all.

We have determined that this problem only occurs in a limited number of
camcorders, but may be accelerated if they are exposed to hot and humid
environments.

In an effort to ensure customer satisfaction, Sony will offer a free
repair from October 3rd, 2005 to October 2nd, 2007 to the owners of
affected camcorders exhibiting the above-mentioned problem.

Affected manufacturers:

Thank you for your continuous patronage of Konica Minolta products.
Konica Minolta has recently discovered a problem with some of its
digital cameras manufactured between October, 2002 and March, 2004. The
following products may be affected:
DiMAGE 7i
DiMAGE 7Hi
DiMAGE A1
DiMAGE Xi
DiMAGE Xt
DiMAGE X20
DiMAGE S414
DiMAGE F300

———————————
Thank you for using Canon products.

A problem has been discovered in some of the CCDs used in Canon digital
camera and digital video camera products that causes images to appear
distorted or not to appear at all. We apologize for the considerable
inconvenience this represents for our customers. Along with our
respectful apology, we would like to advise our customers of the
details of this issue and our policy for handling it, which are as
follows.

Affected Models
The CCDs in question are used in the following models.

Digital Cameras
PowerShot A60, PowerShot A70, PowerShot A75, PowerShot A300, PowerShot
A310, Digital IXUS V3, Digital IXUS II, Digital IXUS IIs

Digital Video Cameras
MV600i, MV630i, MV650i, MV700i, MV730i, MV750i, MV5i, MV5i MC, MV6i MC
ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, Elura 40 MC, Elura 50

————————————————————-

FUJI PHOTO FILM U.S.A., INC. announces that some of the FinePix A303,
F410, and F700 digital camera models may develop a problem with the CCD
imaging sensor. However, the problem affects a limited number of units
and may not occur in all cameras.

The symptoms are captured images that appear completely black, have a
purplish cast or multi- colored distortions. These symptoms would be
seen on the camera LCD monitor when the camera is in the shooting mode
or during playback. A limited number of these models will have these
problems. The following list of serial numbers and model names may be
affected:

Model Serial Number Range
FinePix A303 3JA4****~3JA5****
FinePix F410 32A1****
32A6****~32A7****
32A9****
FinePix F700 33A0****
34A1****

Serial numbers are found on the bottom of the cameras

——————————————————-

Sony

Applicable Models beginning with
DSC-F DSC-F717
DSC-P—- Click To See The Model—- DSC-P10 DSC-P12 DSC-P2 DSC-P31
DSC-P32 DSC-P51 DSC-P52 DSC-P7 DSC-P71 DSC-P72 DSC-P8 DSC-P92
DSC-U DSC-U10
DSC-U20
DSC-U30
DSC-U60
DSC-V DSC-V1
MVC-CD MVC-CD250
MVC-CD400
MVC-CD500
MVC-FD MVC-FD100
MVC-FD200

An issue has been identified with the CLIÉ handheld computer,
PEG-NZ90/G and PEG-NZ90/H manufactured from October 2002 through March
2004, which incorporates an image sensor device, or CCD, that may
exhibit the following condition:

Applicable Models beginning with
CCD-TRV—- CCD-TRV107E CCD-TRV118 CCD-TRV128 CCD-TRV218E CCD-TRV228
CCD-TRV228E CCD-TRV318 CCD-TRV328 CCD-TRV418 CCD-TRV418E CCD-TRV428
CCD-TRV428E
DCR-DVD—- DCR-DVD100 DCR-DVD100E DCR-DVD101 DCR-DVD101E DCR-DVD200
DCR-DVD200E DCR-DVD300 DCR-DVD91E
DCR-HC—- DCR-HC14E DCR-HC15 DCR-HC15E DCR-HC16E DCR-HC18E DCR-HC20
DCR-HC20E DCR-HC30 DCR-HC30E
DCR-IP—- DCR-IP45 DCR-IP45E DCR-IP5 DCR-IP55 DCR-IP55E DCR-IP5E
DCR-IP7E
DCR-PC—- DCR-PC101 DCR-PC101E DCR-PC103E DCR-PC104E DCR-PC105
DCR-PC105E DCR-PC106E DCR-PC107E DCR-PC108 DCR-PC108E DCR-PC115
DCR-PC115E DCR-PC120 DCR-PC120E
DCR-TRV—- DCR-TRV147E DCR-TRV14E DCR-TRV16 DCR-TRV16E DCR-TRV18
DCR-TRV18E DCR-TRV19 DCR-TRV19E DCR-TRV22 DCR-TRV22E DCR-TRV240E
DCR-TRV24E DCR-TRV25 DCR-TRV250 DCR-TRV250E DCR-TRV255E DCR-TRV25E
DCR-TRV260 DCR-TRV265 DCR-TRV265E DCR-TRV27 DCR-TRV27E DCR-TRV33
DCR-TRV33E DCR-TRV340 DCR-TRV340E DCR-TRV361 DCR-TRV38 DCR-TRV38E
DCR-TRV39 DCR-TRV40 DCR-TRV40E DCR-TRV460 DCR-TRV460E DCR-TRV461E
DCR-TRV50 DCR-TRV50E DCR-TRV740 DCR-TRV740E DCR-TRV840 DCR-TRV940
DCR-TRV940E DCR-TRV950 DCR-TRV950E
DCR-VX DCR-VX2000
DCR-VX2000E
DCR-VX2100
DCR-VX2100E

Applicable Models
Professional Camcorder DSR-250 & DSR-250/P
DSR-PD150 & DSR-PD150P
DSR-PD170 & DSR-PD170P
DSR-PDX10 & DSR-PDX10P