On Your Side: Digital Camera Misses the Picture

Grace Aquino is a senior associate editor for PC World. E-mail her at onyourside@pcworld.com. Click here to view past On Your Side columns.

My Kodak EasyShare DX3600 Zoom digital camera doesn't capture the image I frame in the shot. When I take close-ups of my grandchildren outdoors using the camera's viewfinder and zoom lens, I get an image of the ground or half of what I framed in the shot. I sent the camera for repair (to a Kodak-authorized repair center in Illinois), but the problem persists. Now the camera is out of warranty. Can you help?

Barry Rosen, Saint Ann, Missouri

On Your Side responds: Kodak spokesperson Joseph Paglia says company technicians found no malfunctions in Rosen's camera. The problem may be due to shutter lag time, which plagues nearly all digital cameras. With Rosen's camera, there is a delay of 1.8 seconds between your pressing the shutter button and the camera's capturing the image. The solution: Press the shutter button halfway, allowing the camera to focus on the subject. Hold the camera steady and press the shutter button all the way. Then review the picture on your camera's LCD (if it has one). As a goodwill gesture, Kodak has offered Rosen a trade-in, allowing him to upgrade to a newer Kodak camera for a discount.