Eastman Kodak Co. has recalled some 75,000 heavy-duty digital cameras worldwide because of risks that users could suffer an electrical shock, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said today.
Due to a manufacturing defect in Kodak's DC5000 Zoom Digital Camera, a rugged model geared to users in fields such as real estate, construction and insurance, users can get a shock when changing the batteries, installing or removing the memory card, or connecting a computer cable, the agency said.
The CPSC said there have been 12 reports of such incidents, six of them in the United States, though no one was seriously injured.
The commission urged consumers to immediately stop using the cameras and contact the company for information about repairs. Kodak has set up a toll-free number for inquiries, and urges users to visit its Web site.
Kodak said it believes it can directly contact more than 20,000 customers, many of whom have registered some personal information with the company after they purchased the camera.
Kodak will cover the cost of inspections and repairs, as well as shipping to and from repair centers. Kodak spokesman James Blamphin said Kodak will repair and return the cameras within two days, and said the cost to Kodak would be materially "insignificant."
The defect is not likely to appear in any of Kodak's other cameras, he added, due to the unique way the model is assembled.
"It has a rugged exterior, with far more metal -- it was built deliberately to take the abuse of being carried around in a tool box."
The cameras were sold at electronics and computer stores, as well as on the Internet and via mail order, between June 2000 and August 2002 for between $600 and $700. Kodak said it stopped making the camera before it knew about the problem.
Shares of Kodak closed up 80 cents, or about 3 percent, at $29.27, on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.