Apple QuickTake 200 Troubleshooting Guide
Fault-finding for the Apple QuickTake 200, taken mainly from Apple's QuickTake 200 Service Source. Apple repaired the camera by exchanging the whole unit in most countries, and the Service Source has no parts list or take-apart chapter; its troubleshooting stops at the outside of the camera, the batteries, the storage card and the computer.[1] Apple's charts list the cures in order of likelihood: try the first, check whether the symptom has gone, then try the next.[1]
Power
edit| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| No power | Check the power adapter connection, if one is used. Replace the batteries |
| Power stops during use | If the camera overheated, the safety shutoff turned it off: move it somewhere cooler, let it cool and switch on again. After two minutes unused, auto-power-off turns the camera off: switch it on. Replace the batteries |
| Short battery life | In cold weather keep the batteries warm in a pocket and load them just before use. Use long-life (1,000 mAh) NiCad cells. Use the auto-power-off feature |
| Buttons and switches do nothing | Remove the batteries, refit them with the + and − ends the right way round, and switch on |
| LCD will not come on | Load a storage card. Remove the write-protect seal and format the card. Fit a new card. Fit the batteries correctly. Replace the batteries. Reconnect the power adapter or check that it is plugged in. Set the mode dial to Record-Fine or Record and turn it until it clicks into place |
Apple's Read Me for the camera software adds a rare fault: the camera will not switch off. Disconnect the AC adapter and open the battery door to reset it.[2] To keep the camera on for long video sessions, run it from the AC adapter and hold the action button while switching it on; this disables auto-power-off until the camera is next switched off.[3][1]
Taking and playing back pictures
edit| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Pressing the shutter shows no picture | Load a card. Format the card. Fit a new card or erase a frame. Remove the write protection. Initialise the card. Switch the camera on. Replace the batteries. Set the mode dial to Record-Fine or Record |
| Playback screen too bright | Set the aperture to f/8 and take the picture again |
| Played-back picture blurred | Clean the lens. Hold the camera steady. Check the focus setting and the distance. Use Record-Fine. Point the lens away from bright light |
| No picture on the LCD or the television during playback | Check the cable connection |
| Cannot initialise the card or erase a frame | Remove the write protection. Remove the frame's protected status |
Apple's guide adds that the close-up focus setting should not be used with the clip-on optical viewfinder, because the viewfinder's parallax correction is then wrong. Use the LCD for close-ups.[4]
LCD warnings
edit| Display | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Battery symbol flashing | Batteries depleted | Replace the batteries |
| Battery symbol, display otherwise blank | Batteries depleted, defective or missing | Replace the batteries |
| NO CARD | No card in the camera | Fit a card |
| CARD NOT INITIALIZED | The card has not been formatted | Format it in Erase mode |
| CARD ERROR | Wrong card format, or the camera was switched off while recording, erasing or advancing frames | Reformat the card, which erases it |
| CARD FULL | No free memory | Transfer and erase pictures, or fit another card |
| PROTECTED CARD | The card is write-protected | Remove the seal |
| FRAME ERROR | The frame being played back was not recorded correctly | – |
| UNMATCHED DATA | The frame being played back was not recorded by this camera | – |
| Overexposure symbol | Too much light | Set the aperture to f/8 |
| Underexposure symbol | Too little light | Set the aperture to f/2.2 |
| --.--.-- flashing for 3 seconds at switch-on | Date not set | Set the date and time in Record-Fine mode |
The Service Source table gives the meanings; the actions are from the user's guide and from the camera-operation pages of the Service Source, which warn that a card corrupted by opening its door during recording may have to be reformatted.[4]
Storage card faults
edit- Formatting erases everything on the card, protected pictures included.[4]
- Never open the card door or pull the card while the camera is recording. Apple warns that this can damage the card or corrupt it, and that reformatting may then be the only cure.[1] Opening the card door always switches the camera off.[4]
- A write-protect seal that has become dirty may stop protecting the card. Wipe it with a dry, lint-free cloth. Seals cannot be reused.[4]
- Apple's own list of causes for a blank LCD includes "The storage card is old and must be replaced."[4] Fujifilm's leaflet for the MG-2 card supplied with the camera says a card can be written at least 250,000 times but will eventually lose its ability to store and play back pictures. It lists static, electrical noise and removing the card or the power during access as causes of lost data.[5]
- Use only the card type made for the camera. Apple warns that other cards may damage it.[4] Apple's 2 MB and 4 MB cards are marked "2MB-5" and "4MB-5".[6] The card types are on Apple QuickTake accessories#Memory card.
The computer does not see the camera
edit| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Computer does not recognise the camera | Check the serial cable. Switch the camera on and set the mode dial to Computer. Replace the batteries. If the system software was upgraded after the camera software was installed, reinstall the camera software. If the port is shared and AppleTalk is on, turn AppleTalk off and use the modem port. If the camera software was dragged to the hard disk, reinstall it with the Installer on the CD |
| Not enough memory | Quit programs that are not in use |
Apple's support notes add:
- Check that the Apple QuickTake 200 extension is in the Extensions folder.[7]
- On a PowerBook 3400 with an internal modem, set the Modem control panel to the modem/printer port, not "Internal Modem", make AppleTalk inactive and restart. On other PowerBooks with an internal modem, set the PowerBook control panel to Normal and make AppleTalk inactive.[8]
- On a PowerBook 500, set PowerBook Setup to Normal. The first Read Me said Compatible, which Apple later corrected.[9] Do not sleep the PowerBook or close its lid while the camera is connected; the system freezes.[2]
- On 68K computers, turn AppleTalk off. Under Open Transport, use the modem port. Do not print and open a camera picture at the same time on a 68K computer.[2]
- Camera Access cannot open compressed TIFF files.[2]
- An "out of memory" alert on connecting a QuickTake camera to some later computers is cured by QuickTake software 2.0.2.[10]
Apple never supported the QuickTake 200 under Windows.[11] Reading the card in a SmartMedia reader avoids the serial link altogether; see Apple QuickTake 200#Software and connection.
Things that are not faults
edit- The camera switches itself off after two minutes without use. Auto-power-off does not operate in Computer mode.[1]
- The camera switches off if it overheats. Apple's guide calls this "a safety device, not a fault".[4]
- The date and time survive a battery change of up to five minutes. After that they have to be set again.[4]
- The LCD brightness dial changes only the screen, not the pictures.[1]
Related pages
editReferences
edit- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Apple Computer, QuickTake 200 Service Source, PDF dated 13 February 1997, hosted as File:Apple QuickTake 200 Service Source 1997.pdf. Basics, Overview p. 1 (whole-unit exchange) and Camera Operation pp. 6-11; Troubleshooting: General p. 1, Symptom Charts/Power p. 2, Symptom Charts/Operation and Computer Use p. 3, Displayed Warnings p. 4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Apple Computer, "Apple QuickTake 200: Read Me Document", Tech Info Library article 21027 (TA36545), in the archive.org collection Apple's Technical Information Library Articles, https://archive.org/details/APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: the camera occasionally not powering off, cleared by disconnecting the AC adapter and opening the battery door; turning AppleTalk off on 68K computers; the modem port under Open Transport; PowerBook 500 notes; Camera Access not supporting compressed TIFF; conflicts between printing and opening camera images on 68K computers; the plug-in's compatibility.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "QuickTake 200: Keeping Power On", Tech Info Library article TA38508, APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Apple Computer, Apple QuickTake 200 For Mac OS users, 1997, part number 034-0023-A, hosted as File:Apple QuickTake 200 Users Guide for Mac OS 1997.pdf. Storage card, formatting and write-protect seals p. 7-9; date and time, including the five-minute battery change, p. 11-12; aperture, exposure warnings and the optical viewfinder p. 16-18; Record-Fine p. 19; Erase mode and formatting p. 24; auto-power-off p. 27; caring for the camera p. 61-62; handling the storage card p. 62-63; solving problems p. 63-65.
- ↑ Fuji Photo Film Co., Image Memory Card MG-2 Operating Instructions, archive.org item ffds-7, file ImageMemoryCard_MG-2.pdf (retrieved 2026-10-02). Source for: NAND flash memory; at least 250,000 writes; eventual loss of the card's ability to store data; causes of data loss (handling, static, electrical noise, removing the card or the power during access); keeping the card in its static-free case; not touching the contacts; the dirty write-protect seal; the PC-AD PC Card adaptor; 2 MB capacity, 37 × 0.76 × 45 mm, 1.8 g, 0 to 40 °C.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "QuickTake 200: How To Identify 2MB and 4MB Storage Cards", Tech Info Library article TA37177, APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "QuickTake 200: Difficulty Downloading Pictures to Camera (2/97)", Tech Info Library article 20987 (TA36514), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999. Source for: setting the mode dial to Computer; checking that the Apple QuickTake 200 extension is installed.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "QuickTake 200: PowerBook Connection Issues", Tech Info Library article 21225 (TA36723), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "QuickTake 200: Read Me for PowerBook Incorrect (3/97)", Tech Info Library article 21096 (TA36610), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "Macintosh: "Out of Memory" Error When Connecting a QuickTake Camera", Tech Info Library article TA38369, APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999.
- ↑ Apple Computer, "QuickTake Cameras: Not Supported Using Windows 95", Tech Info Library article 20172 (TA35799), APPLE_TIL_ARTICLES collection, file TA30000-TA39999.