Sony Corporation of China has suspended the distribution of six of its digital camera models on the Chinese mainland after a provincial quality inspection authority found flaws with them.

The cameras were found to have problems in their image uniformity, liquid crystal displays, automatic exposure and white balance, according to a survey conducted by the Zhejiang Provincial Industrial and Commercial Administration.

"The six types of cameras have already been pulled off shelves in Zhejiang Province," Pan Wei, an official from the administration said on Friday.

On Monday, the administration issued an emergency ban on the six substandard cameras.

It said of the 34 digital cameras tested, 13 failed to meet national standards, according to testing results from the National Camera Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. A total of 30 production batches were involved with the six reported types of Sony cameras, namely the Sony DSC-H1, DSC-L1, DSC-P200, DSC-W7, DSC-W5 and DSC-S90.

In a statement on Thursday, Sony promised to suspend distribution of the six models, saying "it will protect the consumer's legal interests on the basis of Chinese laws and regulations."

For customers who had bought one of the six types of cameras in question, a service hotline has been set up to query possible problems, said the statement.

However, the company did not say how to return, repair or exchange these cameras in detail.

(China Daily December 17, 2005)