Help with Faulty Camera (1 Viewer)

Hi i have a Canon powershot A85 which i use for digiscoping.
I switched it on today and noticed a white/purple line on the screen. It runs from top to bottom about 3/4 from the left of the screen. It is about 3mm wide and flares at the top and bottom of the screen. I was concerned so went to take some pictures. Some of them seem ok but others are really dark and grainy and show a purple glare at the top of the pic, in the same place as the line on the screen. I have used this camera for a few years so i know something isn't right.

Any advice/info would be welcome.

Thanks.

Perhaps you may get more help from somebody on the digiscoping section ?

Think it's a camera problem, nothing to do with digiscoping.
Cheers JohnZ.

Already pricing up a replacement:t:

Canon USA has a recal in place for some of the old powershots, where faulty connections to the CCD makes the camera malfunction; we had our A95 returned to the company and repaired for free. http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-368982.html shows some of the same details.

Canon USA will only accept cameras sent to them from inside the USA and the camera should also originally have been purchased in the US, but something similar may be in effect for Canon UK?

cheers
Niels

ghostrider,I had the same problem with my Canon A70 which I used for digiscoping. I found that with a solid bump with my hand it would disappear leading me to think something was loose. My local,camera shop looked at it and it was O.K. for a while but returned spasmodically after a while. This process carried on until I got fedup and bought a new A570. I can still use the A70 but never know when it will show the dreaded purple screen.It always happened at a critical time. I could not take a picture but could review previous pictures taken immediately before the error occured.After a sound thump it could work OK for several months. Not good news.

Thanks everyone. Tried it again today. The line is still on the screen but the pictures were fine. The light was a lot better today, not sure if that was a factor. It let me down yesterday so seems to be an intermittent problem, the worst kind because you never know if it's going to work. The latest nearest replacement, A590 IS has better spec and is only £100. So i think i'll buy a new one.