In January 2005, I purchased an Olympus Stylus 410 along with a five-year guarantee. In early April 2006, I turned on the camera early one morning to take an amazing picture outside. It began to act strangely; it took up to ten seconds for a photo to turn up on the screen after I took it. When I pressed the quick view button, I the screen would be either plaid with strips of other photos, or would have the right photo but with strips of other photos. Now when I turn on the camera at all, I get a plaid screen. (That's roughly the type of pattern I'm seeing.)I can't take pictures or figure out at all what is wrong with my camera.
I've also been looking at other cameras in case my Olympus will no longer work. I know that I'll be needing a more professional camera in one or two years, so I figured that if my current camera cannot be fixed, I might as well buy another camera sooner than I had expected.
Basically, I have two main problems: First, I don't know what to do about my Olympus. I still have my five-year guarantee but I'm unsure how it would help me. I probably need to take the camera in somewhere for repairs, but then comes my second problem: I'm becoming strapped for cash. In the next two years I'm hoping to buy a new camera, probably about $400-450. I know that taking in my current camera would be very costly, and I'm worried that I won't be able to buy a new camera in the coming years. I also need to save up money to ensure financial stability once I'm in and past college.
So finally, my finishing question: what should I do?