Sony Alpha 200 help

[JakeS]

I have been given a Sony Alpha 200 for free. I have no idea if it is a good camera or not I am not particularly into photography as such but it seems nice.

The only problem is the display screen has been cracked and is completely broken (nothing is displayed) I am not sure how it happened, my first thought is dropped but there is no marks on the camera shell and it does seem to work fine as a camera (not that I can find out as the battery is dead so can't get photos off)

My question is how easy is it to get a new screen and change it. It seems silly to waste a perfectly good camera if it can be fixed. But I don't want to spend too much money on fixing it to find out the internals are broken anyway.

Anyone got any idea on what I should do?

Thanks

Jake

[_dobbo_]

First - yes it's a good camera.

How do you know it works fine if the battery is dead? Have you been able to take a photo with it? If so, take the memory card out and whack it in a compooter - if you can see the photo you took then it's worth a try repairing it.

A replacement screen is pretty cheap if you are handy with a soldering iron....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OEM-NEW-SONY-ALPHA-200-FOCUS...

[JakeS]

_dobbo_ said:

First - yes it's a good camera.

How do you know it works fine if the battery is dead? Have you been able to take a photo with it? If so, take the memory card out and whack it in a compooter - if you can see the photo you took then it's worth a try repairing it.

A replacement screen is pretty cheap if you are handy with a soldering iron....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OEM-NEW-SONY-ALPHA-200-FOCUS...

Thanks. There is no memory card in it so photos are on its internal memory. It took photos then the battery died and now I can't plug it in because it doesn't turn on. All I have is the camera no leads or chargers or software. That screen is cheaper than I though! I am happy to change it myself as well.

I guess the first thing I should do is recharge the battery, and see if I can take some photos off it first before I replace the screen?

[_dobbo_]

Exactly what I'd do - a charger isn't expensive to find out where you stand:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eclipse-NP-FM500H-Battery-...

Remember that even without the screen you will still be able to use it as a perfectly good camera - it will just be like using a film camera as you can't see a preview!

[JakeS]

Thanks Ordered the charger and I shall take it from there.

[Simpo Two]

Seems odd that whoever gave you the camera didn't also give you all the bits to go with it. It's not 'Cat D' is it?

[JakeS]

Simpo Two said:

Seems odd that whoever gave you the camera didn't also give you all the bits to go with it. It's not 'Cat D' is it?

They chucked them out assuming the camera was broken and they wouldn't need it. The camera was going to go in the bin but asked to have it. I think they paid for it second hand so I have no idea about it's service history But for the sake of a few quid I though I might as well see if I can save it. I am reasonably confident that it just needs a new screen. Not that I know much about cameras!

[Simpo Two]

Even if the body is broken beyond repair you can still sell off the lens for a few tens of pounds.

[d1d215]

18-70mm go for cheap, but still. some 30-40quid.

[JakeS]

d1d215 said:

18-70mm go for cheap, but still. some 30-40quid.

Yea I think that is the lens on it. I mean considering the camera was free. as long as I get over 6 quid (the cost of the charger) I am not really that fussed! The charger should be here tomorrow so I shall see if I can take photos with it before replacing the screen.

[clonmult]

JakeS said:

_dobbo_ said:

First - yes it's a good camera.

How do you know it works fine if the battery is dead? Have you been able to take a photo with it? If so, take the memory card out and whack it in a compooter - if you can see the photo you took then it's worth a try repairing it.

A replacement screen is pretty cheap if you are handy with a soldering iron....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OEM-NEW-SONY-ALPHA-200-FOCUS...

Thanks. There is no memory card in it so photos are on its internal memory. It took photos then the battery died and now I can't plug it in because it doesn't turn on. All I have is the camera no leads or chargers or software. That screen is cheaper than I though! I am happy to change it myself as well.

I guess the first thing I should do is recharge the battery, and see if I can take some photos off it first before I replace the screen?

I think you may have a problem there .... I'll have to check with my A200 later, but afaik it doesn't have any internal memory. I'd tend to think that DSLRs don't tend to have that - its a rather bizarre feature thats typically only on compacts.

[JakeS]

OK Good news, The charger came today and I put a CF card in it and took some photos and the photos are on the CF card fine. So the camera works perfectly well . I think I will order a replacement screen so that I can see the menus and things.

clonmult - The person who gave me the camera said that they took some photos and would like them saving if possible. There was no CF in the camera so I assumed that it would have some form of internal memory. I am trying to install the sony software at the moment but It has been so long since they gave me the camera they have probably forgotten so in reality it is not an issue if they are not on there.

I am quite glad I may well end up with a camera that has cost me 30 odd quid!

[mft]

JakeS said:

clonmult - The person who gave me the camera said that they took some photos and would like them saving if possible. There was no CF in the camera so I assumed that it would have some form of internal memory. I am trying to install the sony software at the moment but It has been so long since they gave me the camera they have probably forgotten so in reality it is not an issue if they are not on there.

My a300 is CF only - no internal memory. The Sony software shouldn't make any difference - you see everything when you connect the camera and it appears as a new drive.

[JakeS]

mft said:

JakeS said:

clonmult - The person who gave me the camera said that they took some photos and would like them saving if possible. There was no CF in the camera so I assumed that it would have some form of internal memory. I am trying to install the sony software at the moment but It has been so long since they gave me the camera they have probably forgotten so in reality it is not an issue if they are not on there.

My a300 is CF only - no internal memory. The Sony software shouldn't make any difference - you see everything when you connect the camera and it appears as a new drive.

Ah great thanks. I won't bother with it now then. It picks up the CF fine and the camera works so I shall replace the screen and enjoy taking some photos!

[d1d215]

will be fun to replace it ! did you decide ? are you going to do it yourself ?

[Simpo Two]

JakeS said:

The person who gave me the camera said that they took some photos and would like them saving if possible. There was no CF in the camera so I assumed that it would have some form of internal memory.

Removing the card does not bestow a camera with internal memory

If there is an option, set the camers NOT to fire when there's no card - that will stop you thinking you're taking great shots when you're firing blanks!

[JakeS]

Simpo Two said:

JakeS said:

The person who gave me the camera said that they took some photos and would like them saving if possible. There was no CF in the camera so I assumed that it would have some form of internal memory.

Removing the card does not bestow a camera with internal memory

If there is an option, set the camers NOT to fire when there's no card - that will stop you thinking you're taking great shots when you're firing blanks!

I could not tell you what the options are as I have no screen I was unsure if the camera had an internal memory so just assumed it did as they asked for photos saving with no CF in there. I am not fussed as there is a 4GB CF in there now so I can snap away until the screen turns up.

[Simpo Two]

I just mentioned it because more than one photographer has spent all day taking photos only to not have any - there is usually a buffer memory that displays the last image, but that's it.

[Dudd]

My A200 has an on screen warning saying pic not saved, no card. But you wouldn't have seen that!

[heyho]

Well worth repairing IMO. Still going for around the £200 mark on the bay last time I checked.