I have owned this camera for about 2 1/2 years. It now has a grinding sound when you turn it on and when you are browsing the pictures. What's wrong

It doesn't seem to affect the pictures, but it sounds like it's struggling to turn on.

Thanks for your reply. That sounds reasonable to me, but what do I know. Like I said, it doesn't seem to afect the pictures, but it's a little disconcerting to hear it. I just turned it on to see if that might be it, but when I turned it on, the lens cover doesn't actually open until you put in the the picture taking mode, and it makes the sound when you first turn it on. Anyway, thanks so much for your help.

Well, you could cycle the camera on/off several times while blowing the lens area with some canned air. It's probably some dirt, dust etc. that has worked it's way in and is causing the grinding noise. But like Aditya said, if it doesn't effect the shots, nothing really to worry about. And over time, it'll probably correct itself. But I wouldn't be paying alot to repair it. With the average cost of a camera repair is around $180, it would cost more to repair than it is really worth. The rule of thumb is that if the estimate for repair is north of 50% what you paid for it, you're better off taking that money and buying a newer and upgraded model.

Thanks James. Anything is worth a try. I'm not really a camera expert by any means, so any help I can get is appreciated. I don't have any canned air, but I do have a hair dryer that I suppose I could use. I'll give it a try and hope for the best. When I bought the camera it was close to $400, but I'm not willing to spend the average costs to get it repaired. I bought my son a Cannon for Christmas that was less money and takes much better pictures and has a bigger screen, so I would probably go that route if anything.