Faulty Sony CCDs Fail in Dozens of Cameras?

October 27, 2005 By Geoff Duncan

Seven digital camera makers have issued recent advisories about faulty CCDs in their digital cameras: it looks like a Sony part may be the root of the trouble.

In the last few weeks, digital camera makers Sony, Konica Minolta, Nikon (Europe and Japan), Olympus (Japanese only), Canon, Fujifilm, and Ricoh have all issued service advisories covering several of their camera models, citing the cameras’ sudden failure to record images, or to snap distorted pictures or images with a strong purple cast. The failures effectively render the cameras useless. In classic “stealth recall” move, most companies are typically offering to repair the defective cameras free of charge regardless of warranty status, but are coy about admitting to the problem, presumably because the extent of the failures may show the company or their products in a bad light.

The problem, currently being reported by the Wall Street Journal (registration required) but originally reported and developed by the digital imaging Web site The Imaging Resource, seems to stem from selected CCD image sensors manufactured by Sony between October 2002 and March 2004, which could have been used in cameras available for retail sale as late as mid-2005, and are currently available on the used camera market. Certain camera lines (listed below) have been specifically mentioned in customer advisories, but a number of cameras manufactured during the same date range are completely unaffected and not subject to this failure.

Sony is one of the few companies which manufactured CCDs on a large scale, and its parts are used in cameras and devices from a variety of other manufacturers. Sony itself used the parts in CLI

Showing 58 comments

phil at 10:12am 20th January 2009 My Nikon Coolpix 5400 developed this fault with purple lines across the screen. Contacted Nikon and they responded in less than an hour with offer to repair for free and also sent this link.

https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nikoneurope_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=20603&p_created=1167746942
chris at 6:35am 4th October 2008 My Canon IXUS IIs went faulty in August, unable to take new pics (strippy lines) but playback of old pics okay.

Saw the product advisory on the Canon product support web site so took Camera to authorised repair centre in Colchester.

They got in touch within a couple of weeks, unable to repair due to lack of replacement sensors, so offered a refurbished IXUS 70, replacement, free of charge!

Very happy! 7.1Mp camera, more features, looks brand new. Didn't cost a penny.

Would definitely buy Canon again!!
Lynne at 3:24pm 19th September 2008 I have a Konica Minolta A1 bought May 2004 worked well until last November. Didn't take in for repair until May of this year. Then learned of the CCD problem. Mine does not take photos and shows black screen. But it is able to show previous photos on the memory card. Sent to local repair shop who sent back telling me part not available. Then tried Sony who sent to Florida who also sent it back with comment UNREPAIRED DUE TO PARTS N/A. But no one will tell me what part is not working and why they quit making parts for a camera that cost me over $800 Canadian less than 4 years ago. How do I find out if it is the CCD or another part?
Mark at 11:52am 29th August 2008 I have a Konica Minolta A1. I rarely use the camera but when I do I need it. Last year the problem with the bad CCD chip showed up in my camera. I did not know of the CCD chip problem at the time. A few months later I decided to see if I could get the camera fixed and was made aware of the defective CCD. I guess living in AZ it took longer to show up.
My problem is that I was never notified of this and now that I try to get it fixed, Sony says it will cost me $211 (flat fee).
It seems there was some settlement and the date for free fixes has lapsed.
Well I was not notified and I did not agree to the settlement. Anyone know of another path to get the camera fixed? I'm looking at small claims court with the defendant being Konica Minolta but they are in Japan.
Gareth at 7:41am 16th July 2008 Thanks for this informative thread and keeping it alive - my IXUS 500 CCD recently failed after a humid and hot trip in Phuket. I now have purple lines across the top eighth of the image. I went to the Canon pages and was offered the option to take my Canon to a repairer for free and they will repair:

"Thank you for using one of our Canon products.
It has been found, that in rare case, some of the CCDs, used in Canon digital camera and digital video cameras, have a problem that causes abnormal image output.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Canon will offer free repairs where an error is caused by this malfunction.

Canon would like to advise our customers of the details of this issue and our policy for handling it.

Problem details:
Among the CCDs used in the affected products, it has been confirmed that in extremely rare cases, under high-temperature/high-humidity environments, some of the internal wiring comes off.

If this defect occurs, the signal is not output from the CCD correctly when in shooting mode. This results in image abnormalities such as:
Images do not appear
Image colors are abnormal
Images appear distorted
These symptoms can be confirmed on the LCD monitor.
Solution:
We kindly request users who have confirmed these symptoms to contact the nearest Canon Service Centre.

Free repairs will be made for affected products in cases where it has been confirmed that the internal CCD wiring has come off.
Last modified date: 07-Jun-07"

Thank you again - I'm off to a Canon repairer to hopefully get my otherwise solid IXUS fixed!

cheers
G
Pat at 9:32am 14th July 2008 I have had two cameras fail because of a black screen. The first one was my Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-Shot Sony sent a shipping label and it was sent to Texas for repair. I was happy when it was returned as I really liked the camera. I They repaired it June 2007. June 2008 same problem Black screen on both the View finder and the LCD Screen which renders the camera useless. Sony sent me a shipping label and the camera was returned June 3 2008 twenty nine pictures later the same problem. Called Sony and they told me to take the battery out and push the reset button and I did and the camera worked for 10 minutes and the black screen appeared again. Sent the camera back for the third time and was promised a new replacement camera but since they didn't make the Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-Shot they would call me and tell me what type of camera they'd sent. I just got a UPS notification and they are shipping the camera back for the third time. I don't think they are replacing the sensor chip with a redesigned part I think they are using the same bad chips.

The second camera I purchased in Oregon when the my Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-Shot failed the first time. My husband and I had taken our two grandchildren for a once in a life time trip for us with these two grandchildren from Pa to Oregon in a camper. So when the camera failed I purchased a Canon Poweshot S3IS. I used it but for the remainder of the trip and when I got home and researched the Sony and found out about the trouble I contacted and that is when I sent my Sony back. So I have been using the Sony and Canon switching back and forth with the cameras. I have had this camera for about 18 months and last week when the Sony was in for the third time I went to use my Canon only to find it also was useless as it had a blacek screen. I contacted Canon and was told they'd send me a label. Just got a response from Canon, They will repair it for $155.82 or get a refurbished one for $169.00.

I think they all need to stand behind their products
Pat
C
Margaret Mc at 2:37pm 6th April 2008 Hi I have a Canon Powershot A70 which started getting lines across it and if you took the picture while it was like that they came out on the picture. This was a while ago. But if you left it for about 5 minutes and tried again it went right. This gradually got worse and now it is all across all of the screen. We decided as we only use it occasionally to get another from ebay and when we started looking we found loads on there being sold for spares with the same fault. I did a search and came across this web site. Did anyone get their Canon camera repaired and were they charged. Any further help on this please!
Jane at 10:16am 13th March 2008 Thank you for the article which has helped me understand the cause of streaky dark pictures, missing images and strong wide purple green casts on my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 5.0MP camera.

The large number of cameras affected by the faulty CCD image sensor may help my pursuit of repairs from Sony in Australia.
Tony at 7:22am 19th November 2007 I have a canon PowerShot A70 that I purchased new that I dropped several days after purchasing back in 2004. The camera has worked flawlessly up until a few weeks ago when it started with the faulty CCD symptoms. The camera is in very good condition with the exception of a small crack in the case and now I wonder if Canon will tell me that this issue is due to the camera being dropped and not with the faulty CCD. Anyone have any advise?
graham hills at 9:53am 16th November 2007 Re Barbs problem with the Fuji S7000: if re-chargeable Ni-MH batteries are being used discharge them using the camera facilities and then re-charge/discharge/re-charge them. This worked for me, good luck.

Regards

Fenman
graham hills at 9:53am 16th November 2007 Re B Hathaway's Fuji S7000 problem: I seem to have resolved an identical problem by fully discharginging the Ni-MH re-chargeable batteries through the camera facility then re charging/discharging them again. Hope this works for you.
Janice Howell at 11:37am 31st August 2007 In response to Bob on Aug 31st, 2007 at 12:17 AM
Did it take long to get camera returned?
Took a look at the SD630 - it sure looks like a nicer camera than the S230 - except for the plastic case. Hope they replace mine for this one. Happy shooting.
BOB at 12:17am 31st August 2007 I had the exact same problem as Janice. Canon Powershot S230. Same procedure, got free shipping label, they said they would fix it and return it. Finally got it shipped back to find they replaced it with a refurbished SD630. I can't complain. It's a 3 year newer camera. Only problem is the SD630 uses SD memory instead of compact flash, so I had to buy a bigger SD memory, although it came with a 16MB SD card and battery, etc. Anyway, great customer service. I'd definitely buy Canon again!
Janice Howell at 4:44am 30th August 2007 Canon powershot s230 failed while camping in hot humid environment - distorted images with blotches/waves of purple/green hues - known good images will display normally on screen. Was going to discard camera but decided to google problem and ended up at canon web site (USA) they have advisory for this CCD failure. I communicated by email at carecenter@cits.canon.com (they also have 800 number) response was quick and they sent prepaid label thru email - they will repair and pay for shipping, regardless of warrenty or proof of purchase. I received repair number for tracking and estimate is 7-10 days - I am sort of hoping they will just send new camera as I have heard this may happen. Include battery/sd card as per instructions on repair order. Many major brands are affected by this sensor failure especially apparently in hot humid environments - so check online before you throw out you digital camera. Hope this helps, Janice
Howard Gourley at 4:14pm 29th July 2007 I have a Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-Shot That just sitting in the closet it now just has a blur on the LCD, sometimes will show picture taken at a earlier time. Help Howard
Rod Letts at 9:14pm 10th July 2007 My Sony DSC-F717 camera had a CCD failure. Sony Australia sent my to their service agents here in Melbourne and the CCD was replaced at no charge. I agreed to pay $80 for a clean and general service while the camera was dissasembled. The work was carried out as agreed and the camera is working really well, I would like to thank Sony and European Electronics for their prompt and professional service, (not always easy to get in this day and age). Rod Letts
B. Hathaway at 8:00am 6th July 2007 Fuji Finepix S7000 - July 5, 2007 Today the CCD on the camera developed horizontal white lines, and then big distortions like waves with fringe. Purple and green when saved. The warranty has expired. Does anyone know if it can be repaired, or how much it costs?
Thanks for any info at all, Barb
vanessa at 12:42am 19th June 2007 My Nikon Coolpix 5700 started producing the strange pics with the white lines through it a couple of months ago & I kept putting it off to get repaired as I thought it would cost me a fortune. Took it to the Nikon repair centre (Camera Clinic) in Collingwood (Melb, Australia) and they immediately told me it was a fault with the image sensor and they will repair it free of charge. Why didn't I go there earlier!!? LOL Great Service :-)
Rod Letts at 7:27pm 10th June 2007 My Sony DSC-F717 has developed the CCD fault.
I have contacted Sony Australia and will post the outcome of this dilemma. Otherwise a great camera.
Carleigh McCabe at 2:34pm 3rd June 2007 I have a Canon Digital IXUS IIs. A nice purplish haze on the lcd with the pics to prove it. This explains why the Canon site was so ******* helpful. Jerks.
Steve at 5:18am 21st March 2007 Has anyone had this problem with a HP Photosmart 935 ?

Thanks
Serg at 1:00pm 18th March 2007 Hey, I'v found some information for repair my SONY-DSC717. If you need it, you can check it here:
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity...
or
http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?templat...
Serg at 11:58am 18th March 2007 I have the camera Sony DSC F-717. About one year ago it started doing the same thing. I didn't know what happened. Now I guess the problem is a defective CCD.
Where should I send it for repair? I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Serg at 11:58am 18th March 2007 I have the camera Sony DSC F-717. About one year ago it started doing the same thing. I didn't know what happened. Now I guess the problem is a defective CCD.
Where should I send it for repair? I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks!
Edwin Graham at 5:24pm 17th March 2007 I have a Nikon 5700 that has the same problems as expressed by others. Black screen with flickering lines running through it.
I have not used the camera for several months due to this problem. I( am encouraged by the feedback from other Nikon 5700 owners.
I will contact the Nikon repair facility on the 19th of March.
Ed Graham

I hope they are accepting responsibility for this fiasco CCD and will make repairs for free.
kim at 6:43pm 13th March 2007 I purchase a konica minolta dimage e40 digital camera in April, 2005 and in November, 2006 the camera shows distorted pictures. I have asked Sony if this camera is also under warranty since they took over Konica and they said "no" because it wasn't one that is listed. It appears to me that the camera also has a faulty ccd and they are not willing to warranty this one. Not sure why they wouldn't as this is not good for Sony's reputation. All Konica Minolta products should be under warranty and not just some.
Liam at 4:11pm 25th February 2007 i have the problem with my jvc camera but i live in the UK. the site says US only, is it a us manufacture problem?
cheers
liam
Bob Emmerich at 9:26am 25th February 2007 I find it interesting how this is a year old story from 2005 but many of these comments are from late 2006 and early 2007. I have a JVC GR-D33US which just developed this problem yesterday. Here's a link to JVCs site:
http://www.jvcservice.com/service/custnoticecamcor...
Rick Broussard at 6:14pm 8th February 2007 Image is blurry
Rick Broussard at 6:14pm 8th February 2007 Image is blurry!
Onesmus Imbili at 1:13am 30th January 2007 I have a sony DSC P12, that I bought in 2003. Since the whole of last year I didn't use it bescause the same problem mentioned above. Now since I am not in position of the receit as prove purchase what must do. Where should I send it for repair since I am not residing the in the country were I bought it.
Sylvie at 7:22am 28th January 2007 Hello,
I have a canon Ixus 700, one night i was using it with no problem and the day after, when I wanted to look at the pictures taken, the screen was just white, impossible to replay anything. Then I tried to shoot pictures, same problem, the screen wouldn't show anything.
I'm going to contact Canon, and I hope they'll do something about it. My camera is only 18 months old.
Anybody having that camera experiencing the same problem?
Liam at 9:21am 26th January 2007 -in response to cameraengineer's comments - Jan 23rd, 2007 at 6:30 AM.

i have a JVC GR-DX95EK DV cam. The image is horizontally streaky. is this a problem with the sony chip? should i contact JVC or Sony?
The camera is way out of warinty.
Any ideas? Thank you for your help.
David at 8:37pm 25th January 2007 I have a problem with my Canon Digital IXUS II. The problem is that the image that i want to take out is not appearing on the LCD screen. However, the previous photos that i have taken can be viewed on the replay mode. Is this a sensor problem? Can you please advise on this situation?
Steve McNeil at 6:30am 23rd January 2007 This is an update to my comments dated 18 Dec 06 (5:15 pm). I received my Nikon 5400 in the mail last week and it is working again flawlessly. I have put it through its paces for the last 6 days and it works like it just came off the assembly line. Nikon will stand by thier product and make the repair "Complimentary" provided you stick by your guns. Power to the consumer!
cameraengineer at 4:58am 18th January 2007 hi folks
the problem with imager breakdown is on a truly
massive scale i have replaced hundreds of them
in various brands of movie and still camera.
the worst offenders seem to be sony canon jvc
minolta, panasonic to a lesser extent and various others.
some manufactures seem happy to let their service repair agents do the work others doggedly want all of them back to repair themselves.
Edwin at 2:28pm 16th January 2007 My Sony DSC f-717 started doing the same thing. Sending it off to Sony today. I've removed the battery, memory card, straps, lens cover, etc.

I'm not sure if they are going to send me mine back, repaired, or send me another unit already repaired.

Fingers crossed. Mines in excellent condition otherwise.
1. Diane at 8:40pm 19th June 2010 How did Sony handle your camera? I am sending mine out on Monday for the same repair.
maniny at 2:18pm 16th January 2007 Same problem with Nikon 5400. Answare from Nikon service europe-have to pay 160 pounds.
Tony at 2:25am 14th January 2007 Same problem showed up on my Panasonic
NV-GS200 The local authorised repairer replaced the chip at no charge after approval from Panasonic.
Jules at 1:35pm 9th January 2007 Regarding the 5400 dead CCD issue:

I too contacted Nikon USA Support. They asked that I send in the camera. I was then informed that it would be $150 to repair (via their very cool support website that allows one to check on the status of their camera).

I responded with several links to sites discussing the 5400/dead CCD issue, as well as several links to dead 5400's on eBay that had the same symptoms. I told them that there was clearly a problem with the 5400 CCDs and that the repair ought to be free.

Support sent me a note saying that the 5400 is not part of the Service Advisory Program.

I responded with the links again (plus a few more) and requested that I be escalated to a higher level before I sought 3rd-party assistance.

They sent me back word that the camera would be repaired free of charge in the interest of good customer relations. They did repair the camera and shipped it back - no charge.

Do your research, be polite, be persistent.
ken Russel-Jones at 10:55pm 8th January 2007 Can anyone say when this fault was first made public?
My Nikon 5700 has just developed the same problem and I'm pursuing this with the seller under UK Trading Standards, so far, the firm doesn't want to know and deny all knowledge of this problem claiming they have sold hundreds without a single complaint. I bet!
krj
Ginette at 9:00am 3rd January 2007 Only today I received an answer from Nikon France, they ask me 201,79 € to repair, but I don't know that they will do, it's a fixed rate.
The life of this camera is two years
sam chicken at 10:21am 2nd January 2007 I too have an 18 month old Nikon CP-5400 with the same black image/no image problem most likely due to a defective CCD. It seems this is beyond a common problem with this camera from looking at various camera forums. I believe a class action suit is in order as I don't want to pay $170 back to Nikon for their making a defective camera.....I was a previous Minolta owner on the SLR side, but now that they have sold the camera business to Sony I may have to consider Canon as Sony and Nikon don;'t seem to stand behind their product lines.
Dave Miles at 5:13am 30th December 2006 my very well cared for little used nikon coolpix 5400 recently started producing pictures that are just a lot of horizontal lines. I phoned nikon about this they were not helpful and insisted that they did not have any problems with this model. DO YOU KNOW OF ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODEL
Rafael M at 7:50am 29th December 2006 My FujiFilm F700 is one on the list as well. Purchased 2 years ago this month, the CCD went bad on me one week before Christmas. I called Fuji and they told me to send it in. My serial # is not in the range of the bad chips but it is the same exact problem. Hopefully they'll fix it. The camera has been great up to the chip going bad. I could use this camera for another few years as it has everything that I need. Do you have any feedback as to lifespan of the new CCD chips?
Steve McNeil at 3:15pm 18th December 2006 I shipped my Nikon coolpix off to Nikon about 8 days ago and I received a letter advising me the estimated repair would cost $170.00. I call their tool free number and complained to the service representative that I was well aware of the problems Nikon and Sony were having with the CCDs and that I wanted my camera repaired at not charge. Of course the service rep said he could not promise anything however my concerns would be relayed to the appropriate management for resolution. I for one will definitley vote with my dollars if Nikon (a multi-millon dollar conglomerate) refuses to make the repair at no charge to me. Hopefully Nikon is not going the way of some other legendary manufactures who try to survive on their name only versus backing up their product when they know there is a possible defect in the manufacturing process (i.e. bad/defective CCDs).
Chris Jaschick at 3:38am 3rd December 2006 I am experiencing the same problem with my 18 month old camera. I call Nikon and ref Ans. ID 13688. Even though its the exact same they will not honor and fix. I think it is time to initiate a class action suit against Nikon.
Vishant at 4:06pm 29th November 2006 Hi, My 18 month old 5400 coolpix also started displaying the same CCD symptoms. Per advice from Nikon support, I sent the camera for evaluation and now they are asking me for $173 for repairs. I have seen several users report on imaging forums that they managed to get Nikon to fix their 5400 for free for the same CCD issue. Whom should we contact? Whats the process to be followed. It is ironic that Nikon is asking us to pay for faulty parts that were put in our camera's.
Ginette at 11:03am 29th November 2006 I own a Nikon Coolpix 5400, which has started showing the exact same imaging problems as other camera makes using Sony CCDs. But NIKON FRANCE says us that it's not in the list. Are we sure that the CCD is the same as the sony Cybershot DSC-V1. Where we can find this information.
Susan at 3:05am 20th November 2006 Gentlemen, I am also going through this with Nikon in regards to my Coolpix 5400. I called them, was given information to send the camera in advising them that I did not have the proof the purchase as it was gift. Sent the camera in exactly the way the told me to, recieved my 'service order' stating I did not send the flash card or the battery (which I did because I was told to) and the cost to me will be $162.50. I called them back and now have to wait to find out if they will repair/replace the camera under warranty.
owen at 2:51pm 30th September 2006 AGeorge, i'd appreciate some guidance on your repair experience. who did you contact? how? i see nothing about this on the nikon site. i dearly loved my 5400 until it let me down this past weekend at the beach. yeah it was hot and humid, apparently perfect for melting CCDs.
AGeorge at 6:31pm 29th September 2006 An update on my Nikon 5400. I finally sent my camera to Nikon Service and they have agreed to fix it at no charge. Bottom line, even though Nikon does not have a service advisory on the 5400, I beleive they will fix it for free since it's a known CCD issue. I retract my comment on not purchasing another Nikon.
Tom at 8:07pm 18th September 2006 This needs to be esculated to someone higher on the food chain, I contacted Nikon USA today, went through the contless steps of turning on and off my camera removing the memory card, etc. Nikon stated that I will need to send this in, then be left wondering if I will have to pay for this? Let alone look for my "Proof of Purchase." Great Customer Service Nikon!

Regards
Tom
AGeorge at 4:20am 7th September 2006 My 18 month old Nikon 5400 just started to have imaging problems. The problem is identical to the other Nikons with a service advisory. I have to beleive this camera also has the defective SONY CCD. My dilema is wether to repair it or buy a new one. This is my last Nikon.
Steve Schaut at 10:51am 27th August 2006 I own a Nikon Coolpix 5400, which has started showing the exact same imaging problems as other camera makes using Sony CCDs. This camera uses the same SuperHAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) 1/1.8", 5.2 MP CCD as does the Sony Cybershot DSC-V1 camera (which is listed as an affected product). However, the Nikon service advisory does NOT include the Coolpix 5400 camera in there list of cameras in the service advisory). So Nikon will not authorize a CCD replacement, but told me to send my camera in for "evaluation".

With all the cover-up and no RECALL announcement, how can I trust Nikon with this "evaluation", when they can instead blame something else and charge me for repairs?

I tried contacting Sony, but if it's not one of their cameras, they won't even send me a replacement CCD (which is just as well--it might be from the same defective batches).

Frustrating!

Which camera manufacturere are there that do NOT, never have, and never will use Sony CCDs?
Ian Bell and Dan Gaul at 9:26pm 10th December 2005 Tell Meridion that you will report them to the BBB and the Attorney General. That will turn some heads ;)
Steve Drewes at 7:44pm 10th December 2005 I have a digital camera bearing the "Medion" brand name. The camera uses a 4.1 MP Sony sensor chip which has failed. Medion, unlike reputable manufacturers, has opted to ignore this Sony chip problem. It's policy is that if the camera is over a year old they don't want to hear about it. Any suggestions?