Calling All Techies

I have a technical problem. I have a HP Photosmart Digital Camera M415. The other day I had taken a picture in my house and a huge flash went off. When I looked at the picture on the screen it was flooded with light. Ever since then the flash has not worked, even when I have it on the Autoflash or Flash On mode.A picture is still taken but it is dark and grainy unless there are tons of lights on. Whenever I hold the Shutter halfway down for the Viewfinder lights flash and the focus bar is red, which means, according to the manual, that there is some problem (but the manual never specifies what!) I thought at first that my batteries were just dead so I switched them with some newly charged ones. The flash still does not work. Resetting the camera does not work. I'm still under warranty, so I could get it replaced, but do I really need to? Everything else works fine. Please help.

Well good lighting is an important part of photography and I would honostly always recomend external lighting for inside and no lighting for daytime outside. If it gave off a bright flash when you first used it the light could have blown or there could have been a wiring problem. Take it back in I guess. These cameras get messed up easily so it could be from anything.

ancient's right, its likely that either the flash buld, or the capacitor used for the flash blew when you got the huge flash.

Ok, well how much do you think it would cost to get it repaired? (I just don't feel the need to trade it in for a new one)

Well the really good ones I used in Chayt's class took a few hundred to repair I think but they were really good cameras.

Yeah, I doubt that mine would cost that much, but if I went to the local camera repair place in my town it'd cost me $75 up-front just for them to look at it so I was hoping that someone would tell me that my problem was a bulb or wiring for sure. I'm pretty sure that's what it is, though, since the CHARGING FLASH sign pops up and then waits a bit before it takes a picture and no flash appears. I'm thinking that means 'wiring problem' and that means a lot more money I would have to spend. Since I am still underneath the warranty, though, I might just go ahead and make HP get me a new one.

That's the american way.

get it replaced, it sounds like its the bulb, but to switch it out you always run the risk of ruining things further somehow. since you have the warrenty, its a cinch.

More than likely its like Wyote said. It probaly the bulb eg. regular lightbulbs flash VERY brightly.

HP just sent me a new camera in the mail today and the flash on it works just fine. Thanks for all your help. Hopefully the flash will last longer on this one than the last one

hope so, happy snapping.