[judynlee]

TTVers: You are my last hope. I have a nice Powershot Canon, SX 120, just a couple years old, and I'm thinking I might be looking at buying a new camera already. Hope not. It drains new batteries, before even 2 pictures are taken, and whether we use the recommended AA alkaline or the rechargeable NIMH batteries. I can't seem to find anything online, the manual was no help, and you know it's not worth sending out because cameras today are practically disposable-not to me!

Now I'm signed up for a CLL course to take better pics and can't take any!

Anybody??

[judynlee]

Bump

[Bill-n-Brillo]

I can't fathom a camera draining brand new, fresh batteries instantly like that. Maybe try removing the "dead" batteries from the camera and try them in something else to see if they still work.

Perhaps the camera's contact points for the ends of the batteries are dirty/dusty/corroded or not making proper contact with the batteries. Try cleaning the camera's battery contact points off gently with something like a Q-tip and alcohol and make sure none of them are bent out of what would look to be the normal position.

Just some ideas - trying to think logically about it. I'm certainly no camera expert!

Bill

[John_W]

I bought a new camera in 2009 and I remember looking at that Canon until I read the reviews. I ended buying a Fujifilm S1500 for $170 at BJ's Price Club and it has turned out to be a really nice camera. I just checked Amazon and it is now going for $299.



Before buying electronics the best advice is go to Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com and other sites and read reviews. I just went to Amazon and read a lot of negative reviews on your camera. It sounds like you would be best to buy a new camera. Here are a couple of comments by users.

"I've had my Canon PowerShot SX120 IS for 2 years and it just started using AA batteries so quickly I will need to buy a new camera to be able to take Christmas photos. About a month ago it started requiring a battery change after about 30 photos. I thought I might have a problem with my rechargeable batteries, but the same problem occurred with brand new alkaline AA batteries. Now the camera is saying I need to change the batteries every time I turn it on!!! Since others have noted this same problem in their reviews it is obvious that there is some flaw with this camera. I contacted Canon and see that it will cost $150 to send my camera in for a repair."

"Have owned this camera less than 1 year and couldn't understand from a month after we owned this camera that it was going through batteries EVERY time we used it. Come to find out there is a shortage in the camera which is gonna cost around $80 to fix it. For that price just going to get another camera."

There are many more reviews just like these two, it seems you've bought a lemon. I had the same problem with my first digital camera I bought, a Gateway from a Gateway store back in 2002, which is when they were still a big name like Dell. Anyway, the batteries would die after 6 or 8 pictures.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by judynlee

TTVers: You are my last hope. I have a nice Powershot Canon, SX 120, just a couple years old, and I'm thinking I might be looking at buying a new camera already. Hope not. It drains new batteries, before even 2 pictures are taken, and whether we use the recommended AA alkaline or the rechargeable NIMH batteries. I can't seem to find anything online, the manual was no help, and you know it's not worth sending out because cameras today are practically disposable-not to me!

Now I'm signed up for a CLL course to take better pics and can't take any!

Anybody??

Call the manufacturer. Service, Customer Care or Help Line. They may have a recall/replacement on that model(s). Some manufacturers stand behind their products even after the warranty period. I presume you checked the warranty length and saved your receipt (if not say it was a gift). If you get no satisfaction on the phone, write a letter to Customer Relations (find their address using Google). The words to use are "we're very disappointed in this Canon product." That usually works like a charm and if a replacement doesn't come out of the warranty budget, it might come out of their good will budget. Dealt with these kind of situations all my life. The nicer you are, the more you get.

Skip

[judynlee]

Really appreciate the great suggestions, thank you so much! When I just get time to think about it I will either purchase a new camera or keep trying with some of the other suggestions. Wish me luck!