Gaaaaaaaaah

i just treated myself to a new digital camera. Nothing expensive, lower end of the range actually, but something I was excited about.

I ordered it online, remembered to order the memory card and waited over the last few days for it to arrive.

I tracked it on the special tracking service online and got up early this morning expecting it to come, which it did. I was hopping up and down and greeted the postman with a big smile, all was well in my little world.

I made some tea and settled down to look at my new camera. I've never had a digital one before and had been dreaming of all the wonderful pictures I would take whilst I was out on my daily walk. The sheep are so sweet, the horses photogenic, I'm sure. I saw the moon the other afternoon and thought how lovely it would have been to get a picture of it in the pale wintry sky.

So I looked at the easy instruction manual with great trepidation, I'm not what you'd call very technically minded and I thought I might find learning how to use my new camera rather daunting.

Well, first of all it needed batteries - what? Who knew that? My heart sank, but I checked my battery store anyway, thinking I'd used all the small ones for the remote control. I considered stealing those for the camera, but no - lo and behold I had three brand new batteries. Hurrah - the day was saved.

So I went back to look at the instructions to find out how to insert them - the picture was great. It showed me exactly how to do the job.

And what's happened?,you ask (if you've got this far) to make me want to post a rant. Well, I'll tell you:

I can't get the bloody cover to open so I can't insert the batteries. Without batteries my camera is useless. No pictures of sheep, or horses, or the moon.

Now, here I am with my usual dilemma when faced with problems with equipment. Is it me or is the equipment faulty? Should the cover just spring open? I've broken a couple of fingernails trying to prise it. The screwdriver was a bit too big and I got too frightened to be rough with it. Or is there a special secret that I don't know? It won't slide, the picture clearly shows that it should open outwards.

Gaaah - I'm so miserable

try pushing the cover up instead of down,a lot of new electrical stuff have slots that slide the opposite way around.also type in the make and model of your camera along with the problem in google some one else might of started a forum or something to solve it

Can you scan and post the image from the instruction booklet?

reply to post by berenike


Explanation: S&F!

Sorry to hear about your frustrations ... Im a 39yr old Australian male and I have trouble opening bloody bags of chips

Makes me very angry!

Personal Disclosure: Please post the brand and model of the camera so I and others see what I can find out to help you!

I have a camera like this .I have to slide lock mechanisum toward viewing screen and then slide hatch to the right side at the same time .then hatch opens up.

Originally posted by berenike
Should the cover just spring open?
Or is there a special secret that I don't know?

I know this is a radical thought, but maybe you should mention what the model of the camera is, so we might have an opportunity to help.
Or if you just wanted to pointlessly rant, dont answer.

reply to post by alfa1


Thanks for your extremely radical thought - that was a rhetorical question, I honestly didn't expect so many people to offer to help.

I thought maybe one or two people would roll their eyes and move on.

OK my extremely Mickey Mouse new camera is a ViviCam 9126. I will go and find a link.

Thanks everyone.

Omega Logos, what chips have you got? Cos I'm not too bad at opening a packet if you're willing to share

Scanning the manual will take a bit of doing, lemme try.

Everyone bear in mind that your dealing with a person who held the camera up to their eye and wondered where the view finder was.

Oh no.....vivicam.....I had one and it NEVER worked right. Pics were terrible, and all video had a hissing sound. I got a new one for Christmas (sanyo) and it's like night and day. I couldn't WAIT to throw that POS vivicam away. Sorry, but it's true. I would return the vivitar and spend20 0r 30 more and be happy. That camera also ate batteries like there was no tomorrow! I could take a couple of short videos and that was it.

reply to post by berenike


Explanation: St*rred





This youtube review shows how to open the battery compartment [there may be a cardboard insert inside shown in 2nd video supplied below that may be blocking that action and so take that into consideration please ]

Baterry compartment opened at 2min 30sec.



Cardboard insert show at 1min 40sec



Personal Disclosure: I hope that helps!

reply to post by OmegaLogos


I don't know where to begin thanking you You've taken so much trouble in helping me, I appreciate it so much.

I still can't get it open, it looks so simple in the video, but I'll keep trying. And I'll bear in mind that there may be paper helping to jam it. Thanks.

Kat oh cripes - I just got this because I wanted something cheap and simple to photograph a few sheep and a bit of countryside. I've got a proper little video camera that I think is supposed to take stills, but guess who's too stupid to work it out?

To everyone else - thanks for the helpful advice and interest. It's really great when I can come on here and rant away and people offer to help.

Go have a nice cuppa, chuck the booklet behind the sofa, regain your chi....
Then threaten it with a hammer.


Yes I too had that cam...

reply to post by Suspiria


Cuppa sitting right beside me - also had some lunch

I think before I buy anything else vaguely clever in future I'll ask on ATS first. Perhaps we could have a new forum:

ATS Which?

I DID it.

You little belters - all the encouragement and sympathy really worked

Suspiria You can laugh if you like, but your suggestion of taking a hammer to it really spurred me on. Off I went to find a tiny screw driver that I'd previously forgotten about and I set to. Determined, I was

It's too dark to take any pictures now, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post a 'thank you' photo for everyone. Hope you all like sheep.

Talking of which, I was a bit miffed when I was out walking. There was a beautiful, fat white cat sitting in a field who I'd never seen before. I wished I'd had the camera handy. 'Never mind' I thought 'If I'd been messing about with the camera, I might have been too late to see the cat at all.'

Of course, if I'd had the camera with its zoom facility I could have got a closer look at the cat right away instead of standing there for ages wondering if I was watching a rare, very short, long tailed sheep.........

well done you

reply to post by berenike


"Taps foot" So after all this, where are the pics? Don't you plan to share? Is your avatar one of them? Good looking dog by the way.

reply to post by Iamschist


Hi, thank you for asking. I didn't want to bother everyone with more of this horrible saga. But...

I got the batteries in. Omega Logos was quite right, there was a piece of cardboard in the battery compartment which had jammed the cover.

So on Saturday morning I put in the memory card, it was a bit of a struggle, aimed the camera at a tree outside and took my first picture. The camera gave me a message telling me that the memory was full and that I should insert a memory card

So I thought I'd take out the memory card and re-insert it. But it was stuck fast. It wouldn't budge and I couldn't take any more pictures.

At that point I remembered Kat's advice and decided the best thing was to do as she suggested. Honestly, left to my own devices I would have just treated the bloody camera as if it was a Chinese puzzle box and it would still be sitting on the table

So I emailed a complaint and someone phone me up about it and agreed that I could return it. They would send a courier to collect it. I asked if I could just post it back, but no, they wanted me to wait in all day last Friday so that a courier could come round.

So, here I am sans camera. I want to get another one but I've lost the heart for it. It's the season (just) for spring lambs and I'd love to be out taking pictures of them. I'm thinking that I will stick to a more reliable brand when I finally get one, and I will definitely post pictures.

All my pictures of my dog (including my avatar) were taken with a (now old-fashioned) camera using film. How simple things used to be **

**Except for the time I couldn't get the camera open and the film seemed stuck after taking twenty or so pictures. I sent my friend to the local developing place so that someone could open it in a dark room and retrieve the film without spoiling it.

He came back with sad news. The man in the shop had been very sympathetic and did his best to sort out the problem, only to find that there was no film in the camera.... At all...

reply to post by berenike


I am falling down!!! To funny! I want to say "you poor thing" but I cannot muster the straight face for it. Don't misunderstand, I am laughing with you, were I to try and get a camera, it would be the same or worse.

I am technology impaired and mechanically impaired as well. You know those pump style bottles of lotion, shampoo, etc.? I cannot open them. The top just spins around and the pump part sits firmly down in its little original position. Me and a digital camera?? Not going to happen.

I have loved your post, Thank you for lightening the load a bit You don't strike me as a quiter, I will anticipate pictures at some point.

nice to see your doing well berenike.
i hope you still have the xmas card.

Er guys... it only took me a little over 3 years and I admit I took this picture with a tablet not a flippety digital camera but, hey, a result is a result innit? *



First attempt at taking a picture, I need a bit or practice obviously but, YAY

Iamschist - I never forgot you had faith in me

*Nobody ask me how long I had the tablet or how much time it took me to work out how to take pictures.

I'm kinda in awe that you remembered this thread from almost three years ago, and that you updated it with your picture taking. WOW.