Can you tell me what's wrong with my camera and where I can get it looked at?

[D]

I have a Sony DSC-F717 and for the price and my use had been an overall good camera (in terms of image quality). Where it has fallen short (way short much like most of my Sony experiences) is reliability. It stopped shooting once some time ago, and had to be fixed (I dont remember/know what the problem was then).

Now once again it is not working. I have no idea what is wrong with it and if it can even be fixed or even worth fixing.

I am attaching sample images, maybe this looks familiar to some. Thanks.


This is the first bad picture it took:




I tried resetting it via unplugging battery but no real change.

[Jeremy]

It looks to me like it's actual hardware damage, perhaps to the sensor itself. You have all sorts of problems from what appears to be high noise (typically caused by shooting at a high ISO) along with vignetting and purple fringing. I would call Helix or Sony and see if they have any recommendations on where to fix it, although I suspect it may not be worth the coin to do so.

[D]

Just went on Sony's website and got the following estimate:

Model Number: DSCF717
Purchase Date:
Warranty Status: Out of Warranty
Repair Service Cost: $231.00 (plus any applicable tax)

So unless someone knows how to fix it for cheper then I am thinking it isint worth dealing with especially considering that the street value of this camera is probably less than $200.

A Canon XSi witha kit lense costs about $640 so taking away $250 from that means that I would only spend an extra $400 to buy a brand new quality SLR camera.

So any thoughts?

[Jeremy]

For 230 that doesnt make much sense...

[D]

I got another estimate from some chinese guy - $155.

I am still thinking about passing.

[D]

Just a quick update. I decided to just buy a Canon 40D. So far very happy with that decision. I will probably try and sell the other one for parts. Anyone interested?