Poor Picture Quality

[Icon72]

My sister owns a Sony DCR-TRV38 digital video camera that takes still pics as well. The camera never did take stellar still photos but it did a good enough job for snap shots at family gatherings, kids birthdays etc. Within the last couple of months we have noticed the quality of the photographs getting worse and worse. In my experience a camera either works or it doesn't. I have never seen a gradual reduction in quality over time like this.

This brings me to a couple of possibly silly questions:

1. Do memory sticks age leading to degredation in picture quality?
2. Could the camera itself just be aging? It's only about 4 or 5 years old.

Here's a sample of a recent photo...

 

[Icon72]

Nobody?

 

[Battou]

Try reformatting the memory device or even a new one and cleaning the lens.

Cleaning a lens on something like that can be easily over looked so...

 

[Icon72]

We'll give it a shot. Just seemed strange that it would gradually lose quality like this. Thanks.

 

[benpsut]

It honestly doesn't look THAT bad coming from a video camera. Keep in mind though, it's coming from a camera that's meant to take VIDEO.....

 

[Icon72]

Yes we know that. I wouldn't have even brought it up but, like I mentioned, the pictures used to look a lot better. Not like I would expect from a photo only camera but still much better than this.

 

[Jeff Canes]

any of the settings been changed? firmware update?