SP-350 locks up -need help ASAP

[JohnDough]

I have a new "refurb" sp-350 from olympus directly to replace my umm 'misplaced' sp-350 that I have used for years. The problem with this one is that it locks up during a dive. both the lights next to the viewfinder get solid and stay that way imediately after a picture or video I have to power off then on then I can take another picture or video and during its 'processing' the same thing occurs. I can keep powering off/on to get pictures/videos and it does save them. It does seem to work fine on land ( although I havent used it anywhere near the way I do underwater) I have changed batteries and memory cards. the memory cards I am using use to work fine in my other sp-350 and are genuine Olympus 1gigs, one is a "H" and the other a "M+"
the dive seems to start out ok but around 15 minutes in this problem occurs. I think I also remember (but I'm not positive) a circle symbol appearing on the display when it locks up also.


I am on Vacation right now and hope to find a solution as I only have a couple days of diving left. Does anyone have ANY suggestions??

also- not as important, but the vidoes dont have sound on this camera. is there a setting for sound I am missing? I use HQ 640 30fps setting

 

[DevonDiver]

I've had this occur also on a few occasions. The only way to resolve it was to shut off..and/or remove the batteries. Not much help during the dive though.

 

[philip2711]

It sounds like it COULD BE a symptom of some mild moisture getting into the housing - obviously not a full blown leak; do you have a silicon gel pack inside the housing at all times? when not diving especially at surface interval between dives, do you often open and close the housing (battery change? better review of the photos taken?) Just some random thoughts and I know that full blown moisture should actually result in an error msg

 

[philip2711]

and there is a setting for sound; go into Movie setting: OK/Menu button; Mode Menu; Camera tab and the 3rd option down should be a "microphone" with OFF or ON options

 

[Larry C]

Mine has occasionally locked up when I fail to lock the battery door. It will quit firing and sometimes tell me "battery door open". Now I'm always sure to lock it. I've also had my shutter button on the housing stick in the down position. That will lock the camera up as well, as will a stuck power button. Battery voltage issues generally cause it to shut down entirely, and I haven't had any of those since I've been using exclusively CRV-3R's. If the lights stay on, it sounds like maybe a processing issue, though the lights blink while processing. Maybe the contacts on the card reader are a little corroded or something? Has it happened outside the housing? If not, I'd look at some of the earlier issues. If it has, it's probably something internal. If it's a software problem, you might try hitting the reset button and redoing your settings. I'd also reformat your cards in the camera. Another solution might be loading the latest firmware and see if it shows any messages on loading. (You can find the firmware on the Oly America website under downloads, I believe.) Good luck.

 

[gert7to3]

I had this issue occur once, with a new memory card, which I hadn't reformatted with the camera. If you use memory in more than one camera, it's best to reformat the memory each time with the current camera.

If it happens early in a dive, it might be worth sacrificing your existing shots with a reformat of the memory chip. Otherwise, LarryC covered all the other bases.

 

[Web Monkey]

I have a new "refurb" sp-350 from olympus directly to replace my umm 'misplaced' sp-350 that I have used for years. The problem with this one is that it locks up during a dive. both the lights next to the viewfinder get solid and stay that way imediately after a picture or video I have to power off then

You might want to check for a firmware upgrade (either the MFG or 3rd party). It might be a bug that someone has already patched.

Terry

 

[JohnDough]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've pretty much tried them all with no success. I'm at a loss. I sent an email to Olympus but so far no response of course.
This has a 1yr warranty so I will probably just end up sending it back for exchange.

 

[barilhu]

Hello,
When you want to do film with the SP 350, you either have sound or you have zoom. You cant have both at the same time.

hb

 

[RTW]

Hello,
When you want to do film with the SP 350, you either have sound or you have zoom. You cant have both at the same time.

That is incorrect.