[hikermike]

Should probably be posted in gear but no one seems to read that. I have an Olympus 3030 and an OM-1. When I first got the Olympus 3030 it seemed adequate versus the OM-1. But this year, ( I've had it for 3 years), The pictures seem very flat, lacking contrast, compared with what I got with the OM-1. Is this typical of digitals, their CCD's changing with time, or has my technique fallen flat?

[MCaver]

Moved to photography forum. Sorry, hikermike.

[Alan Bauer]

I don't know a lot about the CCDs inside the P&S digital cameras. But I could imagine cases where a lot of use in harsh conditions could somehow have gotten it "out of tilt" and the camera maybe needs to be serviced to be "reset"? Moisture, lots of dust/humidity, getting dropped a few times...I am just guessing here but I can also see things like this getting the camera to not calibrate correctly. CCDs in DSLRs need to be cleaned from time to time very carefully---this isn't an option for P&S versions. So it's hard to tell w/o visual inspection if the CCD is foggy with "windshield haze" like the inside of a car window. Is that the type of feel you get from images?

[Tom]

I kinda doubt it's the CCD in need of cleaning. I've only heard of them needing cleaning when dust spots show up in photos (and I've never heard of this occurring in non-DSLR digicams where the lens is permanently attached). I've also never heard of CCD's losing contrast over time. My suggestion would be to go to a local camera store, bring your camera and card, take a few shots with your camera, then put your card in a new model, take a few shots, and compare.