I have taken a lot of photos with my camera. It may just be that it is getting old, but the photos are starting to come out as really "grainy" More noticably the background in most images. It isn't as sharp as sharp as it used to be.

If you can tell me the make and model I can get a more precise answer for you - but, if you check your camera - see if it's set to a really high resolution image - basically; you can set a lot of digital cameras up to take a 4-7mb JPEG photo - small, easily transferable - but not the greatest resolution - you could maybe get say - 5mb x 15 pics =75mb full - whereas if your camera is set to take a HIGH resolution photo - NEF/RAW, etc. - those images can range from 25 - 50mb each - google limit for email attachments is 25mb I believe - you couldn't even send one picture with an email. If you took one pic and it jammed up say 40mb - well, the camera may have another 30mb of space - but based on the conditions and settings - not enough space for another 40mb picture - sending you the message. All the best and good luck -

Are you sure it is set to save images to the card and not the camera's internal memory ?

As the mirror moves up out of the way when a photo is taken this will have no effect on your pictures. The amount of dirt that you describe does seem to indicate that the camera is very dirty. You should clean it carefully, use no oil, anywhere, get all the dust and particles you can out of the camera. If there is dirt in the film transport area this will probably scratch the film as you wind on each time. The only dirt that will come out on the photos is any that is on the film when the photo is taken; these will be different each photo, or any on the back of the lens; these will be the same on each photo, but different for a different lens. Cleaning "the black part" from the lens side... this is actually the shutter itself, and is made from very thin metal. If you have bent or damaged this when cleaning it, you will have probably scrapped the camera. This can be changed, but only really by a repair shop. Again, dirt on this, either side, will not appear on photos, but might fall onto the film during exposure, leaving under exposed dust marks. Shutter blades can get tangled up, and not work nicely, not close properly. Try pressing the shutter with the back open and the lens off, looking through and see if there are any light leaks when the shutter is supposed to be closed.

Cards and cameras can be corrupted by pulling the USB cord out of the computer without using the "safely remove hardware" function. Sometimes, a card can be rescued by formatting it in the camera although this completely erases it so download any pics first using a card reader if necessary.

You could try cleaning the glass and the scanner assembly for starters, especially if You had this printer a relatively long time or use it quite a lot.  Try the cleaning, then explore the driver ifthere is a problem - maybe reinstalling. If all this fails you may be having a failing scanner bulb.

Hit buttons for the ISO settings on the photo you just took; if the settings are way off, maybe you can correct those or select a mode which gets you a proper image in the LCD; or reset the camera.

I for one wish I would jog the camera to a local shop for free adjustment (e.g. lens reattachment) the first time I ran into symptoms like that. I always let it fester 10 min, though.

As simple as this may sound, have you cleaned the lens lately? A lot of image quality deterioration comes from a finger print or other smudge on the lens. Digital cameras are succeptable to even the smallest gunk on the lens. Because the lens element is very tiny, use a cotton swab with a drop of lens cleaner (or isopropyl alcohol) to thouroughly clean and dry the lens. If it isn't a dirty lens, check your file-size and flash settings.

Need more information. What kind of camera is it and what is the model number. When I get this info, maybe I will be able to help you.

Nothing seems to help. My camera just started doing this. I'm taking it back...

I've never had this problem. I have 128 MB and 256 MB Viking CFs and I've had as many as 210 shots on a card. The Cameo viewer software is very good about automatically recognizing that the camera is connected and saving everything to a new folder. I use this frequently on my home PC running Windoze98se; and I've used it on a Dell Inspiron notebook running WinXP Pro. Short of buying a card reader and installing new USB driver (depending upon your operating system), the only thing I could suggest is to uninstall the Epson software and reinstall it. Perhaps there is something corrupt in the installation. --