Nikon Action Touch/LW35AF just died...

Huss

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I have two Nikon Action Touch cameras. One in very good shape, one that looks like new. Both have been working perfectly.
Today I took the like new one out and put some batteries in it to exercise it. The manual says to fire the flash several times a month to make sure it stays working.
Batteries in, everything seems fine. Take a few shots (dry firing no film), use the flash, no issues.
Open the back, put in a roll of film that I just use to test loading etc on all my cameras. Close back, push shutter button.
The camera is meant to automatically wind on until it shows "1". It does not. I have to push the shutter button as if I am taking regular pics to advance it to "1".
I push the rewind lever, the camera slowly (much more so than normal) rewinds.
I remove the film, close it up. Now the shutter button is jammed in the fully up position, as it if is locked. This with the camera turned on. I turn on the flash (with camera on) to see if signs of life. Nothing.

I test my very good shape one, repeating all the above including loading and rewinding the film. Everything works as it should.

So my like new one seems to have just conked out. Did obvious stuff like change batteries, fiddle with the back. Fiddle with the sprocket gears. Fiddle with the rewind button. With film in camera, with empty camera, with batteries in, with batteries out, film back open/closed. Pretty much any combination you can think of.

Did this camera really just die in my hands?!
 

Nicholas Lindan

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Batteries, and anything associated with them, are the things most prone to give problems. Try cleaning the camera's battery contacts with a Scotch Brite pad. Make sure the springy part of each contact is still springy, maybe ooch it up a bit so there is more contact pressure.

The next step involves a pentangle in the middle of the living room floor, lots of candles and, in serious cases, some chicken blood.
 

gone

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Having lived in New Orleans, I better mention that you may get much more than you bargained for w/ the candles and such. For camera issues like yours, I recommend setting the camera on a nice soft pillow, and positioning it close to your computer screen while running some relaxing yoga videos. Just try to get it in a positive space.

Or throw it in the trash and buy a new one. Lots of options here.
 
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Huss

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Tried that already, but used isopropyl alcohol and a contact scrubber.
 

Craig75

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Sounds maybe like a gear or spring is worn perhaps.

It doesn't sound terminal.
 

Nicholas Lindan

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A general comment - not really related to the present problem.

Vinegar makes a good cleaner/neutralizer for battery corrosion. Batteries usually leak an alkali (alkaline battery, says it on the side) and the vinegar converts the alkali to acetate salts. The salts don't have the same tenacity to stick to metal and wash away pretty easily - and be sure to wash them away with plenty of water or wet paper towels. For lead-acid batteries use a solution of baking soda instead.

Contact cleaners won't get rid of alkali, they are mild organic solvents, possibly with the addition of a little bit of very light oil - there is nothing special about them, buy the cheapest. The spritzing action will dislodge and flush dust and dirt. In a pinch you can use brake cleaner.

Expensive contact cleaners are a ripoff, stay away from them. They are designed for the same people who buy $100/ft wire for their loudspeakers. I can't complain, really - separating fools from their money is a civic duty as there is nothing so dangerous as a fool with money.
 

4season

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Might be fixable: I've seen plastic pinion gears in Nikon F2 drives and Pentax XZ- and MZ-series cameras develop cracks with age. These are typically small gears pressed onto a motor shaft. Sometimes the mechanism will continue to operate but other times, it may just hang up partway through a cycle, which is why you see a lot of those Pentax SLRs with the mirror stuck in the raised position.
 

BobD

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I've owned one of these and they are great shooters but, like most P&S cameras of this vintage, they are complex machines crammed into a small package with plastic parts that break.
 
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Huss

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C'mon, no-one has a magic voodoo remedy? In the line of 'did you try to turn it on standing upside down?'
No-one? This thing really died in my hands? That'll teach me to take care of my gear...
 

Craig75

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sadly not. It sounds like you're going to have to take the case off and see if anything is jammed, gunked up, springs loose, gears stripped or slipped.
 
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Huss

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Patrick Robert James said:
I bought one a few years ago and it looked brand new. Didn't work when I put batteries in it though. I only paid a few bucks for it so I just shrugged my shoulders and put it in the "I'll get around to that" pile.
Click to expand...

This one looks completely brand new. Not a mark on it. And it worked! Until yesterday...
 

Craig75

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Huss said:
Had it in the sun in 96 degree heat for a few hours. (batteries out). Then put it in the fridge. Then no difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah you're just going to have to take the case off and see what the story is (or send it away for someone to.look at). It sounds like a mechanical issue so it might be easy fix.

I'm hopeless with camera repairs but at some point I had no choice but to learn how to do simple fixes on olympus xa2s (my bag slag camera of choice). Now I can sort of keep them running. If nikon is yr weapon of choice then the gods are telling you to learn more about the beast- be one with it padawan.
 
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Huss

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I finally dropped it off at Dean's Camera Repair in Torrance. He is a certified Nikon service tech.
He was gushing over how good these cameras are - so hopefully he can fix this one!
 
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Huss

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Got the call from Dean. $215 to fix. I passed on it and said he could keep it for parts etc.
Just not worth it to me. I've got other working cameras etc and all these P&S never were built to last.
 

Moose22

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Too bad. But they're going for a bunch less than that on the ebay.

P&S are a lark for me. I just gave my Work Record to a young girl who is dying to take film pics on vacation next month and doesn't want to bring the big SLR. She was super happy, I know because as soon as she thought nobody was looking she was taking cell phone pictures of it to post on her instagram or wherever. If she breaks it -- well, who cares? It was only $35. If it keeps working she has fun and she'll bring it back and hopefully show me some fun pictures she took in Hawaii. I can't lose.

That's its job. Cheap and takes good enough pics. But when it's dead, it's pretty much a paperweight. Even the coolest point and shoots kind of fall into this category in my mind.
 
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Huss

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That's exactly it. These P&S cameras were not built to last. One argument is if I get it fixed then I know it works and everything will be great! But... everything was great until it broke out of the blue, with me just using it. So there is no guarantee that it will stay working, or be better than any $100 one that is working on ebay (and if it is not, I can return it).
It is a bummer for sure, as that camera had a great lens. But so does my Pentax WR90 which was $20! And still works. And so do my two Fuji Work Records - which still work!

So spending one Nikon F100 to fix a plastic P&S when I already have others is, dumb.

I'm just going to use the P&Ss that I have until they all eventually break. If they do. And then get another.
 
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