DX3700 Fault

I have an elderly Kodak DX3700 that has developed a fault.

Kodak want oodles of money before they'll even look at it. As I only
use it for photographing ebay stuff I'll probably take it apart and
see if anything obvious is amiss.

Photos taken indoors are generally OK-ish. However, if you take a
photo outdoors then the picture apears over exposed.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be at fault? There are no
manual settings for exposure..it's all automatic.

The camera has a light sensor on it and I'll obviously check that out.
However, I'm not sure how the exposure is actually controlled. Do
Kodak cameras generally have an electro-mechanical aperture control
(Which could be stuck?) or is it purely electronic?

Is there anything else that could be amiss?

The fault occured suddenly. I have questioned the wife and she swears
that no-one has dropped it...

sponix

I don't think it's a good idea to take a digital camera apart, even old film
cameras from the '80s were so complicated and delicate, that if you opened
them yourself they'd be destroyed (I have tried it before I got a degree,
fortunately was a kaputt camera I dropped from a high locker in a trip to
Germany).

--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
Ï "s--p--o--n--i--x" Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
...
I have an elderly Kodak DX3700 that has developed a fault.

Kodak want oodles of money before they'll even look at it. As I only
use it for photographing ebay stuff I'll probably take it apart and
see if anything obvious is amiss.

Photos taken indoors are generally OK-ish. However, if you take a
photo outdoors then the picture apears over exposed.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be at fault? There are no
manual settings for exposure..it's all automatic.

The camera has a light sensor on it and I'll obviously check that out.
However, I'm not sure how the exposure is actually controlled. Do
Kodak cameras generally have an electro-mechanical aperture control
(Which could be stuck?) or is it purely electronic?

Is there anything else that could be amiss?

The fault occured suddenly. I have questioned the wife and she swears
that no-one has dropped it...

sponix

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 15:58:27 +0300, "Dimitrios Tzortzakakis"
wrote:

I don't think it's a good idea to take a digital camera apart, even old film
cameras from the '80s were so complicated and delicate, that if you opened
them yourself they'd be destroyed (I have tried it before I got a degree,
fortunately was a kaputt camera I dropped from a high locker in a trip to
Germany).

Well, I haven't really got anything to lose. Kodak want more to look
at the camera than it is worth and it's not useable in its current
state.

"s--p--o--n--i--x" wrote in message
...
I have an elderly Kodak DX3700 that has developed a fault.

Kodak want oodles of money before they'll even look at it. As I only
use it for photographing ebay stuff I'll probably take it apart and
see if anything obvious is amiss.

Photos taken indoors are generally OK-ish. However, if you take a
photo outdoors then the picture apears over exposed.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be at fault? There are no
manual settings for exposure..it's all automatic.

The camera has a light sensor on it and I'll obviously check that out.
However, I'm not sure how the exposure is actually controlled. Do
Kodak cameras generally have an electro-mechanical aperture control
(Which could be stuck?) or is it purely electronic?

Is there anything else that could be amiss?

The fault occured suddenly. I have questioned the wife and she swears
that no-one has dropped it...

sponix


Try to take it apart if your want to. There could be a problem, in that a
on lot of the cheaper Kodak Cameras the body parts are glued together, and
do not come apart. If it can be opened, unless you lose any of the bits,
you should be able to rebuiild it with just a little bit of fiddling.

I do not know this model, but if it has a built in flash beware of the Flash
Capacitor, they do have quite a kick. It may well be located in the base of
the camera.

I would not hold out much hope of you being able to adjust anything.

Roy G

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 19:34:46 GMT, "Roy"
wrote:


Try to take it apart if your want to. There could be a problem, in that a
on lot of the cheaper Kodak Cameras the body parts are glued together, and
do not come apart. If it can be opened, unless you lose any of the bits,
you should be able to rebuiild it with just a little bit of fiddling.

This one seems to be in two halves, held together with screws.

I do not know this model, but if it has a built in flash beware of the Flash
Capacitor, they do have quite a kick. It may well be located in the base of
the camera.

Yes, I know about the flash cap.

I would not hold out much hope of you being able to adjust anything.

I have repaired conventional cameras before now and also repaired
various intricate electronic devices.

However, I'm not sure whether the fault is electronic or mechanical.
I'm trying to determine whether the camera contains a mechanical
'iris' before taking it apart. If it does then I'd start by looking in
this area.

If it's purely electronic then I'll concentrate my attentions on the
electronic/light metering side of things.

Does anyone know whether the exposure control on a bottom of the range
Kodak digi cam is likely to be mechanical or electronic?

sPoNiX

"s--p--o--n--i--x" wrote in message
...
I have an elderly Kodak DX3700 that has developed a fault.

Kodak want oodles of money before they'll even look at it. As I only
use it for photographing ebay stuff I'll probably take it apart and
see if anything obvious is amiss.

Photos taken indoors are generally OK-ish. However, if you take a
photo outdoors then the picture apears over exposed.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be at fault? There are no
manual settings for exposure..it's all automatic.

The camera has a light sensor on it and I'll obviously check that out.
However, I'm not sure how the exposure is actually controlled. Do
Kodak cameras generally have an electro-mechanical aperture control
(Which could be stuck?) or is it purely electronic?

Is there anything else that could be amiss?

The fault occured suddenly. I have questioned the wife and she swears
that no-one has dropped it...

sponix

I have never been inside a digital Camera, but the Kodak APS were almost
entirely electonic, with practically no adjustable bits. Apart from an
unbelivably complicated inter lock system at the Cassette compartment.

There will probably be one Flexible CB with some Modules attached. The
"Taking" module, with the Ccd, will probably also include the Exposure
control, and will be entirely electronic.

On the middle range P & S 35s and on APS there was often no separate Iris,
the electronic shutter blades varied the size of the opening. The higher the
shutter speed the smaller the lens opening, (Auto Program).

Of course this kind of Digicam will not have any kind of shutter.

I don't think you will be able to fix it, but you might have fun trying.

Roy G

"s--p--o--n--i--x" wrote in message
...
I have an elderly Kodak DX3700 that has developed a fault.

Kodak want oodles of money before they'll even look at it. As I only
use it for photographing ebay stuff I'll probably take it apart and
see if anything obvious is amiss.

Photos taken indoors are generally OK-ish. However, if you take a
photo outdoors then the picture apears over exposed.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be at fault? There are no
manual settings for exposure..it's all automatic.

The camera has a light sensor on it and I'll obviously check that out.
However, I'm not sure how the exposure is actually controlled. Do
Kodak cameras generally have an electro-mechanical aperture control
(Which could be stuck?) or is it purely electronic?

Is there anything else that could be amiss?

The fault occured suddenly. I have questioned the wife and she swears
that no-one has dropped it...

sponix

I have never been inside a digital Camera, but the Kodak APS were almost
entirely electonic, with practically no adjustable bits. Apart from an
unbelivably complicated inter lock system at the Cassette compartment.

There will probably be one Flexible CB with some Modules attached. The
"Taking" module, with the Ccd, will probably also include the Exposure
control, and will be entirely electronic.

On the middle range P & S 35s and on APS there was often no separate Iris,
the electronic shutter blades varied the size of the opening. The higher the
shutter speed the smaller the lens opening, (Auto Program).

Of course this kind of Digicam will not have any kind of shutter.

I don't think you will be able to fix it, but you might have fun trying.

Roy G

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:19:45 GMT, (s--p--o--n--i--x)
wrote:

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 19:34:46 GMT, "Roy"
wrote:


Try to take it apart if your want to. There could be a problem, in that a
on lot of the cheaper Kodak Cameras the body parts are glued together, and
do not come apart. If it can be opened, unless you lose any of the bits,
you should be able to rebuiild it with just a little bit of fiddling.

This one seems to be in two halves, held together with screws.

I do not know this model, but if it has a built in flash beware of the Flash
Capacitor, they do have quite a kick. It may well be located in the base of
the camera.

Yes, I know about the flash cap.

I would not hold out much hope of you being able to adjust anything.

I have repaired conventional cameras before now and also repaired
various intricate electronic devices.

However, I'm not sure whether the fault is electronic or mechanical.
I'm trying to determine whether the camera contains a mechanical
'iris' before taking it apart. If it does then I'd start by looking in
this area.

If it's purely electronic then I'll concentrate my attentions on the
electronic/light metering side of things.

Does anyone know whether the exposure control on a bottom of the range
Kodak digi cam is likely to be mechanical or electronic?

I couldn't provoke it by artificial light, but I'm pretty sure (with
screen on) the camera makes a mechanical noise on panning between a
room interior and a bright window - I suspect there is a simple two
step aperture or flter.

Repeat that action several times, and if it's just got sticky, it may
clear it.

--
I may be dozzzy, but take the ZZZ's out to mail me
http://www.junkroom.freeserve.co.uk/jvc2080.htm - 2x2x24 CD-RW troubles

If you drop a cactus, don't try to catch it!

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:19:45 GMT, (s--p--o--n--i--x)
wrote:

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 19:34:46 GMT, "Roy"
wrote:


Try to take it apart if your want to. There could be a problem, in that a
on lot of the cheaper Kodak Cameras the body parts are glued together, and
do not come apart. If it can be opened, unless you lose any of the bits,
you should be able to rebuiild it with just a little bit of fiddling.

This one seems to be in two halves, held together with screws.

I do not know this model, but if it has a built in flash beware of the Flash
Capacitor, they do have quite a kick. It may well be located in the base of
the camera.

Yes, I know about the flash cap.

I would not hold out much hope of you being able to adjust anything.

I have repaired conventional cameras before now and also repaired
various intricate electronic devices.

However, I'm not sure whether the fault is electronic or mechanical.
I'm trying to determine whether the camera contains a mechanical
'iris' before taking it apart. If it does then I'd start by looking in
this area.

If it's purely electronic then I'll concentrate my attentions on the
electronic/light metering side of things.

Does anyone know whether the exposure control on a bottom of the range
Kodak digi cam is likely to be mechanical or electronic?

I couldn't provoke it by artificial light, but I'm pretty sure (with
screen on) the camera makes a mechanical noise on panning between a
room interior and a bright window - I suspect there is a simple two
step aperture or flter.

Repeat that action several times, and if it's just got sticky, it may
clear it.

--
I may be dozzzy, but take the ZZZ's out to mail me
http://www.junkroom.freeserve.co.uk/jvc2080.htm - 2x2x24 CD-RW troubles

If you drop a cactus, don't try to catch it!

Greetings Spoonix,

I can appreciate your frustration over the malfunction of your camera.

Without a review there is no way to tell what might have happened. So, to
complete this review, it is necessary to get your camera into our service
center, test the camera, dismantle it, check components, evaluate them,
replace any necessary parts, test and calibrate, reassemble, retest, and
return to you. The labor to do this - it can't really be automated - is
where most of the cost is associated. You will note that the cost of repair
for most cameras falls into a similar cost structure with variables based on
which model is involved.

To avoid this cost, Kodak offers a $50 value for your camera that might not
be working, or even if damaged by water or dropping etc. You can use that
value in trade for a newer model.

If you think I can help, Spoonix, let me know.

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company



"s--p--o--n--i--x" wrote in message
...
I have an elderly Kodak DX3700 that has developed a fault.

Kodak want oodles of money before they'll even look at it. As I only
use it for photographing ebay stuff I'll probably take it apart and
see if anything obvious is amiss.

Photos taken indoors are generally OK-ish. However, if you take a
photo outdoors then the picture apears over exposed.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be at fault? There are no
manual settings for exposure..it's all automatic.

The camera has a light sensor on it and I'll obviously check that out.
However, I'm not sure how the exposure is actually controlled. Do
Kodak cameras generally have an electro-mechanical aperture control
(Which could be stuck?) or is it purely electronic?

Is there anything else that could be amiss?

The fault occured suddenly. I have questioned the wife and she swears
that no-one has dropped it...

sponix