April 30, 2005

Digital Camera Woes Finally, finally I got my Ebay camera in the mail! Hurray! My very first digital camera! But wait, it is used, and has no user guide, no handy dandy quick reference, no cables, no nothing. Help? (more of course inside)

It is a Canon A310 Powershot. I downloaded the user guide off the Canon site, okay, but it isn't very helpful, since it's kind of written in tech-ese and I am not very techy, or, let's be honest, usually much of a directions kind of girl. So I tried just messing around with it. Every time I hit the take-a-picture button on the top, it shuts itself off completely. Broken? Low batteries? And, it has no cord to hook it up to the computer. What do I need? Where can I get it? What happens then? I want to take and upload pictures, like now! Can some kind monkeys please walk me through the process of taking and then uploading a simple picture with this thing? And oh yes, it came complete with some pictures of kind of scary looking people on it. Just the kind of people who might well hock their camera in Texas, from whence it came to Ebay and to me - how do I make their pictures go away? Thank you!

posted by mygothlaundry 19 years ago
  • The screen on the camera should have some sort of battery indicator, especially when you turn it on. as far as cables, there are two options: it uses compact flash cards, so you could get a usb card reader and take the card out of the camera and put it in the card reader or you could get a cable like this (only you probably don't need one that long) IF the camera uses a standard connector. Anyone know if Canon cameras use standard connectors?
  • I have a PowerShot S410, which uses a compact flash card just like yours. If you're missing the cables to connect it to your computer I'd recommend just buying a cheap card reader like this. In whatever mode you were in while looking at the previous owners photos, press function to delete the picture you're looking at (on my camera I have to confirm the deletion by pressing Set, I imagine it'll be the same for you)
  • What a wacky coincidence - my friend just got a display model of the same camera today. Also sans cords, manuals, etc. I let her borrow my USB 7-in-1 card reader so she could get the pictures directly off of her compact flash card, so I would 3rd that idea. I'm not sure if it has a standard connector, jccalhoun. My friend and I both came to the conclusion that a card reader would likely be cheaper than a replacement cord, in case it's not standard. Low batteries may be the cause of it turning itself off. Have you tried fresh ones yet?
  • Oh, and on the topic of batteries, you'll probably want to look into getting some nice rechargeables in the near future. For now, though, during the testing it out phase, alkalines should be fine. And if I were you, I wouldn't delete the scary photos. I would upload them, too, so that the whole world can enjoy the scariness. I'm one of those people who love found objects, though.
  • I have a Powershot A300 and it often turns itself off if it has low batteries right before I try to take a picture. usually the light next to the viewfinder flashes red first tho (as opposed to green which is what it does when usually taking a picture.) In addition to a compactflash reader, you should be able to get a USB hookup cable that plugs directly into the side of the camera. Might be cheaper, I dunno. Ever since my compactflash reader broke, I just keep the card in the camera and use the USB cable to transfer all my pictures directly. Whatev.
  • http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/henrys/index.jsp You can find any manual through henrys i believe. Onyl place to go in the GTA (greater Toronto Area), besides the pawn shops.
  • mgl - I have a different Canon PowerShot, but I can see from this picture at the Steve's Digicams pages that you linked to, that the plug looks like mine - it's a "USB mini-b 5-pin" Here's one place you can get one (TigerDirect) With the cable, you'll probably need a driver (maybe not if you have WinXP or MacOSX) - pick "Drivers" from this Canon web page. You'll probably be able to get the images off the camera with that, but to make it even easier, you're going to want the software that comes with the camera - and I couldn't find it anywhere on the 'net (just the upgrades if you already had the software) - so perhaps you could call Canon and see if there's a way to get a copy. (from their site: For toll-free technical support, please call 1 (800) 828-4040 during regular business hours (currently Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 midnight. EST, Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., excluding holidays).)
  • What they said ... but more specifically. You need a 5-pIn USB 2.0 cable some Compact Flash Cards, and some recahrgeable battery power. A USBII cable is worth about 10 bucks retail, as are the AA LI/IO battery packs. Memory cards are dropping rapidly in price, it's easy to get a 128 meg card on promo for less than $40 CDN these days. Carry two at all times; one in the camera, and one for backup. Remember though to not keep all your eggs in one basket. Its always better to carry two 64 meg cards rather than one 128 meg card. The advice about card readers is sound, but a cable is more versatile, especially when travelling. Also, you will need a wagon-load of rechargeable Lithium-Ion AA Batteries. Digital cameras suck power worse than Halliburton. I recommend a minimum of six. Two in the camera, two fully-charged on standby, and one in the charger. Plus a charger or two,naturally. Depends on whether you drive a car, and if the lighter socket works. All these accessories carry very high margins,and are easily discountable. I sell a quick-charging, 2200 milli/amp-hour, 4 AA LI/IO battery pack kit with a 12 volt lighter adpator for about $70 Cdn, as an exapmle. I think cost is around $25, so $30 CDN would set you up nicely, voltage wise. I think that's like about $20 in real money.
  • I'd suggest the card reader.. using the USB connection on your camera will probably drain the batteries (cameras tend not to use the power the USB port provides) and I've killed my previous cams a few times by forgetting to turn them off after getting off pics..
  • All the Canon cameras I've owned (Powershot A10, Canon G3) use a standard compact USB cable for connectivity, so you ought to be able to walk into whatever your local equivalent of Dick Smiths is and get one. A USB 2 card reader is generally a quicker way of getting photos off, though, since most Canons are only USB 1.1. Shutting down when you try to take a picture is normal for the Canon cameras I've used if they're just about flat. Second PareidoliaticBoy's recommendation for a couple of sets of rechargable AAs; it's what I always used in my A10.
  • Thank you everyone! I read your comments carefully & went to Best Buy & got a card reader & another card & new batteries (which solved the shut off problem nicely) and I took some pictures! At least I think I did! So I was all set to upload a picture or two but I have (of course) run into another problem which is driving me crazy: computer will not recognize card reader. I'm working on it. Sometimes running Windows 98 is no good, argh, blah. But thank you, thank you much for everything - I knew I could count on you.
  • Hardware compatablility issues are specifically why I suggested a cable as a first interface step. Not recognizing the card reader is a common problem. A cable eliminates this sometimes aggravating variable, as they're cheap and quite flexible. Come to think of it, however; so was my ex-girlfreind. And we all know how well that worked out.
  • Well, cable is the next step since, get this, I bought a battery recharger, took it home, plugged it in and. . . nothing. No work. After I nearly killed myself getting it out of the plastic, too. So I have to go back to best buy, and then it's cable time.
  • don't forget to Flickr...