Hello, I'm not sure which forum to post this question, but during a recent night astrophotography session at a local beach, my sony camera unfortunately ingested sand which is behind the lens & now will not work. I submitted it for a quote for repai & the figure given was AUD$1200 (approx US$800), which is not far off the price of a new camera. I have only obtained one quote, but am going to obtain one or two more when I get my camera back.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation or should I just put this down to experience on my part?

Thanks & regards.

Terry

Unfortunately, there is not that much you can do with a compact camera. A colleague of mine has a Canon Powershot in which dust found its way into the camera, generating black spots on the sensor. The only way to get rid of it was to disassemble the camera in a controlled environment and have it cleaned. I looked at some tutorials and I discovered that in order to access the sensor, the whole thing had to be disassembled into pieces. Of course, the service center would had charged for the time, making the repair uneconomical compared to buying a similar camera. In the end, we did a trick: attacking a vacuum cleaner to the lens and sucking into it at full power. Completely crazy, but even if it didn't solve the issue completely, it removed the biggest spots, making the camera useable again. Maybe you can give it a try.