Can a fairly cheap digital camera wear out?

[Mutley]

I got my camera from my Dad in April. He had it for about a year, but didn't use it that much. Since April, I've probably taken close to 1000 pictures with it. Lately I seem to have a really hard time getting pictures to be in focus, and the battery is wearing out much faster. It's an HP which was probably between $200-300 when new.

[Ms. Toad]

1. It may just need a new battery

Batteries are generally not rechargeable forever - and one of the symptoms of a worn out battery is that it doesn't hold its charge as long. I'd do a Google search for battery life for the specific camera model.

Since the battery generally drives the lens, it may just not have enough oomph to get completely the lens completely into position before you snap the picture - which would lead to pictures being out of focus.

[Mutley]

2. I replaced the batteries.

It's a lot better, but some of the pictures are still coming out crappy. That's probably just me, though. Thanks for the tip. Duh, I should have realized that I needed to change the batteries.

[GOPFighter]

3. If focus is the problem....

...check the way you hold the camera. There is a sensor on the front that measures the distance to the subject. If a finger covers it or even partly covers it, the picture's focus will be affected. Also, I suppose that sensor could have a light film of dirt or crud on it.