Dying Pentax or just decrepit battery?

[Bledlow]

Mrs B is currently using my old Pentax Optio, bought in Japan several years ago. She chose to take it to Japan, rather than my newer Canon SX200 - and there's a problem. The shutter is audibly slow, & you can see the results. Outdoor pictures are washed out. Indoor are better, but unless taken in pitch darkness, there's ghosting, because the damn thing is obviously open so long that unless you have a very steady hand it moves.

I've discovered that she'd not used it for almost a year, & had left the battery in. It was working perfectly well before that. The battery seems to charge. It shows as fully charged, but the battery low indicator comes on much sooner than it used to.

Opinions, please. Should we buy a new battery & check, or is it more likely to be a fault with the camera? If the latter, what might it be?

It's old, & limited, but the optics aren't bad (vastly better than a mobile phone camera). There's a picture taken on it at standard quality as the background on the 23" monitor I'm using now. It seems a waste to throw it away, if it's a minor problem.

[Biggsy]

I very much doubt the battery is weak if it's working at all.  These cameras tend to turn themselves off before the battery has run out.  I doubt a weak battery would even cause the problem anyway.

I'm thinking either it's on funny settings that force it to always take long exposures, or there's a fault with the camera (probably electronic, but possibly mechanical; couldn't say what exactly).  The battery having been run down completely for a long time could have made the settings reset or go funny.

What exact model is it?  There have been lots and lots of Optios.

Look again through all the settings.  Remove and reinsert battery.  Try a factory reset.  Try it on fully auto mode.  Make sure ISO is on auto as well, or try a high ISO setting.  Make sure the lens is clean.

I find it hard to get really good quality compatible* Li-Ion batteries for my Optio S5i that don't die quickly, but still at any one time they either work or don't work.

* I don't want to pay rip-off Pentax prices for genuine Pentax batteries, although one is more likely to be ok than the rubbish I've bought instead.  I don't usually have problems with third-party batteries for other devices, but I suspect cheapo batteries for old cameras were manufactured a long time ago.  Li-Ion batteries simply go off with time.

[Bledlow]

What exact model is it?  There have been lots and lots of Optios.

Look again through all the settings.  Remove and reinsert battery.  Try a factory reset.  Try it on fully auto mode.  Make sure ISO is on auto as well, or try a high ISO setting.  Make sure the lens is clean.

Optio 330.

All done except factory reset & high ISO setting. I'll try them.

[Biggsy]

How is it today?

I'm wondering if anything could be physically sticky inside - that's slowing down the aperture blades or shutter - like can happen with old-fashioned grown-up cameras?  It's still more likely I think to be an electronic issue.

Ensure the dial on the top is set to the Green mode for testing.

[Bledlow]

No change.

Took it into a camera shop today (OK, Jessops - but there wasn't anything better convenient) & asked their opinion. Bloke went through the settings, then tried it. Reckoned that she shutter isn't just slow, but is making an odd noise. Suspects a mechanical problem, & was gloomy about the likely cost of a repair, suggesting that just the cost of a proper diagnosis might be more than is worth spending on it.

It's been living in Mrs B's handbag for almost 3 years, since someone drove into the back of our car while she was driving. She wanted to be able to take pictures of any future incidents. I'm not sure that's been good for it.

She's now bought a dirt cheap basic camera for that purpose.