AboutSara Bella Expertise I can answer questions about most anything photographic. From film to darkroom to digital photography, from lighting to Photoshop techniques to digital work flow. I also know a great deal about the historical and theoretical contexts of photography. I am most familiar with Mac computers and the Adobe programs (Photoshop) but I can usually help troubleshoot any software and machine as long as I have the right information.
Experience I have been shooting photographs since I was 12 years old. I have a BFA in photography and and I am a current MFA matriculate. I teach photography at a university.
Education/Credentials BFA in Photography/Visual Articulation. In residency to receive MFA in photography in 2008.
Expert: Sara Bella Date: 1/16/2008 Subject: digital pictures come out messed up
Question I have a relatively new Sony Cybershot DSC-W80 (I bought it on Ebay). Just recently it started acting strange. When I take a picture, it looks fine on the camera's LCD. When I import the picture to my PC, it comes out messed up. On my computer, the thumbnails look ok, but when I open the picture with any program, it comes out messed up. Usually the colors change to red or blue, or large rows and columns of pixels are out of alignment. I've tried to import the pictures on several computers and they still come out messed up. Can you help me troubleshoot the problem?
Answer Your memory card might be defective. Try a different card and see if it fixes the problem.
You can also try changing the kind of file you are creating, the image quality, and see what happens then.
Otherwise, it sounds like it might be a problem with the chip, or something else inside the camera since the problem is reproducible on numerous machines, but if this is the case, it is far outside of my expertise. You may want to try one of the other very knowledgeable experts on this site. Have you considered contacting the person you purchased the camera from? Does it have any kind of warranty?
Hopefully it is just a bad card, as that is easy to fix.
