T1 Disaster. Watch out for that LCD screen.

[jtown]

Looks like I just made myself a $500 paper weight. I was holding my T1 by the strap, turned a little fast, and bumped the arm of my chair. One shattered LCD. My 512 meg memory stick and photo printer haven't even arrived yet. I can still take pictures but there's no display so I can't frame anything or see what I've taken. I can't wait to hear what Sony will charge to repair it. If they can repair it.

I was planning to go hiking Sunday afternoon and take my first real pictures with the camera.

[jtown]

I'm starting to think it was a mistake to get the T1. I bought it to use as a pocket camera but now I'm afraid to carry it without some sort of metal sleeve that will add substantial bulk. That sort of defeats the purpose of having such a small camera. But without some sort of protection, just a small bump can destroy the camera. It hit the arm of my chair with less force than if I'd cut a corner short when walking around a desk. I'm going to have to lock it in the safe until I figure out a safe way to carry it.

Of course, that's assuming I can get it fixed. If not, I can't really afford to fork out another $500 right now.

[jtown]

Just got off the phone with Sony.

Your warranty is now void. (Of course.)
The flat rate does not apply to this repair. (Of course.)
Your minimum repair fee is $171. (Ouch but not as bad as I thought.)

So now I have to ship it off to PA and wait for them to send me the final quote. I'm pretty sure it won't go too far above the $171 because everything else works. Backlight comes on, zoom works, takes pictures, zoom works, USB transfer works, charger works. Only a broken LCD. Only.

BTW, as I was thinking of ways to prevent this from happening again, I think I came up with something decent. Cut a square of plexiglass/lucite so it overlaps the rim of the display on 3 sides (not the left because it would hit the dock), bevel the edges to keep it from snagging, and attach it with a thin strip of double-sided tape. A 1/8 inch overlap on the top, bottom, and right sides should clear the buttons and allow sufficient surface area to make a firm attachment. If I manage to make a prototype before I ship the camera off tomorrow, I'll take some pics (with another camera).

[Deane Johnson]

As a T-1 owner, I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck.

I put the wrist strap on mine when I got it, and 30 seconds later took it off permenantly, deciding this was a disaster waiting to happen.

Glad to hear repairs aren't as bad as we all might have thought.

[jtown]

Note to self: Never buy another Sony product. Ever.

The estimate I got last week said $171 for the flat rate repair including return shipping. If the flat rate was not applicable, an estimate charge of $26 would be applied. Fine. A couple hundred bucks. Painful but not outrageous. Today I got my final estimate.

$315.95

What happened to the $197 I was expecting? Since it's not a flat rate repair, the whole damn thing goes out the window. $153.80 for the LCD, $139 for labor, $12 for return shipping.

Fine. Can I just pay for the part and install it myself? No. I'm not an authorized sony service center. Well, the warranty's shot so there's not much point in worrying about that at this stage. Too bad. They don't sell parts. I can't buy the LCD and put it in myself. "You don't know how to do it."

If this was a $1000 camera, I could see where $300 may be a "reasonable" repair cost but this is over half the MSRP. Nearly 70% of the street price. And it's not even the CCD or lens.

So what the hell can I do? A new camera will cost at least $140 more than the repair. The camera's way too new for parts cameras to show up on ebay. I'll pay their damn repair fee, put my plastic cover over the LCD, and make good use of the last Sony product I'll ever purchase.

T1 owners should learn from my mistake. Go down to the hobby store and get a little sheet of thin plastic from the frame shop. Cut it with a couple millimeters of overlap on top and bottom, bevel the edges, and stick it to the camera with some of those mini glue dots (also at the hobby store). The camera will still fit in the cradle and the screen will be protected at all times (not just when it's in a case).[/b]

[ironchef]

Sorry to hear that. Are you saying theres something wrong with T1's LCD panel?

And by the way, thats why we have insurances

[aliquis]

What a sad story
Almost make me feel bad for worrying about noice on the camera i ordered.
I know I can get some sort of "stupid"-insurrance which deals with accidents you're the reason for yourself and they are quite affordable, maybe I should get one of those.

[jenk]

Very Sad... I was looking to buy the T1, but after reading various
reviews I opted for the cheaper x20 . Like the sony it uses the lcd
for framing only, but the camera costs just £100 - so the price you
were quoted was hi for just the lcd. Sounds like there selling you
a new t1 at 'cost' .

I gather the T1 doesn't have a tv out either for 'tethered' lcd framing.

What about claiming on house insurance?

[crazyniz]

same thing happened to me !

im so annoyed at myself, had the camera for a few days and bang goes the screen, well i suppose its my own fault because i left it in my jacket pocket and hung it up on the wall !

come back later, i have i rainbow as a screen !

im cosidering doing the claim under house insaurance but i rather find another way.

i blame sony for making a beautiful BIG screen without any sort of protection, they should have like a hard clear plastic covering, like they have on mobile phones, you hardly hear of there screens smashing.

i doubt even the soft cases that are being sold would protect the screen.

[jtown]

Originally Posted by crazyniz

im cosidering doing the claim under house insaurance but i rather find another way.

Probably the best way as long as your net insurance cost doesn't go up too much. If you currently get a discount for "no recent claims", losing that discount for a few years may cost more than repairing the camera. Doesn't hurt to ask, tho.

Originally Posted by crazyniz

i doubt even the soft cases that are being sold would protect the screen.

They can protect it while travelling but not while you've got the camera out to take pictures. I cut a small cover from a piece of plastic and attached it with "glue dots" from a hobby store. The glue wiggles a bit too much when it warms up, tho. I need to find a way to attach the plastic that's more rigid. A thin strip of sticky-foam or rubber with adhesive would do. I have a thinner, optically clear sheet I'm going to use to make a better cover when I find a proper adhesive.