Been looking at some of my older pics taken with my D50. apart from the red line fault the CCD has developed, it seems that the pics used to be sharper and cleaner than they are now. This maybe just my perception. But I have noticed a similar thing with my wife's fuji compact.

Was thinking that maybe the CCD ages and the picture quality degrades? Is this possible?

Funny that, i was beginning to think my compact had changed somehow, if i look at photos i took 4 years ago they are spot on, now they seem washed out, almost like they are overexposed all the time

Be an interesting one to watch this one…………….

possibly needs a clean but unlikely to have degraded electronically.

The CCD can age, but not noticably in that sort of time. However there are plenty of bits of glass and plastic/filters between the shot and the CCD, which are much more likely to degrade with time. Also, you get used to the "oooh, look at this amazing photo" feeling and it starts to wear off!

bits of glass and plastic that can need cleaning. ccds do age, but this usually manifests as dead pixels ( like and lcd tv or monitor, but 'the other way' ).

A fine layer of fungus behind a lens element would do it. Try shining a bring light in and see if you can see a manky layer. Assuming you've just got one lens…

Otherwise when was the last time you cleaned your sensor?