HELP! XZ-1 display problem

[RogerRamjet]

I wonder if anyone might have any thoughts on this.

I bought a used xz-1 a couple of weeks ago. On receipt I checked it over thoroughly and everything was working fine.

While I was checking it I did manage to drop it ( it is small and slippery compared to my e bodies!). No apparent damage although I did notice a single hot (red) pixel at the very left of the display which could easily have been there before dropping it.

Anyway I took a few shots and checked everything was fine then put it away for Christmas.

I got the camera out and turned it on yesterday and I now have a problem.

When I powered on the left half of the screen was dark and the right half was showing a hazy live-view image. Not a crisp half and half, more a fuzzy fade over a broad central region. Over the course of the evening as I tried various things the darkness has spread from the left so it now covers all but a narrow band at the right hand side.

I have tried
- charging the battery
- upgraded the firmware from v1.4 to v1.5
- connected via video cable to television and that works fine - I can access menus, see live view image, slideshow, etc
- leaving battery out for as few hours then re-trying

...all to no avail.

At one point after doing the firmware upgrade I had a ghostly view of the firmware upgrade message superimposed over the live view image - made me think of a computer video memory problem.

Anyway. A long message. Any thoughts? I am tempted to try a replacement screen from the auction site or sourcing a spares camera as I am reasonably happy taking things to bits. Is there a way of doing a full factory reset or a complete memory flush. How do you get into the "hidden menu" on the xz-1 - a search gives instructions which don't work for me.

All advice welcome. Thanks

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: XZ-1 display problem

Hi there RogerRamjet!

Could it possibly be an aperture blade which has come adrift during the drop - it would hang down possibly blocking part of the sensor. If you put it into aperture priority and set it wide open, then rotate the camera from landscape to portrait and keep going, is there a point where the display becomes clear?

I'll keep thinking on this but my other thought was a shutter sticking issue but I think (not certain) that they move vertically rather than horizontally.

In either case I would say it is a return to olympus for repair job - whether it has been caused by your drop or something else. I enjoy taking cameras apart but loose aperture blades (especially on something so small) or damaged shutters are a little beyond me!

You don't say if the image is ok when viewing images you have previously taken (this would prove whether it is the screen at fault or the sensor or something in front of it).

Let us know how you have got on,

Cheers,

Ralph.

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: XZ-1 display problem

Hi there RogerRamjet!

Disregard the previous comments - I'd missed the but where you had said it looks ok using the video lead. It does sound like a screen based issue, which should be possible for you to change. It might also be worthwhile checking the ribbon cables to the screen before you order one as these may also be coming adrift causing problems.

Cheers,

Ralph.

[RogerRamjet]

Re: XZ-1 display problem

Thanks for the thoughts Ralph. I agree - not sure I would want to try and dismantle the shutter or aperture.

Latest status is that screen is now 99% black with just slightest hint of activity. Camera takes pictures and in all other respects seems fine. I remain confused about the gradual way the screen fizzled out - strange.

I think I will keep an eye out for a spares camera with lens damage. Anything else is likely to be uneconomic unfortunately.

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: XZ-1 display problem

Hi there RogerRamjet!

Just a quick thought - if you shine a torch onto the screen on the black bits can you make out the image? If you can it may just be that the backlight has failed - I think that they use an electroluminescent one - as it is a panel any failure might progress across the screen as the panel fails - I have a LCD TV that does this occasionally but bought a new one rather than strip it down to poke about. (It did come back to ok after leaving it off in a very cold loft for a couple of weeks, but once it got warm again it gave up again.

You might be able to get an LCD with backlight from ebay - especially if it is one that Olympus have used on several cameras - otherwise a spares camera sounds good as long as it hasn't had any water damage!

Cheers,

Ralph.

[RogerRamjet]

[RogerRamjet]

Re: XZ-1 display problem

To conclude this thread. New screen obtained and installed. Everything is now as good as new. Phew.

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: XZ-1 display problem

That's great news - Glad you have your camera back up and running.

Cheers,

Ralph.