Camera question?! Can I get the broken camera fixed?

Question

i broke my dad's expensive camera for the third time and I feel REALLY awful! Do they fix cameras at camera stores? And if I take the memory chip thingie out of the broken camera, buy the exact same camera, and put that memory card in will all of the previous pictures show up? thanks a lot!

Answer 1

There aren't many private repair shops that deal with digital cameras. If you can find an authorized repair center for your camera's company then you're in luck. You can contact the manufacturer's customer service department for locations near you. Otherwise, you'll either have to 'fess up or buy your dad a new camera.

If all of the photos were saved on the memory card then yes: the photos will load on another camera that takes the same type of card. If the photos were saved in the internal memory then no: you'll need the camera to transfer those pictures off.  An easy way to check (assuming you can still view photos on the broken camera) is to remove the memory card and to check if any pictures are still viewable on the camera. If no: the pictures are on the memory card. If yes: the photos are in the internal memory.

Answer 2

Buy a card reader and upload the pictures to the computer.  You put the memory card into the reader and then plug it into the computer.  Then if you have to buy a new camera, you can format the old card in case it won't work in the new one.  Many times you have to format a card when putting it into a different camera.  But be sure to upload the pics first, because formatting it will erase all of the pictures on it.

Getting it fixed might cost nearly as much as buying a new one.  You might as well confess that you broke it again, because if the new one won't read the pictures on the card, you will have to format it, and your dad will wonder why the pictures aren't there.  But do upload them to your computer first if these are important pictures.  

And you might buy a card just for you to use when you use the camera.  That way, you would never lose your dad's pictures, only your own.

Why not buy your own camera?