what could be the problem of my canon a95 when the captured pictures turned grainy and flat looking. no distinct colors and with horizontal lines.

my canon a95 suddenly gives out flat-colored pictures with lots of horizontal lines. yet the images on the lcd seems ok but the focusing sensors also seem to find difficulty focusing especially when the subject is bright or white. it's the result of the captured images that i cannot understand. i don't remeber damaging it. do i need to bring the camera to a repair shop? what could be the problem? is it serious? how much do you think i might spend for its repair?

thanks

Your camera was one of a host of cameras that suffered from a faulty CCD chip. Check out this service advisory from Canon regarding it.

Affected products:

- Camcorders: ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, ELURA 40 MC, ELURA 50
- Digital Cameras A60, A70, A75, A300, A310, S230, SD100, SD110, A40(*), A80(*), A85(*), A95(*), S1 IS(*), S60(*), S200(*), S330(*), S400(*), S410(*), S500(*)

Malfunction:
It has been confirmed that the connecting parts of the internal wiring of the CCD used in affected products may become disconnected, especially if the affected products are stored or used in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. If this occurs, the signal is not output from the CCD normally in Shooting Mode, which may cause a distorted image or the absence of an image. This malfunction can be confirmed on the LCD monitor screen during shooting. The same malfunction also appears on the recorded image.

Canon's Response:
Effective immediately, and regardless of warranty status, Canon will repair, free of charge, the products listed above exhibiting the above-mentioned malfunction if Canon determines that the malfunction is caused by the CCD image sensor. Canon will also cover the cost of shipping and handling in connection with this repair.

So the good news is that Canon will fix it for FREE:

U.S. residents are kindly directed to contact the Canon Customer Support Center for further assistance at 1-800-828-4040. Support hours are Monday thru Friday - 8:00 AM to 12:00 midnight; and Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (all times EST). Alternatively, if electronic support is preferred, please send your email to carecenter@cits.canon.com

Hi, I noticed that you haven't marked any replies as the "best answer." Are you still looking for an answer? If so, I recommend you re-submit it on http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com so it will have a better chance of being noticed. These days it looks like most questions are being answered within a few days.

If you're happy with the answer you received, you can simply click on "Mark for best answer" bubble and it will close out the question. Thanks for posting it and Good luck!

Know this post is old, but this may be of help to others who have this problem. Yep this sounds like a defective CCD imager. If so, Canon should fix this for you for free, including free shipping both ways. This is regardless of your camera's warranty status. Please check the following two links for more info. The first link gives other people's experience and tips in submitting their cameras for repair under this advisory:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/canon-digital-cameras-showing-black.html

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&fcategoryid=225&modelid=13390&keycode=2112&id=29819

Applicable cameras include:
A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A300, A310, S1 IS, S60, S200, S230, S330, S400, S410, S500, SD100, SD110, IXUS V2/300/400/430/500, IXY Digital 200a/300a/400/450/500

I have similar but not same problem with my Power Shot A95. It gives Flat colored images with horizental lines. But in movie mode it works fine. I've changed CF card and batteries but nothing worked. Could anyone help me about this?

I have a similar problem to the one reported by Nouman. In addition to working fine in movie mode, I have noticed that when shooting in fast multiple burst mode (no immediate review of the shot), the first picture of the series has the same problem, but the subsequent 4 shots reproduce the colors normally, although still show fine horizontal lines or banding which are noticeable when magnifying the image.

Update: Removed the batteries from the camera, let it sit unused for about a week. Put the batteries back in, turned it on, and seems to work normally for the time being. Go figure...

Camera again went bad a few days later. Finally sent it Canon where is was repaired free and got it back within a few days. Seems to work well. Happy camper now.