Flash problems with Casio Exilim EX-S3

Patricia <pbutler111.DeleteThis@aol.com> wrote:

> I hope someone here can help me. A number of years ago, when it was
> first on the market, my boss gave me a Casio Exilim EX-S3, which I've
> used and loved ever since. I mainly use it for taking photos for eBay
> listings (I sell women's clothes). Recently I started having trouble
> with the flash not firing, resulting in lots of "black box" photos.
> Very frustrating. Since I've had the same battery since I was given
> the camera, I naturally assumed that was the problem. I went to Best
> Buy and found the replacement battery would cost $40, which I thought
> was a bit steep. I got on Amazon and found a compatible battery for
> only $8, so I grabbed it. I installed the new battery, put the camera
> in the charging base (which is where I keep the camera between uses)
> and let it charge for 24 hours or more. It was great for the first
> few photos, then I started having exactly the same problem again. Of
> course I thought, well, that's what you get for cheaping out! So I
> went to the Casio website and purchased the correct battery
> (interestingly enough, still ten bucks cheaper than Best Buy's generic
> option). Last night I started using the camera with the new battery,
> fully charged, and I'm having exactly the same problem with the
> flash. I've read all the camera's documentation and the only flash
> problems they talk about are all battery related. Since I can't
> believe I was unlucky enough to get two bad batteries in a row -- one
> generic, one from Casio -- there must be something else going on.
> Anyone have any idea what it might be? I understand the camera is now
> somewhat outdated, but it works so perfectly for my purposes that I
> really, really hate the thought of replacing it, unless fixing it is
> either impossible or too expensive to be practical.

> Thoughts?

Since it's an old camera you might have bought old batteries which has
been on the shelf for far too long. Discharging them fully by using
the flash a lot, and then recharging them again, perhaps a few times,
might improve their performance.

--
Chris Malcolm cam.DeleteThis@infirmatics.ed.ac.uk DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]
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On Wed, 5 Mar 2008 18:51:27 -0800 (PST), Patricia wrote:

> I hope someone here can help me. A number of years ago, when it was
> first on the market, my boss gave me a Casio Exilim EX-S3, which I've
> used and loved ever since. I mainly use it for taking photos for eBay
> listings (I sell women's clothes). Recently I started having trouble
> with the flash not firing, resulting in lots of "black box" photos.
> Very frustrating. Since I've had the same battery since I was given
> the camera, I naturally assumed that was the problem.

While you may have a battery related problem, there are some other
possible causes that you may want to check out.

In a series of shots, do the "black box" shots appear randomly or
is there some noticeable pattern? When the flash is needed, some
cameras won't take a picture at all until the flash capacitor is
charged. Others will, resulting in slightly to very dark shots,
depending on the length of the charge time as well as other factors.

Since you called the effect "black box", can we assume that there
was very little ambient light, and the flash would have provided
virtually all of the light? If not, what shooting mode was that
camera using, and was the EX-S3 set to force the flash to fire for
each shot or was it in an Auto-Flash mode where the camera would
decide whether to fire the flash (or not)?

Another possibility is that your batteries are OK, but the charger
isn't working properly and is only partially charging the batteries.
One way to tell (using your new battery, which we might assume to be
good) is to see how many pictures you can take without using the
flash. Your manual should give you an approximate number, and if
you get less than 1/4 the number of estimated shots, there's an
obvious problem. Another way is to see how long it takes the camera
to recharge the capacitor after firing the flash (at full power).
The manual should also state this time and have some indicator that
show when flash charging is finished, but with good batteries most
cameras will take well under 10 seconds to recharge. If yours is
taking considerably longer, you'll have to figure out a way to tell
whether you have a bad charger, all of your batteries are bad (less
likely) or the camera is at fault. If it's the camera, you could
try checking the camera's internal battery contacts. They may only
need to be cleaned.


> I understand the camera is now somewhat outdated, but it works
> so perfectly for my purposes that I really, really hate the thought
> of replacing it, unless fixing it is either impossible or too expensive
> to be practical.

If you do have to replace the camera, there's some consolation in
that many of today's cameras can do at least as well and will
probably cost much less than what you paid for the EX-S3. But
there's another option to consider. The worst, harshest light for
taking "product" pictures is produced by using a camera's internal
flash. If you use a couple of external A.C. powered lights to avoid
using the semi-functioning flash (and very inexpensive ones can do
very well), the quality of your new eBay shots might even turn out
much better than before. Several of them can cost less than a
single battery, even if you don't get them at a "discount" store.
 >> Stay informed about: Flash problems with Casio Exilim EX-S3