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Help! Camera dropping incident! (1 Viewer)

colonelboris

colonelboris

Right way up again
I appear to have completely b****red the zoom lens on my Megxon C580 (hereafter known as 'crappicam') by attaching it to a tripod, setting the tripod up enevenly and placing tripod on the floor. Unsurprisingly, tripod proceeds to fall over and the crappicam hits the floor. The objective lens fell out (dusted off and replaced), but the main injury is that the lens will now not retract and makes an expensive-sounding grinding noise when switched on, followed by 'Zoom home error' and no movement from the lens. The lens is now at a bit of an angle to how it should be.
I'd try the company themselves, but I doubt very much if they'll help at all, so I was wondering if any of you knowledgeable sorts would know what to do. Apart from digiscoping, my photography is now over until I can get it sorted. I'm also completely broke and still owe £175 to Dad for this camera (which I haven't told him about yet...)
Oh dear...
Thanks in advance,

Tony
 
Ouch ..! I am sorry to hear that Tony. I would still try the company . You never know - it is worth a try. Is there a warranty ? I would be insistent and if you get a lower level customer service person ask for a superviser. Pull out all the stops I say , no harm in trying! good luck in any case .
 
Already popped an email to them, but their entire 'support' page is only on the software aspects and they are amazingly quiet about anything to do with warranty or repair...

It's funny how I was saying to my wife earlier that I only wish that it had a longer neck strap so that I could build up more momentum when slinging it into a lake and now I've gone and b****red it accidentally...

If anyone has a spare DSLR....
 
colonelboris said:
Already popped an email to them, but their entire 'support' page is only on the software aspects and they are amazingly quiet about anything to do with warranty or repair...

It's funny how I was saying to my wife earlier that I only wish that it had a longer neck strap so that I could build up more momentum when slinging it into a lake and now I've gone and b****red it accidentally...

If anyone has a spare DSLR....
Click to expand...
LOL . :-C Sorry dude, that sucks. I would still try to get a human on the phone. Someone who will (might) feel sorry for you and think that it is in the interest of custumer relations to help you out. Keep trying . Good luck.
 
And if you do get someone on the phone and they say " sorry sir there is nothing we can do to help " you come back with this " Well ok , but the main reason I went with Megxon company was that I hear it had really good customer policies - but I guess not , are you sure there is nothing you can do to help ? I really loved this lens ! " .....What do think ?
 
Well, it was an ebay job, with one year's warranty. Dad bought it on his account, but after just going through his emails, he's deleted all the information about it, so I can't even contact the seller about the warranty.
Also, if I phone the company in Taipei, it'll show on the bill and leave me with the horrible choice of either admitting that I've dropped the camera or lying and saying I was phoning adult chat lines, which might get me into slightly less trouble. Except with my wife, that is.
 
Oh dude .... Mabey you just got to come clean with your old man . Will he get really angry ? Mabey you could call on a cell phone - would that be really expensive ? Taipei sounds like a long roving call I guess. Mabey the customer phone number is toll-free , if it isnt then mabey that is a bad sign. Mabey the megxon website has a customer return policy on it. Hmmm... dosn't sound good... bummer:h?:
 
Well, I thought I'd go the whole hog and I've taken the casing off of the camera. It looks like the lens has been shoved backwards by a bit and has jammed. There's three metal pins that look like they should fit into some spiral grooves, but have been twisted out of place. I have a feeling if I can get them back in, everything'll be ok.
Mind you, quarter to two in the morning may not be the best time to be doing this...
The old man would be rather upset, to say the least...
 
colonelboris said:
Well, I thought I'd go the whole hog and I've taken the casing off of the camera. It looks like the lens has been shoved backwards by a bit and has jammed. There's three metal pins that look like they should fit into some spiral grooves, but have been twisted out of place. I have a feeling if I can get them back in, everything'll be ok.
Mind you, quarter to two in the morning may not be the best time to be doing this...
The old man would be rather upset, to say the least...
Click to expand...
LOL ! Good luck with the surgery . I checked the Mexgon website and yeah - it sucks ! lol . good luck in any case Colonelboris. P.S. mabey you could take it to a local camera shop to have it assesst. Good luck ! :cool:
 
The lens is very firmly attached to the rest of camera through the connection from the CCD to the LCD, so I can't dismantle the motor assembly to free up the lens.
Might have to try brute force and ignorance to sort it...
 
Ok, I've moved part of lens by levering it with a screwdriver (void warranty, anyone?) and where the pins were, there's gouges out of the plastic, indicating that's not where they were meant to be. I'm very slowly levering it to the position it looks like it should be in, some 1/2 inch away from the spiral grooves I think the pins should be in...
 
colonelboris said:
Ok, I've moved part of lens by levering it with a screwdriver (void warranty, anyone?) and where the pins were, there's gouges out of the plastic, indicating that's not where they were meant to be. I'm very slowly levering it to the position it looks like it should be in, some 1/2 inch away from the spiral grooves I think the pins should be in...
Click to expand...
Stop right there!


Can you get hold of another camera so you can illustrate these updates, just knock on a neighbours door if you don't have a spare cam - they'll understand ...

Come on, stop teasing us, what are you doing to it?
 
Whew! I'll pop in a photo in a second.
Looks like (more by sheer luck than judgement) that I right and the front part of the lens had been impacted into the rest of it. The levering worked and the pins are now back in the groove...
I'll post the pictures, reassemble it and see if it works...
 
colonelboris said:
Whew! I'll pop in a photo in a second.
Looks like (more by sheer luck than judgement) that I right and the front part of the lens had been impacted into the rest of it. The levering worked and the pins are now back in the groove...
I'll post the pictures, reassemble it and see if it works...
Click to expand...
Good luck Tony :t:
 
Here's the photo and a diagram of where it went wrong.

The front part was forced back onto the rear part, with the pins that sit in the grooves causing deep gouges. I levered the front away from the rear and back into the grooves (into the hidden part in the diagram).
Still have to see if it works...
 

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LOL. I was worried at first. But I am impressed with your display of the situation. I was going to suggest a shot of wiskey before - but you seem to have an idea of what you are doing. I am rooting for you dude. Angry dad's suck! Fingers crossed. Must repair crappicam.
 
Hmm... Even though I freed up the pins and got them back into the grooves, crappicam doesn't want to play and is still making that horrible grinding sound. I'll take the case off again and see what happens to it when I start it up 'naked'...
I may, however disclaim all knowledge of why it's not working to the parents...
 
Ok, crappicam is definitely not playing along. The part with the grooves should rotate (which draws the lens in and out when starting), but remains completely still. Looks like the gears at the motor end of that part may have become disengaged, but I can't get to that part without cutting the CCD-LCD wire/ribbon thing. It's soldered in at both ends, so I can't unplug it either.
Now I'm stuck...
 
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