Tech Shout!

Today, Sony Corp. said that its popular Cyber-Shot compact digital cameras might not work in warm and humid areas. Sony also said that the company would entertain anyone who faced such a problem, by repairing the affected cameras absolutely free of charge.

The liquid crystal displays in eight models that went on sale form September 2003 to January 2005 may not show images correctly. Besides, these cameras may not be able to take photos at all. These problems may occur if the user is present with te camera in warm and humid climates.

Of the over 1 million Sony Cyber-shot cameras that were sold, Sony expects that at least 4,000 could need repairs. Sony found similar defects in other digital and video cameras in October 2005, when the company discovered condensation could seep into the gadgets and damage charge-coupled device, a chip used to capture images.

Sony does not expect this problem to affect its earnings. This announcement has come after Sony suffered a quarterly loss, due to the cost of recalling millions of laptop batteries.