What's wrong with my digital camera?

Why won't digital camera firms tell me what's wrong with my camera before fixing it?

• I have an Olympus Digital SLR I bought about 3 years ago, and the pictures have become "soft". I wasn't sure if the problem was the body, one lens, or both, or if in fact I was imagining the problem. I brought the camera in to the dealer who sent it to Olympus for an estimate. I was told it would cost $399 to fix--but they would not ("could not") tell me what the problem was, only that it needed fixing. This seems like a ripoff since if I knew it was one lens, or the body only etc., I could make a good decision as to whether to repair or get new, etc. Has anyone else run into this problem? And does anyone know if there is a good and legit reason for this kind of policy--the dealer was trying to explain it to me, but I am not totally convinced! Thanks....

• Answer:

  Sometimes the reason for a problem you mention involves replacing components, just to diagnose the source of the problem. Your problem could be optical, such as a fogged lens, damaged optics, etc, or it could be electronic. It takes a lot of time to dismantle a camera, and to shorten that process certain assemblies are just replaced. I would think they should be able to tell you at least that the problem was optical or electronic. If your lenses were ever left in a hot car trunk, you may have melted the lube on the lenses that volatilized and fogged the lenses. Lenses can also develop a fungus, although that is a bit uncommon on a 3 year old lens, unless they were exposed to moisture. Look inside and through the lens with a penlight and if the lens appears foggy, this could be your problem. I would bet that the $399, is simply a flat charge and they are just swapping out the insides of your camera. I had this same problem with a Canon SLR film camera, and a visit to my Optometrist fixed that. Check and see if that camera has an adjustment on the viewfinder lens. That can compensate for a vision problem. Too much caffeine could also be the culprit ! Best wishes !